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The story behind the murders began two years ago when then 18-year-old Katie Fusco Pladl of Dover went on a search to find her biological parents.
She found Steven Pladl, her mother and her siblings near Richmond, Va., and eventually moved in with them in 2016.
But the happy family reunion didn't last long when Fusco, who graduated from Dover High School, and her biological father fell in love and she became pregnant with his child.
The couple married in Maryland and moved to North Carolina.
In July of last year, Fusco posted a photo on her Instagram account, showing the two together with the hashtags #justmarried and #simplewedding.
After authorities were alerted to the situation by Pladl's ex-wife and Katie's biological mother, they were arrested in January and charged with incest. The two were scheduled to appear in Virginia for a hearing on April 23.
According to authorities, Fusco moved back in with her adoptive parents in Dover, after the courts prohibited her from having contact with Steven Pladl. On Wednesday, police said Katie told Pladl that she planned to leave him.
By Thursday morning, they were all dead, including Katie's adoptive father, 56-year-old Anthony Fusco of Dover.
According to North Carolina police, Pladl killed the baby in North Carolina, drove north and found Katie and her adoptive father in New Milford, Conn., where he shot and killed them as they drove in a pickup truck.
New Milford Police Department then put out a call to area agencies to be on the look-out for a light blue mini-van with North Carolina tags.
The vehicle was initially observed by an officer from the Dutchess County Probation Department on Dog Tail Corners Road, east of Berkshire Road in the town of Dover.
Police from the Dutchess County Sherriff’s Office, New York State Police, New Milford Police Department and Connecticut State Police converged on the vehicle found parked with the engine running on the shoulder of the roadway next to the Ten Mile River.
Police emergency service units were called to the scene and found Pladl dead in the vehicle.
Click here to read the February Daily Voice story.
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