When longtime Orlando couple, Marilyn Theresa and Richard Alfred Kananen Sr., vanished fifteen years apart, no one could have guessed the two disappearances were connected.
The mystery that began in 1988 would not unravel until later in 2003, when both parents’ remains were found buried in separate properties tied to their children. The shocking discovery exposed years of deceit, hidden abuse, domestic violence, and family tragedy that even seasoned investigators struggled to comprehend.
Who Were Marilyn and Richard Kananen Sr.?
Before their names became linked to one of Florida’s most disturbing family murder cases, Marilyn Theresa Regan and Richard Alfred Kananen Sr. were an ordinary couple with New England roots.
Richard Sr. was born on October 15, 1933, in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts, and spent much of his life in hard labor, including work at General Dynamics Shipyard in Quincy. His future wife, Marilyn Theresa Regan, entered the world on March 19, 1938, in Boston, Massachusetts. The two met around 1954, married soon after, and eventually relocated to Florida, where they had and raised three children; Richard Jr., Stacey, and Cheryl.
But neighbors later described their home as far from peaceful. Richard Sr. was said to have a violent streak, known for his “explosive temper” and destructive outbursts. Family accounts alleged he even set their home on fire twice, once with Marilyn and Cheryl still inside. Then, on September 10, 1988, he vanished; and no one ever filed a missing persons report.
When Did Marilyn Kananen Go Missing?
By the mid-1990s, Marilyn Kananen seemed to have rebuilt a normal life. She worked in the finance department at Delta Connection Academy, a position she held from 1995 until her disappearance in 2003.
On September 10, 2003, the same date her husband had disappeared fifteen years earlier, the 65-year-old failed to show up for work. Concerned coworkers contacted her daughter Cheryl, who filed a missing persons report. Detectives soon uncovered a troubling detail: her husband had never been reported missing either.
How Were Marilyn and Richard Kananen’s Bodies Found?
Three months into the investigation, on December 23, 2003, police made a gruesome discovery. At 859 Okaloosa Avenue in Orlando; a home tied to Stacey Kananen, investigators found Marilyn’s remains buried in a five-foot-deep grave. Her body had been wrapped in plastic and sealed with tape to conceal decomposition. The medical examiner determined her cause of death was suffocation.
That same day, detectives searched another family property; 7611 Alachua Street, where they unearthed Richard Kananen Sr.’s skeletal remains, hidden beneath the garage floor since 1988. His cause of death was never officially confirmed, but investigators were certain both killings were connected.
Who Killed Marilyn and Richard Kananen Sr.?
The investigation soon turned inward; toward Richard Alfred “Rickie” Kananen Jr., the couple’s son. He had been staying with Stacey around the time of Marilyn’s disappearance.
Detectives learned that Marilyn had continued cashing her husband’s Social Security checks for 15 years, accumulating an alleged $100,000 debt to the IRS and Social Security Administration.
Rickie Kananen and Stacey Kananen had also held a yard sale, selling off Marilyn’s collectibles and later transferring $60,000 from her trust fund into Rickie’s personal account.
The turning point came when a family relative told police that Rickie had once bragged about shooting his father. Investigators began surveillance; but before they could act, tragedy struck again. On December 23, 2003, officers found both Rickie and Stacey in a storage unit, attempting suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning.
Inside were suicide notes; each blaming the other for their parents’ murders.
Rickie Kananen later confessed to killing his mother and led police to her grave. He was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in Marilyn’s death and later with his father’s. After years of shifting statements, he accepted a plea deal, pleading no contest to manslaughter for his father’s death and second-degree murder for his mother’s.
On May 1, 2007, he was sentenced to 15 years for the first count and 30 years for the second; the terms to be served concurrently.
Was Stacey Kananen Involved in Her Parents’ Murders?
Authorities suspected Stacey Kananen’s involvement early on, largely due to her brother’s testimony and their shared suicide attempt. But when her trial began in 2007, her defense presented a story of lifelong abuse and manipulation.
After three years of legal proceedings, on March 12, 2010, Stacey Kananen was acquitted of all charges. Her case was later featured on CNN’s “In Session” and detailed in her 2013 memoir, “Fear of Our Father,” which inspired Lifetime’s 2025 film, “Monster in the Family: The Stacey Kananen Story.”
