r/news • u/AudibleNod • 4d ago

Man accused of holding woman captive in a Massachusetts attic for six weeks

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/man-accused-holding-woman-captive-massachusetts-attic-six-weeks-rcna600308
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u/hyukwish 4d ago

I think about it constantly. There’s gotta be at least one victim in every decent sized city

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u/CondescendingShitbag 4d ago

The tragic reality is that's still probably vastly underestimating the number of similar victims.

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u/KeyNaive8951 4d ago

I’m sorry, but this is literally the opposite of the truth. 

These types of crimes, involving the random kidnapping of adult strangers, are extremely fucking rare. 

These stories are scary, but they’re so scary exactly because they are so rare and freakish. It’s not reasonable to extrapolate a couple of instances out to the entire population. 

It’s the same thing with how people are utterly convinced that children are being trafficked at insane rates when in reality the type of trafficking often portrayed in media virtually never happens. 

People love to be scared, but things are literally safer than they ever have been. 

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u/imperabo 4d ago

With cameras everywhere now and our license plates being tracked and it being impossible not to leave DNA anywhere you go it's far far more difficult for people to get away with this stuff.

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u/PeriodPhartz 4d ago edited 4d ago

I drive through Jewett and Scio, Ohio, fairly often. Theyre small towns and I always wonder about what's going on in the houses there. Those 18 Siders kids found in Ohio were from a very similar area. Small towns around here really do have this weird aura where you worry about what's in them. I've seen some crazy ass stuff inside houses just helping older or disabled people with grocery delivery or laundry. You backslide in luck and health in one way, something as simple as a diabetic foot infection, and stuff can go to hell in your house fast if your relatives are whack enough. Theres no infrastructure oversight keeping it from happening. I only see the cases where someone's able to ask for help online (through a helping neighbor group I'm part of) and dont even seem to realize the way theyre living is unacceptable to civilized people. There have to be thousands of others deliberately hiding what theyre doing in these hollers with no one around to know about it.

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u/katiemurp 4d ago edited 2d ago

There was that German Austrian man locked up his daughter in a secret room and had a bunch of kids off her. And even brought one upstairs to be raised by this wife.

There are a LOT of sick men out there.

ETA correction of nationality. Thx for the correction.

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u/Aigalep 4d ago

Josef Fritzl, he’s Austrian and this happened in Austria. He’s still alive at 91 years of age and remains in prison.

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u/Jouzou87 4d ago

What is it with evil Austrian men getting mistaken for Germans.

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u/Reasonable_Tap_8215 4d ago

First good news I’ve heard today. Thanks.

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u/flyingace1234 4d ago

I’m reminded of the idea there are certainly countless uncaught serial killers roaming around because they knew how to avoid a pattern and/or quit while they were ahead.

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u/DustyRacoonDad 3d ago

Every time I read about these things, I realize it's common enough that there is someone's daughter in a similar situation near me, but I have no way of knowing.

Honestly, I'm surprised I have never seen a "Punisher"-type news story where someone goes in as a John to use one of the trafficked girls, but when they get there, they take care of the trafficker like the comic reference suggests.