After divorcing his wife, Steven Pladl had a baby with his 20-year-old daughter and passed her off as the “stepmother” of his other children. It was a case that shocked the United States in 2018, since the man killed her daughter, her baby and her adoptive father.
Source: Clarin
A case of incest shocked the residents of Wake County (North Carolina, United States). Steven Pladl (42) and Katie Pladl (20) were arrested on January 27, 2018 when the Justice found that despite being father and daughter they had a baby together.
They both fell when they whitewashed marriage plans. The complainant was Steven’s ex-wife, who became aware of the situation, according to the CBS North Carolina channel. They were formally charged with “adultery” (a crime that carries up to ten years in prison) and, although he was released on bail, she remained in detention.
The “couple” faced criminal charges in Richmond, Virginia, where authorities believe the “relationship” began. The case outraged public opinion in the United States: in addition to having a baby with her daughter, she made her act as a “stepmother” to the rest of her siblings.
Katie with the son she had from her father
BEGINNING OF THE CASE
It all started in 1998, when Steven gave Katie up for adoption when she was a newborn girl. Through social networks, she managed to locate him in 2016 when the man lived in Richmond with his ex-wife and biological mother. The couple had given up her first daughter because ‘they were very young and had no money to support her’.
After the discovery, Katie rebuilt the relationship with her parents and moved back to live with them in Richmond. The Pladl marriage ended abruptly in November 2016 due to a couple crisis and in March 2017 they signed the divorce.
Steven’s ex-wife left the house, where the man stayed with all his children. In May 2017, suspicions of incest began, which were confirmed when Katie’s pregnancy was more than evident.
Steven Pladl and Katie Pladl got married and had a son.
The situation had become more than sick. Always according to the CBS version, which covers the case, Pladl asked her little daughters to call her older sister “mom” and warned them that now she would be her “stepmother”.
When Steven’s ex-wife confirmed the relationship and reported it to Maryland police, investigators discovered that they had left Virginia. The search continued until a few days ago, when they were located in North Carolina.
MURDER AND LATER SUICIDE
The twist this case took was even greater. Police in Connecticut, North Carolina and New York realized they were facing a triple murder and suicide.
Those killed: Katie and her adoptive father, Anthony Fusco, who were in New York; Katie and Steven’s seven-month-old baby was killed in Knightdale, southeastern North Carolina, although Knightdale Police said he had no visible injuries. The suicide case: that of Steven himself, who killed everyone and then shot himself.
“Yesterday’s events were devastating,” Knightdale Police Chief Lawrence Capps said at the time, according to a statement on his Facebook page. “We may never understand Steven Pladl’s motives, but we do know that his actions have destroyed the lives of many.”
The police report details that the baby was last seen alive on Wednesday at 8:00 pm. “It was at this point that Steven contacted his mother – who had custody of the little boy – asking for permission to take the baby to her home in Knightdale. She told him they would Skype Katie that afternoon.”
Shortly after, before midnight on Wednesday, he called his mother again on the phone to tell her that he was taking the little boy to New York, where Katie lived with her adoptive father. At 7:00 am on Thursday he called her back to inform her that he and her baby were moments away from meeting Katie. That wouldn’t happen.
At 8:45 a.m., Steven Pladl called his mother again, but this time he told her that he had murdered Katie, her adoptive father, and the baby that was not with him, but dead hundreds of miles away in his house in Knightdale, North Carolina.
Pladl’s confession immediately prompted the mother to call 911 to inform authorities of what had happened.
Shortly after, police in New Milford, Connecticut, confirmed that hours earlier a shooting had occurred that had left two people dead: Katie and her adoptive father.
As Connecticut authorities reported the double homicide, New York State Police began investigating the apparent suicide of a man found inside his car near Dover, New York.
After investigations by police authorities in North Carolina, New York and Connecticut, it was established that the deaths were connected and that Steven Pladl had taken his own life.
Authorities in Knightdale closed the investigation, as no criminal charges were filed in this case.
The wedding party picture#KatiePladl#StevenPladl pic.twitter.com/OJpRyOysNr
— Cassandra Centeno, Esq. ?? (@IamCassandraEsq) April 14, 2018
