What Is Stockholm Syndrome?

By jamie

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4. Mary McElroy

In Kansas, USA, in 1933, Mary McElroy was kidnapped from her father’s home by four men while she was taking a bath. She was then taken to a farmhouse and held hostage while the men demanded $60,000 in ransom. She was chained to a wall in the farmhouse’s basement during her ordeal, and she was eventually released after her captors accepted $30,000.

Three of the men were caught and a trial followed, but McElroy was reluctant to identify them in court, and also expressed sympathy with their families. One of the men was sentenced to death, but McElroy pleaded against the decision and his life was spared.

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