Cher accused of hiring four men to kidnap son Elijah Blue Allman, his estranged wife claims

Cher's daughter-in-law, Marieangela King, is accusing the singer of orchestrating a kidnapping plot for her estranged husband Elijah Blue Allman.

In a December 2022 declaration filed in the couple's divorce, King alleged the pop icon arranged for Allman to be removed from their New York hotel room on the night of their wedding anniversary in November of that year, according to court documents obtained by USA TODAY. Allman had petitioned for a dissolution of their marriage in the Los Angeles County Superior Court of California in November 2021.

"I am currently unaware of my husband's well-being or whereabouts. I am very concerned and worried about him," King claimed in the December filing. "I was told by one of the four men who took him that they were hired by (Allman’s) mother."

King added that in the months leading up to the alleged kidnapping, she was told not to have contact with Allman while he was in "lockdown at a treatment facility." The nature of Allman's treatment was not shared in King's filing. Allman has previously opened up about his battle with substance abuse.

"I understand his family's efforts to make sure he is well, and I want what is best for my husband," King said.

USA TODAY has reached out to Cher's representative for comment.

King and Allman, son of Cher and musician Gregg Allman, married in December 2013. Despite Allman's filing for divorce, King claimed the couple was working toward a reconciliation during their 12-day trip to New York in November 2022.

Elsewhere in her December filing, King alleged Cher asked her to leave her family home with Allman. King said the eviction, combined with her "sporadic and insufficient" spousal support payments from Allman, had made it difficult to attend to the divorce proceeding.

"I was not allowed to retrieve all my belongings from our primary home and residence, nor was I given the opportunity to inventory our assets," King said. "We also have a storage unit that I have been unable to access which contains art, antiques, all our furniture from our second home that we had together in Beverly Hills and other assets accumulated during the marriage."

King's request to postpone the trial setting conference for the couple's divorce was granted in December, and the hearing was delayed to April. According to an online court filing, the hearing is scheduled to take place on Oct. 27 after an additional postponement in April.

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