A true story of riveting psychological intensity by the assistant D.A. who prosecuted the captor of "the girl in the box".

Called the "sex slave," and "the girl in the box" case, this is the story behind Colleen Stan’s terrifying, seven-year-long imprisonment by Cameron Hooker as told by the district attorney who tried the case.

Tehama County investigators uncovered the reality of the confinement, including a twenty-pound head box and a soundproof basement workshop. Grounded in police files, the narrative details the fabricated syndicate Hooker used to terrorize his captive into submission.

McGuire tracks the prosecution through the Redwood City courtroom. Too bizarre to be anything but true, it is a tale of riveting intensity and gripping courtroom drama.

Abducted Woman: Details how Hooker engineered a three-by-six-foot wooden box beneath his waterbed, rigged an electric blower for air circulation, and kept Stan hidden while raising two daughters in the same mobile home.
Criminal Psychology: Explores expert testimony on coercive persuasion and captive behavior, explaining how sensory deprivation and fabricated threats forced compliance even when physical restraints were removed.
Criminal Justice: Examines how Janice Hooker broke years of silence by confiding in a local pastor, securing immunity from prosecution before guiding detectives to physical evidence across Northern California.
Criminal Law: Chronicles how an uncharged cold case involving missing eighteen-year-old Marie Elizabeth Spannhake resurfaced during pretrial preparation, threatening to reshape the prosecution's entire courtroom strategy.

Carla Norton