The Girl in the Box: The Story of Colleen Stan, Who Lived in a Maniac's House for 7 Years

It happens that victims of kidnappers or terrorists are so overcome by fear that it binds them tighter than any shackles. In such cases, a special condition called "Stockholm syndrome" can develop. It manifests itself in the fact that victims begin to experience an unusual connection with their captors. People who find themselves in captivity gradually begin to justify the actions of the criminals and even feel something like sympathy for them. This is exactly what happened to American Colleen Stan.

The trial of Colleen Stan's kidnapper was unprecedented. The defendant's defense insisted that the girl had many chances to leave her tormentor's house, but she did not take advantage of any of them. However, even taking these arguments into account, the charges remained in force. As a result, the criminal received the maximum punishment provided by law.

The story should begin with a story about the criminal. Cameron Hooker was born in 1953 in the small town of Alturas, California. His classmates remembered him as a cheerful and sociable boy. But over time, he began to change, and most likely, he was greatly influenced by his family's lifestyle. His parents moved often, which is why Cameron did not have time to get used to a new place and make friends.

When Cameron turned 16, his family settled in the city of Red Bluff. By this time, Hooker had become an unsociable and sullen young man. His tall stature and extreme thinness, glasses and problematic skin did not make the boy popular among his peers. He also had a hard time studying. After finishing school, Cameron decided not to continue his education and got a job at a sawmill.

Cameron spent his time alone, reading pornographic stories and indulging in morbid erotic fantasies. Hooker was especially drawn to stories of BDSM orgies and complete submission. At the age of 19, he met 17-year-old Janice Lashley. She came from a troubled family where she was constantly humiliated and beaten.

Hooker thought she was the perfect person to fulfill his fantasies. He invited Janice to live together and accept the role of a slave. They hit it off, and in 1975 the couple got married. It was a very strange relationship. Cameron beat his wife with his hands, feet and a whip, called her names, and once almost drowned her.

Janice Lashley endured torture for the love of her husband. But his sophisticated fantasies did not please the woman at all. When Cameron suggested kidnapping the girl and making her a slave, the wife agreed. She thought that now she would finally be left alone.

The search for a candidate was short-lived. In early 1977, the couple saw 18-year-old Mary Elizabeth Spanhake hitchhiking on the highway. Cameron and Janice promised to give her a ride, but as soon as the girl got into the van, they put a knife to her throat. They tied up the victim, gagged her, and put a 9-kilogram box with a lock made by Cameron on her head.

At home, Cameron undressed the girl, hung her up and began to beat her with a whip. His wife bravely endured the beatings, which Hooker liked. But the captive began to scream loudly. The enraged maniac shot her in the stomach with a pistol and then strangled her. The next day, Spanhake's wife's body was taken to the mountains and buried there.

Despite the unsuccessful experience, Cameron Hooker was not going to give up on his plan and continued searching. The couple drove along Californian roads, looking at hitchhikers and girls in roadside cafes. Soon, luck smiled on them - they met 20-year-old Colleen Stan on the highway.

The girl was hitchhiking, heading to a friend's birthday party in Eastern California. She had little experience with hitchhiking, and she was nervous. Colleen had already passed two cars whose occupants seemed suspicious. Cameron and Janice's blue van inspired confidence. The couple had recently had a baby girl, and Stan believed that having a baby in the car would ensure safety.

At first, everything went well - the family and their fellow traveler were chatting animatedly. However, as soon as the van turned into a deserted area, Cameron repeated with Colleen what he had done earlier with his victim. The new captive was taken home, hung up, and Hooker beat her with a whip. After that, he had sex with his wife right next to the hanging girl. This was one of his cherished fantasies.

Cameron's wife forbade him from having sex with the prisoner. Over time, he convinced her that fellatio didn't count. Jennice also allowed Colleen to be raped with various objects. Most of the time, when she wasn't being abused, the prisoner lay in a box that Hooker kept under the marital bed.

Often the victim had to lie in the box for 23 hours a day. Colleen even went to the toilet right there. They put a hospital duck inside her, which she moved with her feet when the need arose. In the bedroom of the maniac couple there was a portrait of Mary, killed by Hooker - as a warning to the slave. Colleen was let out only for Cameron's perverted games or to do various household chores.

The girl lying in the box under the bed did not bother the husband and wife at all. In 1978, Janice gave birth to a second daughter at home, on the bed, right above the captive's head. Hooker often talked to Colleen. He intimidated her with stories about a certain powerful organization called "The Company", of which he allegedly belonged. He said that if the girl escaped, the members of the organization would find not only her, but also all her relatives and kill them.

Hooker called his victim by one letter "K", and demanded to be called "master" or "lord". Over time, he came up with a whole set of rules that Colleen had to follow without question. When the maniac was convinced that her will was broken, he began to let her out of the box more often to do various chores around the house. Also, sometimes, at night, the pervert took the girl out into the backyard for a walk, but only on a leash.

A year later, Colleen was almost a member of the family. She only slept in the box at night and spent the rest of the day in the house. She cleaned, cooked, and played with her tormentors' children. She was already allowed to go out into the yard alone, and Hooker shared his plans for the future with her. He wanted to build a special room in the house where several slaves could be kept at once.

The girl had many opportunities to escape or call the police, but she did not. In 1981, Cameron went with Colleen to her parents. He introduced himself as her fiancé and casually communicated with the victim's father and mother. Stan did not pretend that she was kidnapped - she was thoroughly processed with a new portion of stories about a secret organization.

Oddly enough, the girl's parents did not find it unusual that their daughter did not show up at their place. Nor did she find it alarming that her "groom" brought her without any personal belongings, in her pajamas. They later confessed to investigators: they thought that Colleen had joined some kind of sect. The parents did not interrogate her, as they were afraid that she would stop communicating altogether.

After spending one day at Colleen's parents' house, Hooker took the girl back to his place. As a farewell, Father Stan took a photo of the couple. In the photo, the maniac and his victim are standing in an embrace and look like a happy couple. After returning, Cameron began to feel paranoid. He was afraid that the captive would escape.

Because of this, Colleen had to live in a box again. The older children asked where their nanny was, to which Cameron and Janice replied that she had gone home. Stan later said that in the summer the box heated up to 38 degrees, and she was seriously afraid of suffocating inside.

In 1983, the maniac became kinder again. He even introduced Colleen to his neighbors and allowed her to get a job as a maid at the motel. One day, Cameron confessed to Janice that he wanted to make the captive his new wife. Colleen did not object. However, his legal wife was hostile to this idea. She thought about it for a long time, and then finally decided to tell Stan the truth: there was no secret organization, and if the girl escaped, nothing terrible would happen to her.

Janice offered Colleen her freedom and only asked her not to call the police. In the end, Stan made up her mind and left. She called Cameron from the bus stop and said that they would never see each other again. The maniac began to cry right into the phone. Interestingly, the victim did not actually call the police. Cameron's wife did.

When Colleen left, Hooker's attention turned back to his wife. The woman tolerated it, but when the pervert began hinting at their daughters' participation in the games, she could not stand it any longer. She went to the police and told them everything that had happened over the past years, not forgetting the story of the murder.

The police were shocked by what they heard. They were especially struck by the story of a girl who had lived in a box that looked like a coffin for seven years. Janice was exonerated for her confessions and even transferred to the status of a victim. Cameron Hooker was arrested, and during the search they found a box, an entire arsenal of BDSM toys and many photos of Stan being abused. They also found the remains of the unfortunate Mary, hidden in the mountains.

It was these photos that prevented the maniac from escaping responsibility. The lawyers insisted that Colleen was with the tormentors voluntarily. The victim herself behaved distantly in court and seemed not to want the tormentor to be punished. In the end, Hooker was sentenced to 104 years in prison.

Colleen Stan told her story in a book and starred first in a documentary and then in a feature film. Seven years spent in confinement inside the box seriously undermined her health. To this day, the woman suffers from severe back pain. Psychologists helped her recover for a long time, and only thanks to this work was she able to return to normal life.

The woman became an employee of the Redding Women's Refuge Centre, an organisation that helps victims of violence. Colleen's personal life was unsuccessful. She tried to build relationships several times and even got married, but the marriage soon fell apart. She has a son who got into bad company and went to prison for many years. Now the elderly woman considers her only grandson to be the only joy in her life.

Janice divorced her husband and took her maiden name, Lashley. She became a social worker. She never saw Colleen again after the trial. Cameron Hooker applied for early release in 2015, but it was denied. He is currently serving his sentence in a California prison.

Colleen Stan's story is a terrifying example of how fear and psychological abuse can be stronger than physical shackles. Despite the opportunity to escape, she remained captive for many years, believing in a non-existent threat. This case makes you wonder: how strong can the control over the victim's mind be and how to recognize it in everyday life? What do you think about the phenomenon of Stockholm syndrome - is it a justified reaction to fear or deep psychological trauma? Share your opinion in the comments!