The Girl in the LeavesThe shocking true crime story of one of the most bizarre mass murders ever recorded—and the girl who escaped with her life. In the fall of 2010, in the all-American town of Apple Valley, Ohio, four people disappeared without a trace: Stephanie Sprang; her friend, Tina Maynard; and Tina’s two children, thirteen-year-old Sarah and eleven-year-old Kody. Investigators began scouring the area, yet despite an extensive search, no signs of the missing people were discovered. On the fourth day of the search, evidence trickled in about neighborhood “weirdo” Matthew Hoffman. A police SWAT team raided his home and found an extremely disturbing sight: every square inch of the place was filled with leaves and a terrified Sarah Maynard was bound up in the middle of it like some sort of perverted autumn tableau. But there was no trace of the others. Then came Hoffman’s confession to an unspeakable crime that went beyond murder and defied all reason. His tale of evil would make Sarah’s survival and rescue all the more astonishing—a compelling tribute to a young girl’s resilience and courage and to her fierce determination to reclaim her life in the wake of unimaginable trauma. |
Contents
Section 18 | 167 |
Section 19 | 177 |
Section 20 | 191 |
Section 21 | 200 |
Section 22 | 209 |
Section 23 | 228 |
Section 24 | 241 |
Section 25 | 250 |
Section 9 | 75 |
Section 10 | 81 |
Section 11 | 91 |
Section 12 | 105 |
Section 13 | 119 |
Section 14 | 126 |
Section 15 | 130 |
Section 16 | 148 |
Section 17 | 157 |
Section 26 | 258 |
Section 27 | 264 |
Section 28 | 275 |
Section 29 | 286 |
Section 30 | 293 |
Section 31 | 300 |
Section 32 | 309 |
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