Tag Archives: Domestic violence

Stacey M. Kananen: where is she now?

Posted on October 11, 2025 | 2 comments

Fifteen Years Later — Stacey M. Kananen on Survival, Faith, and the Story Behind Monster in the Family

Stacey’s story is about to reach a national audience with the Lifetime TV premiere of Monster in the Family: The Stacey Kananen Story, based on the book she and I co-authored, Fear of Our Father: A True Story of Abuse, Murder, and Family Ties. The movie airs Saturday, October 11.

Whenever I watch a film or series based on a true story, I’m always curious: Where are they now? So, I reached out to Stacey and her wife Susan Cowan to ask how life has taken shape since the trial and how they’re feeling about the movie’s release. I asked them both for their input because, although the title only includes Stacey’s name, Susan was there by her side long before, and remains there after, this nightmare unfolded.

Though we’re no longer neighbors, as we were over the years that this story was playing out, we’ve stayed in touch. I now live in Arizona, and they’re still in Florida. From our past conversations, I know how challenging it has been for Stacey to move forward, particularly in finding stable employment. Her name remains indelibly linked to the accusations of murdering her parents, even though she was found not guilty by a jury of her peers, who reached that verdict in just a few hours.

Unfortunately, employers often recognize her name or discover her story online during background checks, leading to painful assumptions that she “got away with murder.” Despite being qualified for far more, Stacey has frequently been limited to minimum-wage jobs.

The upcoming movie premiere has stirred complex emotions. While its production has been in the works for over a year, the reality of seeing her name in the title and commercials has brought up old wounds.

Still, Stacey and Susan remain grounded in faith, believing—as they always have—that God will see them through. Their prayer is that the movie helps others find hope and seek help.

Susan Cowan and Stacey M. Kananen on their wedding day, 2015

Our Conversation

Where has life taken you since the trial—and how would you describe your life today?

Stacey: Life has been good, but many times a struggle for stability. We now have a small house and are enjoying our little world.

Susan: We’ve been blessed to live in a community that sees us, not the past we’ve been through. We’ve created a happy home and are enjoying life.

What has healing looked like for you in the years since—emotionally, spiritually, and practically?

Stacey:

Emotionally: My emotions can still be a roller coaster—fear, stress, anxiety. Not at home, but in other settings.
Practically: I just get up and function. I deal with many physical issues as I’ve gotten older, caused by years of abuse. You just keep going. Your past cannot win.
Spiritually: I’ve found some peace in a small church we attend.

Susan: We belong to Christ the Cornerstone Church, where we are truly family.

Watch Stacey’s 2023 church testimony

A movie based on your life must feel strange. Will you be watching it yourself?

Stacey: I won’t be watching the movie. Just seeing the title and a short clip sent me emotionally backward.

Susan: I’ll watch it alone, mainly to see how the show portrays the facts.

What do you hope people understand about the real experience behind the dramatization?

Stacey: The pain is real; the story is real. Things like this really happen behind closed doors.

Susan: Until I see the dramatization, it’s hard to answer. But based on other movies, people should remember—what you see on TV is rarely the whole truth.

How did public attention after the verdict affect your sense of identity—and how have you reclaimed your story?

Stacey: Once tried for a crime like this, it becomes part of your identity forever. It’s more like “Guilty until proven innocent.” Even now, 15 years later, I still fight for people to believe in my innocence.

Susan: My own identity hasn’t been affected, but we share our story when we want people to know us—not Google us.

You once envisioned helping others who’ve experienced abuse. Instead, you’ve had to receive help yourself. What has that journey taught you?

Stacey: My therapy journey lasted ten years—intense work with a great therapist and Susan by my side. I wish we’d asked for help sooner. Maybe things wouldn’t have ended the way they did.

Susan: My faith and good friends have always been my strength.

What surprised you most about life after the trial—something you wish people understood about what happens next for survivors?

Stacey: The judgment. The comments about how I was “lucky” to be found not guilty. The total loss of connection with my surviving family. I feel that pain every day.

Susan: The surprise is how, in some people’s eyes, you’re still guilty—simply because you were arrested and stood trial.

For those only just discovering your story now, what do you hope they take away from watching the movie?

Stacey: You never know what goes on in someone’s home. Don’t judge so quickly. And if you’re in an abusive situation, reach out for help. There’s much more support available now than there ever was before.

Susan: The main point of both the movie and the book is that domestic violence is real—and it happens everywhere, in every kind of home. Don’t be afraid to seek help, for yourself or someone you love.

If You Need Help

The National Domestic Violence Hotline offers 24/7 confidential support and connects people with local resources.
RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) runs the National Sexual Assault Hotline and provides survivor support and education.

If you feel moved to take action, consider donating to these organizations—or whichever one speaks most to your heart.

Purchasing Fear of Our Father: A True Story of Abuse, Murder, and Family Ties also supports Stacey and helps her continue rebuilding her life.

📘 Available wherever books are sold.

ALSO READ:

How my book Fear of Our Father became the Lifetime movie Monster in the Family

Lisa Bonnice is the co-author of Fear of Our Father, now a Lifetime Original movie (Monster in the Family). Beyond true crime, her fiction explores the mysteries that shape us—from the humor-and-heart metaphysical comedies A Faery on My Shoulder and The Faery Falls to Castle Gate, a genealogy-based historical novel about ancestral healing and resilience, available in both print and audio.

Lisa hosts the podcast NOW with Lisa Bonnice and writes about the intersection of truth, transformation, and storytelling. Learn more at lisabonnice.com.

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Tagged Abuse, book review, Books, Domestic violence, Fear of Our Father, Lifetime, Lifetime Movie, Monster in the Family, Murder Trial, Ripped from the Headlines, Stacey M. Kananen, The Stacey Kananen Story, True Crime

“Fear of our Father” on Investigation Discovery

Posted on February 18, 2013 | 2 comments

Last September, my co-author Stacey M. Kananen and I traveled to Orlando to participate in our very first (and hopefully not our last) national television show based on Stacey’s incredible life story and our upcoming book, Fear of our Father.

Stacey being hooked up to her wireless microphone.

We’ve had to keep quiet about it until an official airdate was scheduled, and you better believe that was hard to do! The show, which will air March 3, 2013 on the Investigation Discovery channel (also known as ID), is called Catch My Killer.

The show is about cold cases, and they were interested in featuring the Kananen family’s saga because her father was “missing”– buried under the garage floor of the family home–for fifteen years before police discovered that he was dead, killed with a single bullet to the head.

While the reason for the book’s existence is sad and horrifying, participating in the taping of this show was an incredible experience. In case you’re not familiar with Stacey’s story, here is a synopsis (from the book cover):

Even after a childhood of abuse and fear, Stacey M. Kananen was shocked when her brother, Rickie, admitted his guilt in the cold-blooded murder of their terrifying father, and years later, their helpless mother. But the greatest shock was to come—when he claimed that Stacey had helped him.

In 1988, when Rickie and Stacey’s father, Richard Kananen Sr., apparently left their home in Orlando, Florida, the family was so relieved that they never reported him missing. Fifteen years later to the day, their mother disappeared. When police became suspicious, Rickie admitted to Stacey that their father’s body was under the cement floor of their mother’s garage, and their mother was buried in Stacey’s own backyard.

Overwhelmed by grief and horror, Stacey’s brother convinced her that they should commit suicide. After a failed attempt, she woke to discover her brother arrested—along with the realization that he had probably never intended to kill himself at all. But his betrayals were not yet over: On the eve of his trial in 2007, he suddenly claimed Stacey had been in on it, and she found herself charged with murder with a gung ho rookie detective who was convinced she was involved.

This is the tragic and triumphant account of one woman’s struggle to overcome her past, clear her name in what would become a dramatic public spectacle of a trial, and finally escape the nightmares that had haunted her entire life.

Susan Cowan’s interview.

I haven’t seen the show yet, but the production crew was so professional and easy to work with that I’m sure they did an incredible job piecing together all of the interviews with the dramatization of the crimes and Stacey’s trial.

They asked Stacey the hard questions, the same questions that you would want to ask, and she was forthcoming with her responses. It was difficult for her to, once again, relive the abuse, the murders and the trial but she came through like a champ.

The crew gets some “B-roll” footage of Stacey and Susan looking at family photos.

We’re hoping for some big things as a result of this book. Stacey has already been featured on an Emmy-nominated BBC documentary, America’s Child Death Shame, and our fledgling advocacy program, currently called Amnesty From Abuse (that could change, as the program evolves) is an exciting new and holistic way of working with dysfunctional and abusive families.

Stacey’s reasons for writing a book are sort of contradicted by the fact that it’s being published in the “true crime” genre, but the story is so compelling that it’s so much more than just an autobiography. Our intent is that the book will bring attention to the fact that we, as a society, still have not come up with a workable solution to the overwhelming amount of domestic violence that still takes place in our country, where we like to think of ourselves as enlightened and evolved. In some ways, we still have a lot of work to do. I, for one, am thankful that Stacey is willing to set aside her desire to live a private life and step into the public arena in this way.

Fear of Our Father is available for pre-order now. The official publication date is June 4, 2013.

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Posted in Child abuse, Domestic Violence, Fear of Our Father, Stacey M. Kananen, True Crime

Tagged BBC, Catch My Killer, Child abuse, Domestic violence, Investigation Discovery, Stacey M. Kananen, True Crime

The Big Announcement …

Posted on February 25, 2011 | 5 comments

I’ve been dropping hints and teasers for the past couple months about a “secret” project I’m working on. I haven’t been intentionally teasing, I’ve just been so excited that I can’t not talk about it! Keeping quiet has been driving me a little batty, but I understand that everything has its own divine timing and the time had not come, “… the Walrus said, to talk of many things …” Well, the time has finally come.

My friend Stacey and I are working on a project that uses our biggest strengths to their greatest advantage. See, I’m a writer who loves to figure out what makes things tick, and she’s a person who ticks. Stacey Kananen’s family endured decades of horrible abuse by her father, who “vanished” in 1988 when he was shot and buried under the garage floor by her mother, Marilyn, and her brother, Rickie. Fifteen years later, Rickie murdered Marilyn and falsely accused Stacey of helping him. He avoided the death penalty by accepting a plea bargain from an overzealous detective who was convinced of her guilt.

Stacey, as is typical in abusive households, was taught to never reveal the family’s secrets, but she was forced into the spotlight when the story became national news. She spent three years under house arrest at her girlfriend’s family’s nudist resort until her trial, which—to her horror—was televised on CNN’s In Session, in 2010. The circumstantial evidence against her was powerful, and the trial was touch and go until Stacey’s defense attorney—in a flawless, Matlock moment—unearthed a last-minute piece of evidence, overlooked by the detective, that proved Rickie’s story against her was fabricated and that she has been railroaded.

I have five years of experience as a writer/producer for MSNBC.com and I am also Stacey’s neighbor and friend. Stacey and I met in 2004, a month after Marilyn’s body was found buried in her back yard. I watched this story unfold and attended the trial. Now that her privacy has been ripped from her, Stacey has decided to share her story and dedicate her life to advocacy for abused children. If her family had received the help they so desperately needed, her brother would not be in prison and her mother would be alive. The system is obviously broken, and needs new, fresh voices of experience to add their input. Stacey has asked me to help her with this monumental and important task, and I intend to do just that.

The project is finally at a tipping point. We’ve done enough research and have put in enough hours to know that this is something we really intend to do. It’s not just a “wouldn’t it be nice if…” scenario anymore. We’re still at the early stages: the book we’re working on has yet to find a publisher and Stacey has yet to find the right organization with whom to throw in her hat (maybe she’ll start her own!). But in any case, we now feel like we can talk about it to people other than each other and our families.

To that end, I did my first radio interview Tuesday to get the ball rolling and I received a wonderful response. People are fascinated, concerned and very supportive. I can’t wait to see where this path takes us! If you want to follow along, I’ll be posting status updates on Facebook and Twitter, and putting longer updates here on my blog. While you’re at it, why not send Stacey a friend request on Facebook and lend your energetic support to someone who is seriously stepping outside of her comfort zone.