Kidnapping of Colleen Stan
 | This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. (April 2009) |
Colleen Stan is an American woman who was kidnapped and held as a sex slave by Cameron Hooker in Red Bluff, California for over seven years between 1977 and 1984. At the trial of her abductor, her story was described as unparalleled in FBI history.[1] No other person had been kidnapped for such a long period of time and subjected to such isolated confinement and torture.
Facts of the case
On May 19, 1977, Cameron Hooker kidnapped 20 year old Colleen Stan as she was hitchhiking to a friends birthday party. Colleen accepted the ride and felt safe since Hooker's wife, Janice, and their baby were in the car. Once alone in an isolated area, Hooker pulled off the highway and put a knife to Colleen's throat. Earlier, Cameron and Janice had reached an agreement that Janice could have a baby if Cameron could have a sex slave. She had her baby and now he had his sex slave. Colleen had been kidnapped for torture and humiliation while Janice reserved Cameron's love and kindness for herself. There was to be no sex with Colleen according to the agreement, but this was later to change.
After her kidnapping, Colleen was tortured and kept locked in a box 23 hours a day. In January, 1978, Colleen was given a contract and forced to sign herself into slavery for life. Cameron led her to believe that she was being watched by a large, power organization called "The Company" which would painfully torture her and harm her family if she tried to escape. She was assigned a new slave name, "K", forced to call Cameron "Master", and not allowed to talk without permission. Cameron wanted his new slave to be like the woman in the Story of O. Shortly after becoming slave K, Cameron starting raping Colleen in violation of the agreement he had with his wife. The torture and abuse of Colleen never ended. In time, the Hooker family to a mobile home in Red Bluff and kept Colleen locked in wooden boxes under his and Janice's water bed. In 1978, Janice gave birth to a second baby on the water bed above Colleen.
Colleen's faith in God and belief that someday she would be free helped her survive. Colleen's greatest fear was not of Cameron, but of "The Company" which Cameron reinforced on a daily basis. To avoid painful punishments, Colleen tried to be a good slave. In time, Colleen became a trusted slave and was allowed out to jog, work in the yard, and care for the Hooker children alone in the mobile home. Even with an open door, neighbors, and a telephone, fear of "The Company" kept her from seeking help. Colleen was even allowed to visit her family by herself in 1981. While at home, Colleen did not reveal the truth about her situation because of her fear of "The Company" and what they would do to her and her family. Her family thought Colleen must become involved in a cult because of her homemade clothes, lack of money, and absence of communications over the years. Her family didn't want to pressure her fearing she would go away forever. Cameron posed as Colleen's boyfriend and returned the next day for Colleen.
Cameron, fearing he had given his slave too much freedom, took her back to his mobile home and locked her in the wooden box under his water bed. Colleen remained in the box 23 hours a day for the next three years sleeping, dreaming, and praying. The Hooker children were told "Kay" (a form of Colleen's slave name K) had gone home. At night, after the children had gone to bed, Cameron would take Colleen out of the box feed and torture her. It wasn't until 1984 that Colleen was reintroduced to the children and neighbor and allowed to get a job as a maid at a motel. As the children was getting older, Cameron knew things had to change. He wanted Colleen to become his second wife. This was the straw that broke the camel's back.
Janice had also been tortured and brainwashed over the years by her husband. She was both a co-conspirator and a victim herself. She had survived through denial and compartmentalization. By August, 1984, her world was falling apart. Janice went to Colleen and told her Cameron was not part of "The Company." With fear of "The Company" removed, Colleen got on a bus and went home. Colleen didn't go to the police because she wanted to give Cameron, at Janice's request, a chance to reform. However, Cameron continued to show an interest in sadism. Three months later it was Janice, not Colleen, who reported Cameron to the police.
The police, during their investigation, discovered Colleen may not have been Cameron's first victim. Marie Elizabeth Spannake had been kidnapped, tortured, and murdered. Unable to locate the remains of the woman and with no physical proof, Cameron was never changed with murder.
Once back home, Colleen went to school for an accounting degree, married, and had a daughter.[2] She also joined an organization to help abused women. Both Colleen and Janice have changed their last names and continue to live in California. There's no communications between the women. In March, 2009, an updated version of Colleen's story, in her own words, was published under the title "Colleen Stan, The Simple Gifts of Life."
Trial
Chris Hatcher, forensic psychologist and criminal profiler, testified for the prosecution at the start of the 1985 trial.[3]
Hooker was in the end sentenced to consecutive terms for the sexual assaults, for the kidnapping, and for using a knife in the process, for a total of 104 years imprisonment. He will be eligible for parole in 2022.
Janice, Hooker's wife, testified against Cameron at the trial in exchange for full immunity.
In popular culture
The case was documented in a book by the prosecutor [4] and was the inspiration for an episode of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit (Slaves, Season 1). The Stan case is also referenced in Kathy Reichs book "Monday Mourning".
In 1996, American art rock band Elysian Fields released the song "Jack in the Box", on their first album Bleed Your Cedar. The song describes the experience of the box that Hooker kept Colleen Stan imprisoned in under the bed he shared with his wife, and alludes to the power Hooker had over her.
See also
Footnotes
- ^ Green, Jim (2009). Colleen Stan: The Simple Gifts of Life. Dubbed by the Media "The Girl in the Box" and "The Sex Slave". iUniverse. ISBN 9781440118371.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|second=ignored (help) - ^ The Girl in the Box by Free Girl
- ^ Ewing, Charles (2006). Minds on Trial: Great Cases in Law and Psychology. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195181760.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Mcguire, Christine (1989). Perfect Victim: The True Story of "The Girl in the Box" by the D.A. That Prosecuted Her Captor. Dell. ISBN 978-0440204428.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help)
External links
{{subst:#if:Stan, Colleen|}} [[Category:{{subst:#switch:{{subst:uc:}}
|| UNKNOWN | MISSING = Year of birth missing {{subst:#switch:{{subst:uc:LIVING}}||LIVING=(living people)}}
| #default = births
}}]] {{subst:#switch:{{subst:uc:LIVING}}
|| LIVING = | MISSING = | UNKNOWN = | #default =
}}