Reunion with Birth Parents Led to Incest, Murder & Suicide, Three Adults and One Baby Dead in the Real Life Drama

A joyful reunion with birth parents turned out to be shocking and deadly. A young woman named Katie married her biological father, had a baby with him and later left him. She lost her life to him along with their child and her adoptive father. All three were laid to rest this weekend in upstate New York. Katie, whose last name was Fusco at the time, was adopted by Tony Fusco and wife Kelly. Katie’s birth name was Denise and was daughter to her biological parents Steven Pladl and Alyssa. “We’re all still in shock. It’s crazy. I don’t know what else to say. It’s horrible,” said Shirley Mann, a neighbour of Katie’s adoptive parents in Dover.

In 1995, Steven Pladl, 20 met a 15-year-old girl named Alyssa on the internet. She soon became pregnant and gave birth to a girl named Denise. Alyssa Pladl told The Associated Press in an interview that they put the girl up for adoption when she was eight months old. They were young and poor at the time but moreover Alyssa believed that Steven physically abused the baby. “It was so hard to give her up,” Alyssa said, “but I had to because I wanted her to live and be happy.” Soon, Tony Fusco and his wife Kelly adopted the girl they renamed Katie and raised her with their biological daughter in Dover. Katie was an aspiring artist known at Dover High School for drawing comic strips. She planned to attend college and pursue a career in digital advertising.

After turning 18 in January 2016, Katie was told that she was adopted, found her birth parents and messaged them. The Pladls were happy to reunite with her. Instead of going to college in August 2016, Katie moved in with the Pladls in Henrico County, Virgina that month. Tony and Kelly Fusco were apprehensive, but they thought Katie was old enough to make her own decisions and supported her. Before she moved in Katie had no idea Steven had an explosive temper, a history of abusive behaviour and owned at least four guns.

All was not well in the Pladl home. Steven and Alyssa had already decided to separate. Alyssa said she had suffered emotional and verbal abuse by her husband for years. Alyssa told Katie privately that Steven had abused her as a baby and that a major reason for the adoption was her own safety. Katie, according to Alyssa, didn’t appear to be concerned. Steven’s behaviour changed after he met Katie, said Alyssa Pladl. About six weeks after Katie moved in, Steven one night slept on the floor of Katie’s room. It immediately concerned Alyssa. After he did it again the next night, she confronted him. He said it was none of her business and stormed out of the house with Katie. Alyssa finally moved out in November 2016, and she shared custody of the two children with Steven Pladl.

In May 2017, Alyssa learned from her 11-year-old daughter’s journal of the incestuous relationship and Katie’s pregnancy. Her daughter wrote that she and her sister were told by Steven to refer to Katie as their stepmother. After confronting and cursing Steven for his act, she called the police. On July 20, 2017, two months after his divorce from Alyssa was finalised and amid the police investigation, Steven married Katie in Parkton, Maryland. They lied on their application, saying they were unrelated, according to the records. Tony and Kelly thought there was nothing they could do and had decided it was best to support Katie.

Katie gave birth to their son Bennett on September 1. But the wedded bliss did not last long. They were arrested on incest charges in January. A judge ordered them to contact each other and Steven’s mother had the custody of the child. Steven’s lawyer Rick Friedman II said there was never and allegation that Steven pressured Katie into a relationship. After the arrests, Katie moved back with Tony and Kelly.

Katie used to often travel to her adoptive grandmother’s home in Waterbury, Connecticut. On April 12, Katie and Tony left for Dover home for Waterbury. In a minivan nearby, Steven watched them leave, surveillance video shows. Minutes later, witnesses reported someone opening fire. Katie and Tony were fatally shot. Shortly after, Steven’s mother called 911 to report her son had told her he killed the baby, Katie and her adoptive father. Steven Pladl was later found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot back in Dover.

“I can’t even believe this is happening,” Steven’s mother told authorities, according to a 911 call transcript. Her son, she said, was upset because Katie, by then just 20, had broken up with him. Police found the baby dead and alone in Katie and Steven’s home. Alyssa struggles to make sense it all. “I’m grieving. I’m sad. I’m upset,” she said. “But I also want to have something good come out of this. If it’s to get truth out there, to open people’s eyes to incest.”

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 23, 2018 12:05 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).