Joyce McKinney is a former beauty queen who made headlines in 1977 when she kidnapped Mormon missionary Kirk Anderson. McKinney alleged she turned him into her sex slave. At the time, the case of the “manacled Mormon” made headlines both in England and in the United States.
Since then, McKinney has made headlines for other behavior, such as purchasing a clone of her favorite dog in Korea and for suing the filmmaker who turned her court case into a documentary. McKinney fled Britain before her trial and because the country made no extradition request, she saw no jail time. This was mostly due to the courts of the time finding the idea of a woman overcoming a man and raping him to be preposterous.
After McKinney kidnapped and imprisoned Anderson, she continued to attract the public’s attention with her fame-seeking behavior and unusual backstory.
Joyce McKinney met Kirk Anderson in the mid-'70s when they were both students at Brigham Young University in Utah. She was studying for her doctorate in drama and had recently converted to the Mormon religion. He was an undergraduate, 19 to her 25-years-old. They became romantically involved and reportedly had consensual sex at least once.
McKinney later claimed this sexual encounter led to a pregnancy and miscarriage. Anderson went to his church to express how he violated his religious belief to wait until marriage before intercourse. Subsequently, he decided to leave the country. McKinney hired a detective to track down Anderson. When she discovered he was in England on his Mormon mission, she followed him there with her friend Keith May.
McKinney Chained Anderson To A Bed With Mink Handcuffs
McKinney confronted Anderson on the steps of a Mormon church. Holding what appeared to be a real gun, she marched him to her car where she and May used chloroform to knock Anderson out. They then drove to a rented countryside home in England. There, she reportedly handcuffed Anderson to a bed with mink-lined handcuffs.
After leaving him tied to the bed for several days - during which she claims Anderson agreed to marry her - McKinney had sex with Anderson several times. After three days, Anderson was able to free himself and flee. He went straight to the police to report the crime and told authorities the sex was non-consensual.
The Tabloids Called Her 'Madam Mayhem,' And She Made A Fortune Off The Press
During the worldwide McKinney tabloid frenzy, the media nicknamed her "Madam Mayhem." British authorities arrested McKinney for kidnapping Anderson, but she did not face rape charges. When McKinney was out on bail awaiting her trial, the young woman embraced the British tabloids. She made a significant amount of money selling her story to them.
She appeared on the covers of the Daily Express and the Daily Mirror at the exact same time, each with similar stories. The Daily Express reportedly paid her 40,000 pounds in cash for her tale.
After McKinney spent three months in London’s Holloway Prison, the courts released her on bail due to her declining mental health. Out of prison, she cashed in on as much of the publicity of the investigation as she could. Then she and her accomplice, Keith May, fled England. They landed in Canada, where they used false passports to enter the country and then the United States.
In order to hide their identities, they disguised themselves as nuns. Their cover was blown wide open when US authorities arrested them for falsifying passports. By then, British authorities had decided not to file extradition charges on McKinney.
McKinney Claimed Her Intentions Were To Deprogram Anderson From The Mormon 'Cult'
McKinney told tabloids that her preparation for the kidnapping included reading books on deprogramming people into leaving cults. She believed she could help de-brainwash “Cult Kirk” through sexual acts.
Reportedly, McKinney believed the Mormon church was a “cult” that had then convinced her "true love," Anderson, to shirk her and run away to England.
She Also Claimed They Used Bondage To Fix His 'Sexual Problems'
McKinney believed in addition to saving Anderson from a cult, she could fix what she alleged to be his sexual repressions. McKinney continuously told the court their sex was consensual:
He was grinning like a monkey [...] I don't have to beg for boys' services. I am a 38-24-36, so I don't beg. I am Miss Wyoming.
She went on to explain to the court how she didn't even derive any pleasure from their encounter, as she was "too busy trying to satisfy him." She claimed the bondage was part of a cure she was using to fix his "sexual problems." Anderson adamantly maintained the intercourse was nonconsensual.
