Just read about the Guthrie case and those ransom notes—chilling doesn't begin to cover it, honestly. My mother prosecuted a kidnapping case back when I was in law school (briefly, before I came to my senses and switched to architecture), and I remember her coming home some nights looking like she'd aged a decade; the particular cruelty of giving a family hope while knowing the truth... it's a special kind of evil. Makes you hold your people tighter.