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The Ties that Bind: The Shocking Incestuous Relationship that Ended in Murder/Suicide
The Groomer
While there is nothing inherently wrong with couples meeting and falling in love online, when one of the parties involved is an adult while the other is a minor, the relationship crosses legal and moral boundaries that ought not be breached. In some cases, as you will soon see, the instigator is infected with a sickness that only grows over time, leaving death and destruction in its wake.
In 1995, a fifteen-year-old girl named Alyssa began communicating online with Steven Pladl, a man five years her senior. Despite the discrepancy in their ages, she was instantly smitten with her long-distance suitor whose good looks and charisma had drawn her to him like a magnet.
After a period of grooming in which she had fallen irrevocably under his spell, the pair met in person and the rest was history. Less than a year after meeting, they were married. By the time she turned seventeen, Alyssa had given birth to their first child, a daughter they named Denise.
The young couple learned early on that the responsibilities of marriage and parenthood were a bit more than they could handle. Barely able to make ends meet, they began fighting on a regular basis. Bad tempered by nature, Steven especially had a hard time coping with…
