The girl in this story, born in 1956 in Rochester, Michigan, had a profoundly troubled childhood that foreshadowed her later life of crime. Her father was imprisoned for kidnapping and assaulting a young girl and later died by suicide in prison.

She was left in the care of her maternal grandparents, whose abusive and neglectful behavior added further trauma. Her grandmother struggled with alcoholism, and her grandfather allegedly subjected her to physical and sexual abuse. By the age of 14, she became pregnant as a result of sexual abuse, possibly involving her brother.