Murder of Amanda Froistad

The murder of Amanda Froistad refers to the 1995 murder of five-year-old Amanda Froistad by her father Larry Froistad, and the subsequent events that led to his conviction. Since the father confessed to the crime on an email list with two hundred readers, yet few saw the need to report him, this incident has been seen an example of what has been called an online version of the bystander effect. In addition, the incident has been described as a notable example of child welfare failing to protect a vulnerable child. Background: In mid-1994, Amanda's aggressive conduct at daycare concerned her providers. Amanda's mother, Ann Purdy, took her to a counselor to find out why she was acting that way. The first thing Amanda told the counselor was that she was being molested by her father, Larry Froistad. The counselor, as required by law, reported the molestation to South Dakota's Child Welfare Agency. Because the molestation happened in another state, North Dakota, and because of bureaucratic incompetence, the case was not correctly followed up with the authorities, and Larry was not punished nor denied access to his daughter even though he sexually abused her. Incident: In 1995, heavily inebriated Larry Froistad set his house on fire while five-year-old Amanda Froistad was trapped inside. He then climbed out the window. His daughter started screaming; after a while, the screams stopped. Larry then entered the house again, picked up his daughter, and put her outside the house. He then called the police and pretended to be upset over his daughter's death. Even though the death seemed unusual, the police did not prosecute Larry because the police personally knew Larry and could not believe he would murder someone. Confession: In 1998, Froistad posted a confession of his murder on an online email list. There were many different responses to his email. Some said it was a long time ago and some said he was fantasizing this as a result of feeling guilt over his divorce. Only three of the approximately 200 members of the email list reported the confession to legal authorities. The incident has been studied as an online version of the bystander effect. Larry Froistad had also confessed to molesting his daughter to an online group of pedophiles. Sentencing: In a plea deal, Larry Froistad pleaded guilty to both murder and child molestation. He was sentenced to 30 years of prison time. He will be eligible for parole in 2024. Reaction: Professor and author Jeffrey Schaler expressed dismay over the failure of leadership of the online group Larry confessed on (a group called Moderation Management for people with drinking problems who try to drink moderately) to condemn member Larry Froistad after he admitted his murder in 1998. Because of the Froistad murder and subsequent controversy, Schaler recommended that psychiatrists let their patients know early on that knowledge of a felony involving direct harm to others would cause the presumption of doctor patient confidentiality to be waived.