The year was 1987 when a chilling kidnapping plot in Illinois ended in the tragic death of a media heir, a case that would resonate through the decades due to its brutality and complex legal aftermath.
A Fateful Night and a Failed Ransom
On September 2, 1987, Stephen Small's life was brutally cut short. The 30-year-old heir to the Mid America Media Group fortune was lured by Danny Edwards, who posed as a police officer. Edwards then contacted Stephen's wife, Nancy, demanding a $1 million ransom for his safe return.
The kidnappers made a total of five calls to the Small family, but the plan began to unravel immediately. The family could not understand the recorded message instructing them where to leave the enormous ransom sum. With the plot falling apart, Edwards made a catastrophic decision that sealed Stephen's fate.
A Coffin in the Earth
In a desperate move, Edwards took Stephen to a forest in Kankakee, Illinois, and buried him alive in a homemade, 6-foot plywood box concealed beneath the sand. In a grim attempt to keep his victim alive, Edwards had equipped the crude coffin with an air pipe, some water, and a light source.
Edwards did not act alone. He coerced his 26-year-old partner, Nancy Rish, into assisting him. The court later heard how Edwards subjected Rish to a vile campaign of domestic abuse and threatened to kill her eight-year-old son if she did not comply with his demands.
Justice and a Controversial Release
Police used phone-tracing and surveillance to apprehend Edwards and Rish days after the murder. Stephen Small had tragically died of asphyxiation. In 1988, both were convicted. Danny Edwards was originally sentenced to death for the murder, a punishment later commuted to a life term. Nancy Rish was found guilty of murder and kidnapping, receiving a 70-year sentence for murder and a concurrent 30-year sentence for kidnapping.
However, the case took a dramatic turn decades later. In February 2022, Rish was released from prison after serving over three decades. Her legal team successfully petitioned the court, arguing she was a victim of intimate partner violence who had been forced into participation under duress.
Kankakee County Associate Judge Brenda Claudio ordered Rish's sentences to be reduced by 50 percent. Rish, who expressed profound grief and apologised to the Small family, was released on parole for three years. The Small family did not object to the 2022 ruling.
This harrowing true crime story remains a stark reminder of a kidnapping plot that went fatally wrong, leaving a legacy of tragedy and raising enduring questions about justice and coercion.
