Polly Hannah Klaas

Polly Hannah Klaas

January 3, 1981 - October 1, 1993

Polly Hannah Klaas was known as being "shy", probably because she moved around a lot. She was an average twelve year old girl with a nice sense of humor. Polly liked to read Archie comics and Judy Blume books. Polly enjoyed taking parts in school plays, and she loved being in the school band. Ironically, Polly had always been afraid of the dark, and often expressed fears of being kidnapped to her father. He always told her that she would be okay, and that he would always be there to protect her. Polly's parents had divorced when she was very young. She lived with her mother and her younger sister, Annie. She often saw her father, and they were very close.

On October 1, 1993, Polly was at her mother's house. She had invited two of her friends over for a slumber party. The girls she invited over were her two best friends, Kate and Gillian. They all played clarinet for their school's band. The twelve year old girl and her friends took turns posing with a Mickey Mouse hat that featured antlers. They also began playing with makeup. Polly put powder on her face and wore black lipstick in an attempt to appear as a ghoul. Polly soon washed off her makeup and she and her friends started to play a game titled "Perfect Match". 

Eventually, Polly and her friends decided they should be going to sleep soon. Polly got up and opened her bedroom door so she could go to the living room to find her friends' sleeping bags. When she opened the door, a strange man stood there. He told the girls "Don't scream, or I'll cut your throats." The girls all did as they were told, and when the man asked who lived there, Polly answered "I do." Later, Kate and Gillian both said that at first, they thought this was some kind of practical joke, as it was the month of Halloween, and Polly was known for pulling jokes.

The stranger told Polly that he was "just doing this for the money". Polly offered him a box that held fifty dollars, but he refused. He told the girls to lie down, which they did. He tied their hands behind their backs, and placed pillow cases over their heads. He told them again that he was just doing this for the money, and that he wasn't going to hurt them. Polly begged "Please don't hurt my mom or my sister.". It was then that the friends recognized the true fear in Polly's voice, and knew this wasn't a joke. The man picked up Polly and told her friends to count to 1,000 before they did anything else. He carried Polly away. Gillian and Kate did not count, however, they immediately struggled to get their hands free. At 10:45 p.m., Kate and Gillian woke Polly's mother and told her what had happened. She immediately called the authorities. 

On November 30, the police arrested a man named Richard Allen Davis for breaking his parole. Upon arresting him, the officer noticed him from the sketches that Gillian and Kate had described as the man who kidnapped their friend. His palm print had also been found at Polly's home. He was charged with the crime, and four days later, he lead police to Polly's body. Polly's remains were badly decomposed, so there is no way to tell how exactly she was killed, but Davis claimed to have strangled her from behind with a piece of cloth. He was tried and convicted for first degree murder.