The Kidnapping of Zoe Richards was one of many kidnappings which occurred while Ana Helstrom was herself being kidnapped by her father. Helstrom and her father targeted Zoe Richards, where they tortured her and set her on fire, leaving her for dead. However, she survived the incident.
Background[]
Marduk Kurios married Victoria Helstrom and had two children, Daimon and Ana. He would regularly go out and kill people, and Victoria eventually caught on. One day, Marduk decided that he would take Ana with him on a killing spree, and despite Daimon and Victoria's efforts, Marduk kidnapped Ana and left with her.[3] Ana saw several people get killed, including an incident which led to her watching her father dispose of a body from the backseat of his car.[4]
Kidnapping[]
On a sunny Friday, Zoe Richards was walking to the library when she saw Ana Helstrom, appearing lost. Helstrom asked for help finding her father, and Richards agreed to help look for him. Marduk Kurios then approached the pair, feigning concern for his daughter, and kidnapped Richards. He tortured her, dousing her in gasoline and setting her on fire. Although Ana assumed that Richards died in the fire, she managed to survive, leaving permanent scars on her face[5] which required surgery.[6]
Aftermath[]
E. Scott wrote an article about the incident for The Oregon Examiner, titling it "WOMAN ALLEGES HORRIFIC ATTACK."[6] Although the case was never solved, Louise Hastings obtained a copy of the article and knew that Marduk Kurios was responsible, placing it in a collection of newspapers about other killings which were likely due to Helstrom as part of her study of his children once Ana Helstrom escaped.[3]
Zoe Richards remained too emotionally scarred to talk about the incident with other people for years, only able to open up to support groups after a lot of therapy. Her twin sister, Aubree Richards, became overly protective of Zoe, believing the public to be unwilling to accept someone with her scars.
Twenty years later, Ana Helstrom returned with Daimon Helstrom and Gabriella Rosetti, investigating the possibility that Marduk Kurios had returned. Zoe recognized Ana, so hid while Aubree pretended to be her. Magoth then approached the twin sisters and offered them a chance at revenge against Ana, which the two accepted. Aubree led Ana into a trap, where she could be killed by Basar, but Aubree ended up getting killed instead.
Meanwhile, Zoe tried to set her house on fire and kill herself in the process, although Daimon and Rosetti managed to convince her not to let herself die.[5]
