Midland bigamist's third wife opens her heart

Nov 16 2008 by Adam Aspinall, Sunday Mercury

RODERICK Sangster thought he could be all things to all women.

But all the convicted bigamist and serial conman ever left in his wake was a trail of heartache and betrayal.

That is certainly all that was left for his third wife, Jann Wallace, from Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, when he ran out on her in 2007.

The 56 year-old mother-of-two is still counting the cost of meeting Sangster – who seemed like a knight in shining armour, but disappeared like a thief in the night leaving her in £55,000 of debt.

Jann met Sangster, a former clergyman and cop, just three weeks after undergoing a lumpectomy for breast cancer.

And, although cautious, she thought he seemed like the perfect man at the perfect time.

But last week she saw him found guilty at Warwick Crown Court of entering into a bigamous marriage with her.

He married her in 2004 without divorcing his second wife, Jill Sangster.

Sangster was also convicted of forging Jann’s signature to secure a £10,000 loan.

The 58-year-old is currently on the run after failing to attend his two-day trial.

His first wife, Frances Tait, was at court. They were married for 25 years and had four children before divorcing in 1996.

Jann said: “He is a chameleon, and he is very clever at manipulating people, and looking back it now seems clear he was just looking for a way to be the man he thought I wanted him to be.

“That was his pattern, that was how he wormed himself into women’s affections.

“I had been in two previous marriages, which could best be described as fiery, and he was the exact opposite, caring, gentle, kind, considerate.”

Since Sangster fled from their marital home in February 2007 Jann has pieced her life back together and feels she is finally happy again. But she still thinks she should have listened to herself and heeded the warning signs earlier in the relationship.