Dr Phil: Sarah Maynard
Dr Phil talked to Sarah Maynard, a 16-year-old who was traumatized when Matthew Hoffman killed her family and held her captive two years ago. Dr Phil said it was important to not show them the images because he wants Sarah to forget as much as she can.
Sarah Maynard was abducted when Matthew Hoffman killed her mother and brother. He held her in a basement full of leaves.
Sarah and her brother came home from school. They took off their shoes by the door and saw blood everywhere. She ran to call 9-1-1, but Matthew grabbed her and tied her up in the kitchen. She heard running water and the toilet flushing over and over. She knew that he was killing her brother.
He came back and gagged Sarah. He put her in his trunk on top of plastic bags that held her mother, brother and her mother’s friend. Matthew took her to his home, which was covered in leaves. He told her the leaves were to make her more comfortable.
Dr Phil: Sarah Held Captive
For four days, the only thing Sarah was allowed to eat were dead squirrels. She didn’t eat or sleep, constantly thinking about where her family was. Sarah’s father was leading search teams. They rescued Sarah and captured Matthew.
Matthew told them where the other bodies were in exchange for the death penalty being dropped. He had hung them in a tree in the woods. He requested that the tree not be cut down. Matthew was obsessed with trees, hence the leaves all over his home. They did cut the tree down after retrieving Sarah’s family.
Dr Phil: Two Years Later
Sarah’s father said his heart was completely broken. His son was stabbed 10 times and decapitated by Matthew. The detectives believe that Matthew had an infatuation with Sarah that caused him to target her.
Sarah fears that someone else will come after her. She went into counseling the day after being rescued. She sleeps with her dog at night. They adopted one of the search and rescue dogs that assisted in finding Sarah’s mother and brother. Sarah didn’t go back to school for four months. She said the kids teased her about being in the leaves with Matthew.
Her father sleeps with a loaded gun in a recliner. He said he just wants to protect his family from another attack.
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