Credit: Netflix

Netflix’s licensing partnership with Lifetime movies just brought yet another gripping title based on a true crime, Husband, Father, Killer: The Alyssa Pladl Story, this week. But if you’re unable to trace its real-life origins and are still curious about what really went down with the people involved, let us take you in on it.

Husband, Father, Killer: The Alyssa Pladl Story is a tale ripped from the headlines that revisits the stranger-than-fiction true story of Alyssa and Steven Pladl amidst their chaotic divorce when they’re contacted by their biological child, Katie, whom they gave up for adoption 18 years ago.

Although the reunion seemed like an opportunity for reconnection, their lives ultimately took an incredibly dark turn when Steven and Katie got involved in a relationship together.

The Lifetime movie is based on San Antonio native Alyssa Garcia’s true story, who met 20-year-old Steven Pladl online in 1995. Back then, she was only 15, and Steven lived across the country on Long Island, New York. Two years into their relationship, Alyssa moved in with Steven at his place in New York, and she soon gave birth to a baby girl, whom they named Denise.

But not long after the birth, Alyssa began noticing Steven’s unsettling behaviour towards Denise, ultimately leading to her decision to give up the eight-month-old for adoption. Following her adoption, Denise’s adoptive parents, Kelly and Anthony Fusco, renamed her Katie. And eighteen years later, in 2015, Katie decided to look for her birth parents.

Excited about the reunion, the Pladls invited her to their Virginia home during their ongoing divorce, and the meeting went so well that Katie chose to delay her college plans to move in with the family. However, just as she began warming up to the Pladls, through manipulation and coercion, Steven convinced her to engage in an incestuous relationship.

But it was only after the divorce was finalised and the other children, along with Alyssa, moved out that Steven and Katie got married, eventually relocating to North Carolina. At the time of their marriage, Katie was expecting. However, after discovering the pregnancy, Alyssa finally reported Steven to the authorities in 2018, leading to their arrests for incest and adultery.

The court ordered Katie to move back with her adoptive parents following the arrest, and the custody of Steven’s child was allotted to the latter’s mother. Although Steven posted bail, he was barred by the court from communicating with Katie, resulting in their breakup. But engulfed by misplaced rage over hitting rock bottom with his second marriage, Steven suffocated their seven-month-old son before fatally shooting Katie and her adoptive father on their way to her grandmother’s place.

After committing the crimes, Steven rang his mother, admitting to the killings, and she didn’t waste time reporting to the authorities. However, he killed himself right after.

As for Alyssa? She currently lives a private life, although she gave plenty of interviews in 2018, hoping to spread awareness about the case.