Karen Pelletiere
Real Name: Karen Sawatis Pelletiere
Aliases: None Known
Wanted For: Abduction
Missing Since: March 19, 1993
Case
Details: In 1991, Daniel and Karen Pelletiere moved from New York to Boca Raton, Florida, with their young son, William Pelletiere. Nine months later, Karen began to change, becoming forgetful and distracted. In August of 1992, Daniel claimed that Karen's behavior changed to violence, and Karen was diagnosed with viral encephalitis, a brain infection that can induce delusions and violent behavior, usually causing brain damage. Karen was in the hospital for four months, and after her relatives visited from New York, she began to improve physically, but her mental health was still uncertain. When Karen returned from the hospital, she was happy to see her son again, and their life appeared to be back to normal, until Daniel noticed that Karen's mental state began to deteriorate again; she began to want to see her mother and sister, even in the middle of the night. Karen then left to visit her mother in New York, and Daniel feared that she would not come back. Daniel filed for divorce, and on March 19, 1993, David was awarded temporary sole custody. However, David didn't know that Karen had returned to Florida a week earlier, but when she tried to receive custody of William, she was refused because of David's court order. However, two days later, Karen received a court order from a judge who was unaware of the other one. That night, while David was at work, his parents were watching William when police arrived with the court order and took him to Karen. Karen then fled with William to New York and they have not been seen since.
Extra Notes: This case first aired on the November 8, 1996 episode of Unsolved Mysteries.
Results: Captured. In July 1997, Karen was arrested after her attorney decided to turn her in and William was reunited with his father. Karen later went on trial for the abduction in March 1998, but is unknown if she was found guilty or not.
Links: None