Janeen Snyder was 21 when on April 17, 2001, she and her lover, 45-year-old Michael Thornton, kidnapped, tortured, sexually abused, and murdered 16-year-old Michelle Curran. Janeen Snyder and Michael Thornton first met in 1996 when Snyder, who was friends with Thornton's daughter, moved into their home. The two unlikely lovers quickly formed a bond—one that included a lot of drugs and sadistic sex with unwilling young girls.
On April 4, 2001, in Las Vegas, Nevada, 16-year-old Michelle Curran was kidnapped by Snyder and Thornton while she was on her way to school. Over the next three weeks, Curran was held captive, sexually abused, and raped by the couple. On April 17, 2001, the couple trespassed onto a horse ranch in Rubidoux, California where they found a storage shed that was used to store horse equipment. They tied Curran's hands and feet, strapped her to harnesses, violated her again, and then Snyder shot her in the forehead.
The owner of the property discovered Thornton and Snyder in the shed and the police apprehended them as they were fleeing the scene. They were charged with breaking and entering but held on $1 million-dollar bond due to an excess of blood in the shed. Michelle Curran's body was found stuffed into a horse trailer by the property owner five days later. Thornton and Snyder were charged with kidnapping, sexual assault, and murder.
During their trial, two witnesses for the prosecution testified about being kidnapped and raped by Snyder and Thornton. According to their testimony, the young girls were lured by Snyder to Thornton on separate occasions, held against their will, given continuous dosages of methamphetamine, sexually abused, and that their lives were threatened.
A detective for the San Bernardino County sheriff's department also testified that in March 2000, she interviewed a 14-year-old girl who said she'd been held captive for over a month by Thornton and Snyder and that she was afraid that they would kill her if she tried to escape. The young girl thought that she had been sexually assaulted when they gave her heavy drugs that included methamphetamine and hallucinogenic mushrooms.
During the trial's penalty phase, a psychiatric expert who interviewed Snyder testified that she had confessed to the murder of 14-year-old Jesse Kay Peters, the only daughter of Cheryl Peters, a hair stylist who worked for Thornton in his hair salon. According to the witness, Snyder told her that on March 29, 1996, in Glendale, California, she lured Jesse Peters out of her house and into Thornton's car. They took her to Thornton's house and Snyder watched as Thornton handcuffed Peters to a bed and raped her. He then drowned Peters in a bathtub before dismembering her remains and dumping them off Dana Point. Thornton's ex-wife testified that she overheard Thornton talking about dismembering a young girl and throwing her remains into the ocean.
Thornton and Snyder were not charged in connection with Peters' case but both Snyder and Thornton were found guilty and sentenced to death in connection with the death of crimes committed against Michelle Curran.
This information was taken from the thoughtco.com website.