Naman Shrestha
The Jessica Harmon directorial, Lifetime’s ‘Monster in the Family: The Stacey Kananen Story,’ is adapted from the memoir ‘Fear of Our Father: The True Story of Abuse, Murder, and Family Ties.’ Based on the life story of Stacey Kananen, it focuses on her traumatic childhood and how she was pulled into the murder investigation of her mother, Marilyn Theresa. Her brother, Richard Kananen Jr., killed their mother on his own, but told the authorities that Stacey was an accomplice.
Richard Kananen Jr. Killed Both His Parents in a Gap of 15 Years
Born on April 18, 1956, to Marilyn Theresa and Richard Alfred Kananen Sr., Richard “Rickie” Alfred Kananen Jr. was raised in an unstable household alongside his sisters, Cheryl and Stacey Kananen, in Orlando, Florida. As per his accounts, his father was physically violent and abusive towards him, his sisters, and his mother. He also claimed that his father used to lock him in the closet every once in a while. Rickie also believed his mother could have done a better job of protecting him and his sisters from the abuse. In order to get back at his father for giving him a traumatic childhood, Rickie reportedly killed him in September 1988 and buried his remains under the garage floor of the Kananen house.
The rest of the family members believed that Richard Kananen Sr. had disappeared and didn’t bother to file a missing persons report. After a long period of absence from his family’s life, he reunited with his mother and sisters after the passing of his grandfather, Lawrence Regan Sr., in November 2002. At the time, Rickie moved into Stacey’s house on Okaloosa Avenue in Orange County, Florida, where she resided with her roommate, Susan. A few months later, in September 2003, he ended up killing his mother, Marilyn, and buried her remains in a shallow grave in the backyard of Stacey’s house. When his sisters noticed that their mother had gone missing, they reported her missing.
Richard Kananen Jr. Eventually Confessed to Killing His Mother
It turned out that Marilyn had been collecting her missing husband’s Social Security checks for 15 years, which meant she owed Social Security about $100,000 for the checks. Thus, when Rickie was asked about Marilyn’s sudden disappearance by Cheryl, he reportedly told her that she had run away in order to avoid facing legal consequences for drawing money from their father’s account. After killing his mother, he transferred about $60,000 from her trust fund into his own account. According to neighbors, he and Stacey also held a yard sale where they sold Marilyn’s belongings.
When the detectives suspected Rickie and Stacey’s involvement in their mother’s disappearance, they questioned the siblings. Soon after the interrogation, the two suspects tried to take their lives by carbon monoxide poisoning, but were interrupted by the detectives. In December 2003, they were taken into custody, and this time, Rickie confessed to killing his mother and burying her remains in Stacey’s backyard. He also implicated Stacey, claiming that she was also involved in the killing with him. The detectives also recovered the buried remains of Richard Kananen Sr. from the Kananen house’s garage. Ricki was eventually charged with first-degree murder in the death of his mother.
Richard Kananen Jr. is Currently Incarcerated at a Florida Prison Facility
In May 2007, Richard Kananen Jr. pleaded no contest to manslaughter in connection with his father’s murder and second-degree murder in his mother’s death. In return, he agreed to testify against his sister, Stacey, during her trial. Thus, on May 1, Rickie was sentenced to 15 years in prison for killing Richard Kananen Sr. and 30 years for killing his mother, Marilyn. Both sentences were ordered to be served concurrently. On March 2, 2010, he took the stand during Stacey’s trial and testified against her.
He claimed that Stacey and he had discussed killing their mother for several weeks before the fateful day. As per his accounts, while she tased Marilyn, he suffocated her with a bandana. He testified that after killing her and burying her remains, they allegedly got access to her bank accounts and transferred thousands of dollars to their names. Despite his testimony, Stacey was found not guilty by the jury and acquitted of the crimes. As of today, Rickie is serving his sentence at Zephyrhills Correctional Institution in Zephyrhills, Florida, with his release date scheduled for June 2029.
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