A Father-Daughter Incest Case That Ended in Murder: The Haunting Story of Katie Pladl

Records reviewed by the AP showed that Steven and Katie obtained a marriage license with falsified paperwork—it said they were unrelated—and wed in Parkton, Md., on July 20, 2017.

Bennett was born on Sept. 1, 2017. According to WWBT-TV, Katie had posted pictures on Facebook of her and Steve holding their baby, as well as shared a photo of them on Instagram with the hashtags #JustMarried and #pregnant.

Steven and Katie moved into a house in Knightdale, N.C., but they were arrested Jan. 27, 2018, by Virginia authorities on charges of incest, adultery and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Bennett was placed in the custody of Steven's mother, according to Knightdale police.

"I do think she was manipulated," Alyssa told WWBT of Katie, "and I do want her to get help instead of more jail time."

Neither Katie nor Steven entered a plea at their Feb. 20 arraignment.

After she was released on bond, Katie moved back in with her adoptive parents in Dover, N.Y., according to her uncle Cary. A preliminary hearing in her case was set for April 23, 2018.

But on April 12, local police said they found Katie and her adoptive father shot to death in his pickup truck in New Milford, Conn., at around 8:40 a.m. after responding to reports of gunfire. Not long after, according to New York state police, a probation officer spotted Steven's blue Honda Odyssey idling in Dover, a few miles away from the crime scene, and notified emergency services. Steven was inside, dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to Knightdale police, who confirmed the identities of all three bodies.

New Milford police also said they'd recovered an assault-style rifle that appeared to be the weapon Steven used to kill Katie and Anthony, opening fire on them when they were stopped at an intersection, and then himself.

Meanwhile, Steven's mother had called 9-1-1. "He said he left the baby dead," she told the dispatcher, per the recording obtained by WNCN, also noting that Steven had been upset because Katie broke up with him the day before. "He told me to call police, not to go over there."

Knightdale police said the distraught grandmother had last seen Bennett alive the night of April 11 when Steven picked the child up, telling his mother that he planned to Skype with Katie—who he wasn't supposed to have contact with, per the terms of his bond—that night. At around midnight, police continued, Steven called his mother and said he was going to take Bennett to New York, and then at 7 a.m. he called again and said they were almost there. But then, according to police, he called for the last time at 8:45 a.m. and said he'd killed Katie, Anthony and Bennett.

Arriving at around 9 a.m. on April 12, officers said they found Bennett's body at the Knightdale home where Steven and Katie had been living before their arrest. No one else was in the house.

Steven's attorney Friedman told WRAL after the killings that his client hadn't shown signs that he was about to do anything rash when they spoke a week ago, that he had asked the lawyer's advice about what to wear to court. Steven and Katie were each facing a potential 10-year prison sentence if convicted of felony incest, but Friedman said he had doubted the case would go to trial.

"Deciding how to punish someone for this case is difficult," he said. "How do you punish a biological parent? By putting that parent in jail, and keeping that parent away from the child?"

Calling what transpired "sad and devastating," Knightdale Police Chief Capps said, "We may never understand the mindset or motives of Steven Pladl, but we do know his actions have shattered the lives of countless people."

I could swear this has been posted on here before

That’s such a sad case. It’s seemed like her adoptive parents weren’t bad I wonder why she was attracted to her skeevy dad

I read a story n the NYT a while ago about how meeting birth parents often results in many inappropriate stuff. Not just insert, but crazy intense emotions that cause serious boundary issues.

I know a few people who connected with their birth parents. Never ended well. But certainly not in a mess like this!!

Who gives up their baby to stay married to a baby rapist?

It's called genetic sexual attraction, R4.

Here's an AMA from a woman who fell in love with her biological father after connecting with him. They'd been together for a decade at the time of the AMA which was 11 years ago.

Icky bad!

Stories like this really make me hate the world. What fucking evil must someone be to do this, to his own daughter (and an innocent child - his SON as well grandson, no less). Ugh. Sickening..

The bio mother, Alyssa, stayed w/Steven (bio dad) after giving daughter up for adoption due to abuse. But then Alyssa had 2 more daughters with this guy. Then again, Alyssa was 15 when she met Steven (who was 20).

The father and daughter do look alike. The daughter must've been really troubled to move in with her bio parents when she was 18.

Why'd he have to kill her adoptive father? Was the adoptive father also a problem? Maybe the adoptive father was having sex with Katie, too (hence, her wanting to move out, then move in with bio parents).

He probably just killed him because he was there, R9. Like that other psycho male who killed his family a few days ago and two school friends that were just sleeping over.

There's no evidence that "genetic sexual attraction" actually exists.

Has it been confirmed if those asteroids are going to just pass us or divert course and manage a direct impact? Just waiting on the inevitable act of God at this point.

Reminds me of this couple, I mean father and daughter, Lloyd Neurauter and Karrie Neurauter. They killed Lloyd's wife / Karrie's mother.

^^Now there's two textbook pictures of "dead eyes."

"Genetic sexual attraction" never seems to happen with mothers and sons...

For you, R15:

[quote] EXCLUSIVE: 'We ended up kissing and kissing led to other things': Mother, 36, and son, 19, who fell in love when they met last year after she gave him up for adoption as a baby, say they'll go to JAIL to defend their relationship

A mother and son whose forbidden love affair could land them each a lengthy jail sentence have declared they are 'madly in love' and nothing will tear them apart.

Monica Mares, 36, and her son Caleb Peterson, 19, face up to 18 months in prison if found guilty of incest at a trial later this year in New Mexico.

But the mother and son couple have vowed to fight for their right to have a sexual relationship and are appealing to the public to donate to their legal fund.

GSA is defined as sexual attraction between close relatives, such as siblings or half-siblings, a parent and offspring, or first and second cousins, who first meet as adults.

Mares said: 'He is the love of my life and I don't want to lose him.My kids love him, my whole family does. Nothing can come between us not courts, or jail, nothing.

'I have to be with him. When I get out of prison I will move out of Clovis to a state that allows us to be together.'

Incest is a crime in all 50 states, but the specifics of the laws and punishment vary greatly from state to state.

Mother-of-nine Mares said she would even give up the right to see her other children if she was asked to choose between them and her lover.

The couple who currently live separately in Clovis, New Mexico - and are banned from having any contact with each other by the courts - first embarked on their love affair towards the end of last year.

Mares was just 16 when she gave birth to Peterson - whose pre-adoption name was Carlos - and he was adopted as a baby.

The 36-year-old, who didn't raise Peterson, saw him for the first time in 18 years last Christmas when she picked him up at his adoptive father's house in Texas and brought him to her home after the pair got in touch over Facebook.

The couple soon developed romantic feelings for each other and their relationship became sexual a few weeks later.

'The first time I met my son in person I was so happy and excited I gave him a big hug,' Mares said.'I went to go pick him up at his dad's house in Texas.

'He gave me a call and asked me to pick him up, I got butterflies in my stomach.

'I met him outside and I knew it was him when he came towards me. He was crying and he gave me a hug.

'It was almost love at first sight but first it was mother love. He gave me a mother hug.

'He came home in the truck and came to live with me and we were both happy as mother and son.'

Mares said that at first nothing happened but she then started getting these 'crazy' feelings.

She said it felt different because she didn't raise him as her child yet after all these years he came back to her.

'It felt like I met somebody new in my life and I fell in love with him,' she explained.

She continued: 'At first I told him, "I'm sorry I don't know how you are going to react to this. I'm your mom and you're my son, but I'm falling in love with you".

'And he said: "You know what I am too. I was scared to let you know". He was falling in love with his mom and I was falling in love with my son.

'We talked about it and we took off to the park. I said, "Would you ever date your mom?" And he said: "would you ever date your son?" And I said, "Honest truth yes I would".'

Mares says Peterson is the best thing that has happened to her in the past 19 years and wants to be with him for the rest of her life.

She understands that she risks losing all her children and going to state prison but they both want to fight it.

'Caleb is willing to go through the same thing. Whatever it takes to be together,' she said.

At first the couple lived happily together in Mares' mobile home with her two youngest children Uriah and Joseph – keeping their relationship a secret from the world.

Mares' youngest son even began calling Peterson 'dad'.

But police soon found out about the clandestine affair during a call over a row between the family and some neighbors.

The couple was charged with incest – a fourth-degree felony in New Mexico - following the February 25th incident.

They were arraigned and appeared jointly in court in April – but were held in custody for breaching their no-contact order.

They were released on $5,000 bond and now face a trial by jury in September.

Currently Mares is not allowed to see any of her children or have any contact at all with Peterson.Yet she maintains that is has all been worth it.

'It is every bit worth it,' she said. 'If they lock me up for love then they lock me up. There is no way anybody could pull us apart, and I really do love him.

'It hurts he is far away. It hurts really bad. I wish I could see him, talk to him, but I can't risk it.'

Peterson said he started falling love with his mom about a week after meeting her - but claims as he grew up with an adopted parents he never really saw Mares as his mother.

'I never had anyone cook me meals or give me anything,' he said. 'I never got anything my entire life and she went out of her way to make me happy and after about a week or so I started having feelings for her and I guess I fell in love.

'It went beyond a mother-son relationship I never really viewed her as my mom. In certain aspects I do but mostly I don't.

'I never thought I was crazy for having these feelings because I didn't see her as my mom, it was more like going to a club and meeting a random person. It didn't feel wrong, it felt normal.'

Peterson claims it was him who made the first move not his mom.

He recalls: 'We were hanging out just talking and I looked at her and she looked at me and I kissed her.

'It was a real kiss it had feelings behind it, there was a spark that ever since then it just stayed.

'Honestly I never thought we would get into trouble for our relationship. We were both consenting adults - when it comes down to it.

'She's adult I'm adult I can make my own decisions. I never thought it would blow up into something like this.'

Mares says other moms she knows don't understand what she's going through but says her kids have said they will love her no matter what.

But with a torn look on her face, she added: 'But if I had to choose between my son and all my other kids I'd chose him.'

Peterson added: 'My dad walked out on me because of it.

'There's a lot of negative comments I read on Facebook and things - people say it's disgusting, it's gross, she's your mom but it doesn't hurt me or affect me at all.

'If they were in my situation or if they were to find out that somebody they loved was actually related to them then they'd be saying the exact opposite.'

Peterson admits that sometimes he wonders if he should have done things differently - if only to spare his family the pain.

But he said that even if the judge offered to spare him jail if he stopped all contact with his mother, he would refuse.

And he has vowed to wait for Mares if she is jailed and he isn't.

'Sometimes the easy way isn't the best way,' he said. 'Sometimes we have to make that life decision that's going to change and affect everything but when it comes down to it, it's worth it.

'I will wait for her if she gets a jail sentence and I don't. For me it's not about patience it's about commitment.

'If I'm committed to something I follow it through that's the kind of person I am.

'If I love her enough and I'm crazy enough to stay in Clovis for her and crazy enough to face all the courts for her then waiting a bit of time to have the rest of my life being happy then I'm willing to do that.'

[quote] I fell in love with my son and have ‘mind-blowing sex’ — but it’s not incest

A Michigan mom who fell in love with her biological son says a rare “genetic” phenomenon is responsible for their red-hot romance.

Kim West, 57, got pregnant as a teenager, and gave up her baby boy, Ben Ford, for adoption in the mid-1980s.

Ford, who is now 38, tracked down his mother eight years ago, and the pair formed a close bond. Things quickly turned sexual, and they went public with their incestuous relationship in 2016, with West boasting she had “mind-blowing sex” with her son.

The couple has subsequently kept a low profile in a bid to avoid being prosecuted for their illegal sexual relations, but say science is the reason they can’t keep their hands off each other.

“This is not incest, it is GSA. We are like peas in a pod and are meant to be together,” West declared to New Day, speaking about a phenomenon known as “genetic sexual attraction.”

The phenomenon was first identified back in the 1980s by Barbara Gonyo, a woman who ran a Chicago-based support group for adoptees and their newfound relatives. She coined the term “GSA” after noting that numerous people associated with the group became sexually attracted to their family members when they first met as adults.

Psychologist Corinne Sweet previously told New Day that she has come across the phenomenon while treating patients who had been in foster homes.

“At a genetic level, we are conditioned to find people who look like us attractive,” Sweet stated. “We have an almost tribal connection with family members with similar features. At the same time, people who are adopted or fostered feel deeply rejected. They have experienced a profound wound which isn’t easily healed.”

She further explained: “So when a son meets his birth mother, he feels a great rush of need. There’s an attraction and a longing there, and when it’s combined with the appeal of genetic similarity, it becomes a very powerful and complex cocktail which is incredibly seductive.”

However, other medical experts are skeptical of GSA, with New York City sex therapist Ian Kerner telling Women’s Health that the phenomenon has never been scientifically studied.

“I think that our mating systems tend to seek out genetic difference more than similarity,” he declared. “In the case of incest or romantic love between family members, I think you have to look at it case by case instead of generalizing it as a disorder or genetic condition.”

Meanwhile, clinical psychologist John Mayer bluntly told the magazine: “My professional opinion is that GSA is an excuse to give these people permission to break social norms.”

However, West and Ford say GSA adequately explains the instant attraction they felt for one another.

“I know people will say we’re disgusting, that we should be able to control our feelings, but when you’re hit by a love so consuming you are willing to give up everything for it, you have to fight for it,” West told New Day.

The loved-up mama continued: “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance and something Ben and I are not willing to walk away from.”

Her equally shameless son stated: “When I met Kim, I couldn’t think of her as my mom but instead as a sexual being. I had seen a therapist at an adoption support group and had learned about the GSA phenomenon.”

Making their relationship more shocking was the fact that Ford was married at the time they met. The smitten son soon dumped his wife in order to be in a relationship with his mom.

Ford told New Day that he couldn’t get his mother off his mind, saying to his spouse: “Every time I have had sex with you since I met her, I imagine it’s her I am kissing, otherwise I can’t perform.”

Meanwhile, West said it felt as if she and her son had “known each other for years” after they met as adults, describing their sex as “incredible” and “mind-blowing.”

But the couple should be careful about bragging about their hot sex, as incestuous relationships between adults are punishable by up to 15 years in prison in their home state of Michigan.

R16 good to know....now don't mind me, going to go puke.

Genetic sexual attraction was actually first coined by a mother who fell in love with her biological son.

People can call it whatever they want, and of course the Internet's going to lap up this revolting shit, but there's no getting around that these people are out of their minds and that some of the "adult" offspring are being abused, regardless of how they spin it.

You can read Kathryn Harrison's controversial memoir "The Kiss" for her take on her 'affair' with her father. Each was nuttier than a fruitcake but he was vile and predatory toward someone who wasn't just his child, but who was quite obviously extraordinarily mentally ill in myriad ways at the time.

In these cases I don’t think it’s appropriate to charge the daughter or son along with the parent. Clearly these kids were the victims of sexual abuse by an authority figure.

Re: GSA: if it were a super hot 21-year old jock meeting for the first time and fucking his equally hot 42-year old gay sperm donor, would it be so revolting to you?