A MONSTER dad got his daughter pregnant before killing her and their child in cold blood in a horrific crime that is the subject of a new film.

Steven Pladl, 43, suffocated his seven-month-old child Bennett before shooting his daughter Katie and her adoptive father.

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He later committed suicide in Dover, New York, after driving through the night from his home in Knightdale, North Carolina, where police found the body of a baby in a bedroom closet.

Before committing suicide, he called his mother and confessed to his crimes.

His mother made a panicked call to 911, which was released in redacted form by police.

The heinous crimes are now the subject of a Lifetime movie, Husband, Father Killer: The Alyssa Pladl Story, premiering Saturday, October 19 at 8 PM Eastern.

Steven Pladl met Katie’s mother, then 15-year-old Alyssa Pladl, when he was 20, after grooming her over the Internet in 1995.

Alyssa became pregnant at the age of 16 and gave birth to Denise at the age of 17.

Pladl abused their daughter, according to Alyssa, who claimed she would squeeze the child until she was “black and blue” and put her in a cooler until she nearly suffocated.

Fearing for Denise’s life, Alyssa put her daughter up for adoption.

She was adopted by Anthony and Kelly Fusco of Dover, New York, who renamed her Katie Rose Fusco.

In August 2016, when she turned 18, Katie contacted her birth parents via Facebook and ultimately decided to live with them in North Carolina.

Steven and Alyssa separated and Katie grew closer to her father.

In May 2017, Alyssa discovered that Pladl was having an incestuous relationship with his daughter and that Katie was pregnant.

Pladl had two other children, ages six and 11, and Alyssa learned about the relationship after reading one of their diaries.

According to court documents, the Pladl couple’s children were told to call Katie their stepmother instead of their sister.

This really bothers me because no one could have ever predicted this.

Rik FriedmanSteven Pladl’s attorney

She called the police, but Pladl and Katie married in July 2017 in Maryland after lying on their marriage documents by saying they were not related.

She posted a photo on her Instagram account at the time with the hashtags #justmarried and #simplewedding.

Katie gave birth to a son, Bennett, in September 2017, but the following January the couple were arrested on charges of incest.

A judge ordered that Steven and Katie not contact each other, and Pladl’s mother was awarded custody of Bennett.

After Katie was released on bail, she moved back in with her adoptive parents and broke off her relationship with Steven.

SICK CRIMES

On April 11, 2018, Pladl suffocated his son in his Knightdale home.

The child lived with his grandmother, but Pladl had asked that week if he could take the baby home, adding that he and Bennett would Skype Katie that evening, police said.

But police said Pladl called his daughter’s adoptive family that evening and said he was going to visit them.

Pladl spoke to his mother shortly before midnight that evening and said he would take Bennett to see Katie in New York, calling her again the next morning to say he and the baby were almost there.

He then drove through the night from North Carolina to Connecticut, where he tracked down Katie and Anthony, who were driving from Dover to Waterbury to visit Katie’s grandmother.

Pladl killed the couple with an assault rifle on their route in New Milford, Connecticut, before calling his mother.

He later shot himself in Dover after calling his mother.

During the last phone call, Pladl told his mother that he had killed Katie and Anthony.

When asked about his son, he said he killed the child and left him in his house.

In her panicked 911 call shortly afterwards, she told police that her son had said his “wife” had broken up with her.

Bystanders heard gunshots and found Katie and Anthony’s bodies in their car.

Pladl’s body was later discovered on a remote road after he committed suicide with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

AFTERMATH

Katie had expressed her desire to become an artist and shared her work online.

She wrote about her plans to attend community college in the fall of 2016 after graduating from Dover High School.

Rick Friedman, a lawyer who had represented Pladl in his incest case, insisted there was no evidence he could commit such violent acts.

“This really bothers me a lot because no one could have ever predicted this,” said Friedman, who had breakfast with his client just a month before the murders.

“If anyone had even the vaguest idea that anyone was in danger, no bail would have been set,” he continued.

“There was absolutely no prior notice that anything was going to happen to these people.”

Husband, Father, Killer: The Alyssa Pladl Story premieres October 19 at 8/7c on Lifetime.

If you or someone you know is experiencing any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.

If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline on 988, chat at 988lifeline.org or text Crisis Text Line on 741741.