Man Kills Daughter He Impregnated, Their Son, Her Adopted Dad, and Himself

Early on the morning of April 12, 2018, 911 operators in North Carolina received a devastating phone call from a woman claiming her son fatally shot three people and then turned the gun on himself.

“I can’t even believe this is happening,” the woman’s shaky voice says to the operator. Her son, 43-year-old Steven Pladi, confessed to her by phone that he had just killed his daughter-turned-wife, their seven-month-old son, and her adoptive father.

“My son just called me and, ah, he told me he.. oh my God. He killed his baby and he’s in the house,” the woman told the operator. “His wife broke up with him yesterday over the phone,” she continued. “She’s in New York and he told me he was on his way and after bringing the baby to her and then he was coming back.”

Pladi’s mother had custody of Bennett, her grandson/great-grandson, and Steven’s son/grandson. Steven picked up the baby from her home that fateful April morning, saying he was taking baby Bennett to his mother’s house.

Bennett’s mother was Katie Pladi, Steven’s wife and biological daughter.

Katie Meets Steven and Alyssa

Steven and his wife Alyssa, Katie's biological mom, placed the baby up for adoption at eight months old. Her name was Denise before the adoption. Alyssa placed Denise for adoption because she felt that Steven was abusing her and wanted her to be with a loving family.

Steven and Alyssa stayed together. They had two more children, although they were far from an ideal couple.

Katie lived a good life with her adoptive parents. She was happy, and healthy, and had a bright future ahead of her. And then, curiosity about her biological family took her on a downward spiral that ultimately led to her murder.

In 2016, 18-year-old Katie Fusco reached out to Steven and Alyssa because she was curious about her biological family. Katie lived a good life with her adoptive parents, Anthony and Kelly Fusco she found her biological parents online. She loved to draw, always smiled, and planned to attend college to pursue a degree in digital advertising. Soon after reconnecting online, Katie relocated to Henrico County, VA, to meet and live with Steven and Alyssa.

Alyssa claims she was open with Katie and told her Steven had abused her as a baby, which she told her was the reason they gave her up for adoption. She also told Katie that Steven had physically abused her in the latter part of their relationship. None of this swayed Katie away from her father.

Steven started sleeping on the floor in Katie's bedroom about six weeks after she moved into the home. Alyssa questioned Steven, who told her to mind her own business.

Alyssa & Steven Split; He Marries Katie

By November 2016, Alyssa and Steven legally separated, and she moved out of the home, leaving her daughter -and her suspicions of abuse- behind.

In May 2017, Alyssa read her 11-year-old daughter’s journal during a visit. In those pages, Alyssa learned Katie was pregnant by Steven. Alyssa learned Steven told her 11 and 6-year-old daughters to refer to her as stepmom, not sister. Alyssa called Steven after reading the journal. She says he admitted that he and Katie were married and she was pregnant with his child.

Alyssa called the police.

Records showed Katie and Steven obtained a marriage license using falsified paperwork on July 20, 2017, in Parkton, MD.

Steven's mother and Katie's adoptive parents stood beside them as they took their vows.

She gave birth to Bennett on September 1, 2017. The couple then moved to Knightdale N.C. where they were arrested by Virginia police on Jan. 27, 2018, charged with contributing to the delicacy of a minor, incest, and adultery. Bennett then went into Steven’s mother’s custody, and Katie moved back home to Dover, New York, with the parents she’d known her entire life.

Katie and Steven had a court appearance on April 23, 2018.

Steven Kills Three, Turns Gun on Himself

Police found Katie and her adoptive father dead inside his pickup truck in New Milford, Connecticut early on the morning of April 12 after responding to multiple reports of gunfire.

A few miles from the crime scene, a probation officer spotted a blue Honda Odyssey matching the vehicle Steven owned idling along a highway. Emergency services approached the vehicle, finding Steven slumped over in the seat, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. They found an assault-style rifle in the vehicle, the same weapon that killed Katie and Anthony.

At around 9:00 a.m. on the same day, officers found Bennett’s body in the home Steven and Katie shared before she returned to New York. Police believe he had been strangled to death.