previous            A–Z            next        Joyce McKinney Pseudonyms:        Cathy Van Deusen        Heidi Krasler        Joey        Katie Vaughn Bare        Lexi Martin        Mrs. Bosler        Mrs. Palmquist Like misfortunes, aliases rarely come singly, especially when a criminal or suspect is on the run, they are changed as often the bearer’s route and disguise. The ideal alias is one that is contained in a stolen or forged passport, which is essential if the criminal escaping to another country.        A story that hit the headlines in 1977, largely because of its lurid details and bizarre nature – combining sex and religion – was that of the 'Mormon Sex Slave Case'. A young Mormon missionary, one Kirk Anderson, claimed to have been ‘kidnapped and held handcuffed and manacled for three days on the orders of a wealthy lovesick woman’. The rich and randy lady in question was Joyce, or Joy, McKinney (1949).        In Utah, the heartland of Mormon America, Joyce met 19-year-old Kirk Anderson, some seven years her junior, from a small town near Salt Lake City. There was a brief fling, and McKinney later claimed that she had miscarried his baby. Overcome by guilt, Anderson, a devout Mormon, apparently sought advice from his bishop, who told him to sever ties with McKinney and move away from Utah.        She was not prepared to be spurned so easily. Private detectives were hired to trace Anderson from the U.S. to Ewell in Surrey, where he was living as a door-to-door Mormon missionary. In the summer of 1977, McKinney flew to England with an architect friend called Keith May. Armed with an imitation revolver, May confronted 21-year-old Anderson on the steps of Ewell's Church of the Latter Day Saints, and frog-marched him to a car in which McKinney was waiting. Chloroformed and hidden under a blanket, the Mormon was driven some 200 miles to Okehampton, where his kidnappers had hired a 17th-century 'honeymoon' cottage for £50 a week.        May chained the prisoner to a bed. And for two days, McKinney tried to persuade the missionary to marry her and father her children. She even read Scriptures with him in bed. When this failed to melt his opposition, McKinney reverted to Plan B. This involved slipping into a 'see-through nightie', playing a cassette of 'romantic music', having Anderson 'spread- eagled' and sexually stimulating him. She claimed this was a bondage 'game' played with his full consent. He later told a court: 'I couldn't move. She grabbed the top of my pyjamas and tore them from my body until I was naked. 'I didn't wish it to happen. I was extremely depressed and upset after being forced to have sex.' This rape occurred three times.        Fearing he would be kept prisoner for weeks, Anderson agreed to marry her. But after she loosened his chains, he escaped and went straight to the police. McKinney and May were arrested at a roadblock three days later and charged with false imprisonment and possessing an imitation firearm. McKinney spent three months on remand in Holloway Prison - before being released on bail on grounds of her failing mental health. Now the case, which had already become a worldwide cause celebre, was about to be given a new lease of life with a sensational twist. McKinney met the similarly bailed May and the pair fled to Canada, using false passports and disguised as deaf-mute mime artistes. It was later alleged that McKinney was helped to escape by her former landlady, an Irish woman, who went with her to a West End theatrical outfitters. There, they bought the wigs and glasses, which were later, used in their flight from justice.        Among aliases used by McKinney in forged passports were Mrs. Bosler, Katie Vaughn Bare, Cathy Van Deusen, Heidi Krasler, and Mrs. Palmquist. Travelling with her as her supposed husband was Keith Joseph May, a.k.a. Bob Bosler, alias Paul van Deusen.        Miss McKinney was something of an old hand at assuming a different name, it seemed. She has previously appeared as a model in a girlie magazine as Lexi Martin, and had advertised herself (‘Gorgeous Former ‘Miss USA’ Contestant Desires Work!’) in the ‘Los Angeles Free Press’ as Joey. Sources: Room, A. (1981), ‘Why Another Name?’, Naming Names, p.11 ‘A cloned dog, a Mormon in mink-lined handcuffs and a tantalising mystery’, Mail Online, retrieved 18 September 2013 previous            A–Z            next