DOVER – The man found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a minivan alongside a Dover road on Thursday had just killed his daughter, to whom he was also married, and her adoptive father in nearly New Milford, Connecticut.
Police said Steven Pladl, 43, of Knightdale, North Carolina killed the
seven-month-old son he had with his wife/daughter, Katie Pladl, in North
Carolina before driving north and killing the mother Katie and Anthony
Fusco, 56, her adoptive father,.
Police said Steven Pladl’s mother said he was upset because his daughter had broken up with him.
He called his daughter’s adoptive family in New Milford on Wednesday night saying he was going to see them, police in Connecticut said. He shot and killed Katie Pladl and Fusco as they were out running errands.
The murders occurred around 8:40 Thursday morning and New Milford Police issued a bulletin to all law enforcement agencies in the area. A Dutchess County probation officer spotted the minivan and called it in. When several police officers from a number of agencies converged on the vehicle, the motor was still running but Pladl was dead inside.
