In one of the more bizarre news items to penetrate the horror community in quite some time, an actress and her friend were kidnapped and held for ransom on May 3rd. For the next two days, the duo were subjected to several forms of torture while the captors demanded and arranged for payment. And in a twist that feels right at home in today’s social climate, a picture and moment connected to the aftermath of the kidnapping went viral as social media lurkers blasted the LAPD unnecessarily on various internet channels. It’s a development worthy of the Hollywood big-screen treatment.
Actress Daisy McCrackin, who’s biggest (and most horror-relevant) credit was that of “Donna” in 2002’s Halloween: Resurrection, was targeted and abducted along with actor-friend Joseph Capone. Over the ensuing 48 hours, both victims were mentally and physically abused while their captors demanded a $10,000 bounty. Trips to multiple ATM’s captured the horrific images of the three assailants ordering them around. At one point, the assailants brought McCrackin (who also had roles in 2018 horror films House of Demons and Delirium) back to her house, where she managed to escape and alert police. Unfortunately, Capone (Playing It Cool) bore the brunt of the violence, with injuries described as very serious but not detailed in the indictment, which was filed on June 18th.
The LAPD have the three suspects in custody, and bail has been set at between $1 million and $2 million for each. The trio (Keith Andre Stewart, 32; Johntae Jones, 25; and Amber Neal, 26) all face a minimum of life in prison if convicted of the charges highlighted by felony kidnapping. On Monday, a new development went viral but for the all the wrong reasons. Neal was rearrested during a traffic stop in Los Angeles, and a private citizen’s photograph of her with her hands up and multiple officers with their guns drawn in her direction drew widespread criticism and condemnation about the LAPD’s aggressive tactics from internet and social media groups everywhere. However, the LAPD responded to the outrage on Twitter and let the world know just who the person was and the reason for their actions.
We at HNN and the horror community in general wish a speedy recovery to both McCrackin and Capone as they continue to deal with this awful event. It’s a story made for Hollywood, but unfortunately it’s more for the horror genre than anything.
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