The case of Steven Pladl is one that is both shocking and disturbing, and serves as a tragic reminder of the dangers of incest and the devastating consequences it can have on families and communities. It is a case that raises a lot of questions, from the legal implications of incest to the responsibilities of social media in reconnecting estranged family members. But perhaps the most important question is, how did nobody see this coming?
Welcome everyone! Welcome to a new episode of Love and Murder – the weekly true crime podcast discussing relationships gone terribly wrong. Where our motto is you’re either someone’s last love or first murder.
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In today’s episode, we’re diving into the twisted and shocking story of Steven Pladl.
But first, I wanted to remind you to head on over to our exclusive LaM group at patreon.com/loveandmurder. Last week we posted the interrogation of Michael Rafferty and Terrie-Lynne from episode 80, as well as me reading the entire trial transcript. This week, we’re talking about some of the creepiest unsolved mysteries out there. www.patreon.com/loveandmurder so you don’t miss out – get in at the $5 or above tier.
Now, on to the show…
Steven Pladl was born on April 6, 1975 in Levittown, Nassau County, New York to mother Grace Pladl. Nothing was mentioned about his father. As a kid, Steven was often bullied.
“People made fun of him and I felt pretty bad for him because he always seemed like a really quiet kid that, you know, stayed to himself and if I can look back now with my lens I would say there was something off,” he said.
So he was born in ‘75, which means he went to school in the 80s. In the 80s, it wasn’t like it is now; people really didn’t talk about bullying even though it definately existed.
I couldn’t find much about Steven’s first wife, but they got married in 1995 and had a daughter named they named Deniese in 1998 who they placed for out-of-state adoption. She was 17 at the time and he was 22. According to his first wife, Steven had a history of abusive behavior and had even threatened to kill her and her children. He was both verbally and physically abusive towards the family. Yet, she stayed with him, who knows why. Maybe for the kids or maybe she felt like she didn’t have any other choice. She also revealed that she gave the baby up for adoption when she was 8 months because she believed that Steven had begun abusing the baby, not to mention they were young and poor. She just wanted her baby to have a happy life. Why did she then stay with Steven (which is her prerogative) but then proceed to have 2 more babies with him? “It was so hard to give her up, but I had to because I wanted her to live and be happy.”
Now, further north and 18 years later Katie Fusco (who was actually Deniese Pladl) decided that she wanted to know who her real parents were after being told that she was adopted and went in serch of them. She’d been adopted by Tony and Kelly Fusco who lived in Dover, NY. Dover is 80 miles north of NYC. They raised her in a happy home along with their biological daughter. Kelly’s brother said, “They had a very, very normal life. My nickname for Katie was Pac-Man. She was always eating. She loved animals. She was a vegetarian.” Growing up, Katie wanted to be an artist and in highschool, Dover High School, everyone knew her for drawing little comic stips. My brothers used to do that too. When she graduated, she planned to go to college for digital advertising. “A pen and something to draw on became a safe place for me. Ink became my weapon against rules and regulations. … To be short; for me, a life without art is no life at all.”
So anyway, instead of going to college like she’d planned, she went online and began tracking her real parents down. She successfully found Steven on social media and In August of 2016, when she was 18, she moved in with her parents somewhere close to Richmond VA. It was then that she found out that she had siblings – two younger sisters.
By this time, the marriage between Steven and his wife was already breaking down. “I was always on eggshells, whatever his mood was, everybody knew, and that mood was often not happy, a lot of yelling, a lot of things smashed in the house, in front of our kids.”
She also went on to confide in Katie and let her know why she gave her up for adoption. She told of her thought of Steven abusing her as a baby and that she gave her up for her own safety. Katie appeared unconcerned about this information.
After Katie moved in, Steven started acting weird. He stared wearing tighter clothes – skinny jeans and tight shirts – you know, like the younger generation. He’d also grown his hair longer and shaved his facial hair.
Unfortunately, in November 2016 Steven and his wife split up. It’s interesting to note that when she moved out, she’d told someone that by that time, Steven had been sleeping on Katie’s floor and had told one of his other children to call Katie “step mom”. Um both what and ew! Not only did his wife leave him, but she filed a restraining order on him against her and their last two daughters. Steven had started sleeping on Katie’s floor only 6 weeks after she moved in. After the second night of doing that, his wife had confronted him about it, but he told her to mind her business and stormed out of the house…..with Katie in tow.
As for the step mom thing, Steven’s ex-wife found out about this in May 2017 after she read her 11 year old daughter’s journal and saw this – that he’d told her to call Katie her step mom. “I started to become hysterical, and I called him,” she said. “I said, ‘Is Katie pregnant with your baby?’ He just said, ‘I thought you knew. We’re in love.'”
“I started screaming,” she said. “I was just cursing him out: ‘How could you? You’re sick. She’s a child.'”
So then she called the police. I can’t blame her her.
So they were having sex and in a “relationship” all this time. What in the actual eff. In July 2017, Katie posted a photo on her Instagram that said, “Nothin fancy, just love.” Along with the hashtags, “JustMarried,” “SimpleWedding” and “Pregnancy.” In the picture, it shows “July 20th” and a black and white picture of a pregnant woman kissing a man. I’m guessing it’s Katie kissing Steven. OMGOD EW! I’ll post the picture in our Patreon.
Steven and Katie got “married” on July 20, 2017 in a lakeside ceremony in Parkton, Maryland. On their application they lied and said they were unrelated. The ceremony was attended by her adopted parents and his mother. WHAT?! They were complicit in this?! OMGod! Katie’s adoptive parents went along with it because they figured there was nothing they could do and figured they might as well support her.
Katie gave birth to a child, Bennett, on September 1, 2017 and In November 2017, Steven and Katie moved to Raleigh, North Carolina because arrest warrents were issued for them for incestual marriage.
Then, in North Carolina they were accused of “planning to marry” and charged with incest. If they were convicted of their charged, they could each spend 10 years in prison. They were both arrested in January, 2018 but released from jail on bail in March 2018. Steven’s mother got custody of Bennett. The condition for Steven’s release was that he not make contact with Katie. I like when authorities think that just by saying something, it will be so. “Now we’re going to let you go, but you have to promise you’re going to listen.” Katie’s condition was that she moved back in with her adoptive father, Anthony Fusco and mother in New York.
Rick Friedman II alleged that Steven pressured Katie into a relationship, “This case is an 18-year-old girl who shows up at the doorstep of a 40-year-old man who’s going through difficult times with his wife. They have a bond because they’re biologically related, but they never knew each other before they had a sexual relationship. He was head over heels in love with her, so much so that that outweighed the issue of them being biologically related.”
Anyway, Katie moved back in with her adoptive parents, but every Tuesday and Thursday, she would travel to her adoptive grandmother’s house which was in Waterbury Connecticut and life went on.
On April 11, Steven picked up the baby from his mom saying that he was taking him to see his mother in NY.
On April 12 a 911 call came in: Steven Pladl 911 call: ‘My son just called me and he told me … he killed his baby’ | Raleigh News & Observer (newsobserver.com)
On Thursday April 12, Katie and her adopted father did their new normal routine, leaving Dover to drive to Waterbury. Surveillance video caught Steven watching their departure from a minivan down the road.
A short time later, witnesses called 911 stating that they heard gunfire.
When police arrived, they found Tony and Katie shot to death.
A man hunt began for Steven, but ended quickly when they found him in Dover. He’d driven back to NC, parked the car on a road and shot himself dead. The picture of where he was found is also in our Patreon.
No one knew where the baby was, but the mother told officers that Steven had picked him up. Officers hurried to Steven and Katie’s home and there they found the baby alone and dead in the home.
No one really knows why this happened, but it’s alleged that Katie called Steven and told him that the relationship was over on April 10, the day before he picked up the baby. This case raises a lot of questions, from the legal implications of incest to the huge ordeal of reconnecting with estranged family members.
Pladl’s lawyer Rick Friedman told WNCN-TV in North Carolina that Mr Fusco and Ms Pladl were shot, and “then Steven took his own life”. “This is a terrible tragedy that nobody foresaw,” Mr Friedman said. “I really believe that if the judges or the prosecutor or the defence attorneys in this case had any clue that the minor child or anyone would be harmed there would not be a bond set for any of the parties,” added Mr Friedman.
It’s a sad and disturbing story, and Steven Pladl’s actions have been condemned by everyone. This case serves as a tragic reminder of the dangers of incest and the devastating consequences it can have on families and communities.
Keep in mind that although I did find the name of Steven’s ex-wife, she would prefer to remain anonymous to protect her other children.
So, what did yall think of this case? Do you think anyone could have done more to try and stop these event? Let me know in the comments below.
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