“I can’t even believe this is happening.”
So said the woman heard on the 9-1-1 call made on the morning of April 12, 2018, and obtained by North Carolina’s WNCN-TV.
The voice on the recording belonged to the mother of 43-year-old Steven Pladl, who, according to police, phoned his mom and confessed to killing three people before fatally shooting himself. All of which sounds like a nightmare, but the identity of the victims and the disturbing series of events that led up to the slayings make the story all the more horrifying.
The deceased included Steven’s 20-year-old daughter Katie Pladl and her 7-month-old son Bennett Pladl. Police said Steven was Bennett’s father, which had resulted in both he and Katie being charged with incest several months before the murders. Also among the dead was Katie’s adoptive father, Anthony Fusco, 56.
“Events like this are not common in our community,” Knightdale, N.C., Police Chief Lawrence Capps told reporters at the time. “Unfortunately, they are not uncommon in society. We are heartbroken and saddened over the death of this child, and like you, we are trying to make sense of all the factors that led up to this senseless taking of life.”
As evidenced by the podcasters and TikTok sleuths who’ve been revisiting the case ever since, people are still trying to make sense of it all.
