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'Unbelievable' true story of serial sex attacker whose 'rape theatre' fantasies inspired by Princess Leia in chains saw him jailed for 327½ years
'Unbelievable' true story of serial sex attacker whose 'rape theatre' fantasies inspired by Princess Leia in chains saw him jailed for 327½ years
Police refused to believe one of Marc O'Leary's victims - until they discovered her picture among a haul of explicit 'trophy' photos on a serial rapist's camera. The shocking case has inspired a new book with a Netflix series currently in production
Serial rapist Marc O'Leary's victims ranged in age from young women to a grandmother - but his M.O. was always the same.
He was smart, stalking his victims for weeks, learning their patterns, plotting their movements.
A former military man, he would even break into their homes without attacking them, as preparation, before choosing his moment to strike.
Wearing a mask, he would hold the women at gunpoint before photographing them with a distinctive camera and threatening to post the pictures online.
But little-by-little, determined cops were inching ever closer to him - and the telling clue that eventually helped ensnare him.
After a three-year reign of terror in Colorado, O'Leary was caught and later sentenced to 327½ years in prison - the maximum allowed by law. He will never be released.
In an interview with police after his conviction, O'Leary recounted his attacks in detail. He described the feeling after raping one elderly victim. "It was like I'd just eaten Thanksgiving dinner," he said.
The extremely disturbing case is now the subject of a Netflix true-crime drama called Unbeliveable. This is the full story behind is controversial investigation in which the first victim was treated like a criminal.
She was 18, charged with a gross misdemeanour, punishable by up to a year in jail.
But her misdemeanour had made the news and made her an object of curiosity or, worse, scorn. It had cost her the newfound independence she was savouring after a life in foster homes. It had cost her sense of worth.
'Unbelievable' true story of serial sex attacker whose 'rape theatre' fantasies inspired by Princess Leia in chains saw him jailed for 327½ years
Police refused to believe one of Marc O'Leary's victims - until they discovered her picture among a haul of explicit 'trophy' photos on a serial rapist's camera. The shocking case has inspired a new book with a Netflix series currently in production
Serial rapist Marc O'Leary's victims ranged in age from young women to a grandmother - but his M.O. was always the same.
He was smart, stalking his victims for weeks, learning their patterns, plotting their movements.
A former military man, he would even break into their homes without attacking them, as preparation, before choosing his moment to strike.
Wearing a mask, he would hold the women at gunpoint before photographing them with a distinctive camera and threatening to post the pictures online.
But little-by-little, determined cops were inching ever closer to him - and the telling clue that eventually helped ensnare him.
After a three-year reign of terror in Colorado, O'Leary was caught and later sentenced to 327½ years in prison - the maximum allowed by law. He will never be released.
In an interview with police after his conviction, O'Leary recounted his attacks in detail. He described the feeling after raping one elderly victim. "It was like I'd just eaten Thanksgiving dinner," he said.
The extremely disturbing case is now the subject of a Netflix true-crime drama called Unbeliveable. This is the full story behind is controversial investigation in which the first victim was treated like a criminal.
Jailed for the maximum amount of time allowed by law, Marc O'Leary will never be freed ( Image: Colorado Department of Corrections)
Ex-military man O'Leary stalked his victims before committing his rapes ( Image: Colorado Department of Corrections)
She was 18, charged with a gross misdemeanour, punishable by up to a year in jail.
But her misdemeanour had made the news and made her an object of curiosity or, worse, scorn. It had cost her the newfound independence she was savouring after a life in foster homes. It had cost her sense of worth.
Each ring of the phone seemed to announce another friendship lost. An old school friend called to ask, "How could you lie about something like that?" Marie - that's her middle name - didn't say anything. Even her foster parents doubted her. She doubted herself, wondering if there was something in her that needed to be fixed.
She had reported being raped in her apartment by a man who had bound and gagged her. Then, confronted by police with inconsistencies in her story, she had conceded it might have been a dream.
Then she admitted making the story up. She had been charged with filing a false report, which is why she was here today, to accept or turn down a plea deal.
The prosecution's offer was this: if she met certain conditions for the next year, the charge would be dropped. She would need to get mental-health counselling for her lying. She would need to go on supervised probation. And she would have to pay $500 (£320) to cover the court's costs.
'Unbelievable' true story of serial sex attacker whose 'rape theatre' fantasies inspired by Princess Leia in chains saw him jailed for 327½ years
Police refused to believe one of Marc O'Leary's victims - until they discovered her picture among a haul of explicit 'trophy' photos on a serial rapist's camera. The shocking case has inspired a new book with a Netflix series currently in production
Serial rapist Marc O'Leary's victims ranged in age from young women to a grandmother - but his M.O. was always the same.
He was smart, stalking his victims for weeks, learning their patterns, plotting their movements.
A former military man, he would even break into their homes without attacking them, as preparation, before choosing his moment to strike.
Wearing a mask, he would hold the women at gunpoint before photographing them with a distinctive camera and threatening to post the pictures online.
But little-by-little, determined cops were inching ever closer to him - and the telling clue that eventually helped ensnare him.
After a three-year reign of terror in Colorado, O'Leary was caught and later sentenced to 327½ years in prison - the maximum allowed by law. He will never be released.
In an interview with police after his conviction, O'Leary recounted his attacks in detail. He described the feeling after raping one elderly victim. "It was like I'd just eaten Thanksgiving dinner," he said.
The extremely disturbing case is now the subject of a Netflix true-crime drama called Unbeliveable. This is the full story behind is controversial investigation in which the first victim was treated like a criminal.
Jailed for the maximum amount of time allowed by law, Marc O'Leary will never be freed ( Image: Colorado Department of Corrections)
Ex-military man O'Leary stalked his victims before committing his rapes ( Image: Colorado Department of Corrections)
Dozens of rape victims lost over £150k in compensation because they have a criminal record
March 12, 2009 Lynnwood, Washington
No one came to court with her that day, except her public defender.
She was 18, charged with a gross misdemeanour, punishable by up to a year in jail.
But her misdemeanour had made the news and made her an object of curiosity or, worse, scorn. It had cost her the newfound independence she was savouring after a life in foster homes. It had cost her sense of worth.
Each ring of the phone seemed to announce another friendship lost. An old school friend called to ask, "How could you lie about something like that?" Marie - that's her middle name - didn't say anything. Even her foster parents doubted her. She doubted herself, wondering if there was something in her that needed to be fixed.
She had reported being raped in her apartment by a man who had bound and gagged her. Then, confronted by police with inconsistencies in her story, she had conceded it might have been a dream.
Then she admitted making the story up. She had been charged with filing a false report, which is why she was here today, to accept or turn down a plea deal.
The prosecution's offer was this: if she met certain conditions for the next year, the charge would be dropped. She would need to get mental-health counselling for her lying. She would need to go on supervised probation. And she would have to pay $500 (£320) to cover the court's costs.
She took the deal.
January 5, 2011 Golden, Colorado
Detective Stacy Galbraith approached a long, anonymous row of apartment buildings that spilt up a low hill in a Denver suburb. Snow covered the ground in patches. She was there to investigate a report of rape.
The woman told Galbraith she was 26 years old. She had been alone in her apartment the previous evening. At around 8am, she was jolted awake by a man who had jumped on her back, pinning her to the bed. He wore a black mask that seemed more like a scarf fastened tight around his face. He gripped a gun. "Don't scream. Don't call or I'll shoot you," he told her.
He moved deliberately. He tied her hands loosely behind her. From a large black bag, he took out thigh-high stockings, clear plastic high heels with pink ribbons, lubrication, a box of moist towelettes and bottled water.
Over the next four hours, he raped her repeatedly. He documented the assault with a digital camera and threatened to post the pictures online if she contacted the police. Afterwards, he ordered her to brush her teeth and wash herself in the shower. By the time she exited the bathroom, he had gone. He had taken her sheets and bedding. She remembered one physical detail: a dark mark on his left calf the size of an egg.
At home, Galbraith's husband, David, had done the dishes and put the kids to bed. Galbraith recounted the day's events. Her husband was used to such bleak stories. They were both cops, after all - he worked for neighbouring Westminster Police Department. This time, though, there was something different. As David listened, he realised the details were unsettlingly familiar.
"We have one just like that," he said.
She does not know if she attended kindergarten. She remembers being hungry and eating dog food. She reports entering foster care at age six or seven.
The report on Marie's life - written by a mental-health expert who interviewed her for five hours - is written with clinical detachment, describing her life before she entered foster care She met her biological father only once. She reports not knowing much about her biological mother, whom she said would often leave her in the care of boyfriends. She was sexually and physically abused.
And after: Adult caregivers and professionals coming in and then out of her life, some distressing or abusive experiences, and a general lack of permanency.
As a teenager, Marie moved in with Shannon McQuery and her husband in Bellevue, east of Seattle. Shannon, an estate agent, and Marie were both "kind of goofy", Shannon says. "We could laugh at each other." Despite all Marie had been through, "She wasn't bitter," Shannon says.
But no matter her affection for Marie, Shannon knew they couldn't keep her, because the foster child already in their home required so much care. Marie left Shannon's home after a couple of weeks to move in with Peggy Cunningham, who worked at a homeless shelter and lived in Lynnwood, a smaller suburb about 15 miles north of Seattle.
Marie was Peggy's first foster child. She remained close with Shannon, who would joke that she and Peggy were raising Marie together - Shannon the fun one (let's go boating), Peggy the disciplinarian (be home by).
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