A story that sounds like something out of a horror film is that of Thadius ‘Thad’ Phillips, a 12-year-old boy who was kidnapped by a sadistic monster and tortured for 43 hours. This monster was 17-year-old Joseph ‘Joe’ Clark, better known as the Bone Breaker of Baraboo. The terrifying drama took place in July 1995 in the tranquil town of Baraboo in the US state of Wisconsin. In the early hours of 29 July 1995, 12-year-old Thad Phillips disappeared without a trace from his home and fell into the hands of a ruthless kidnapper. What followed were many hours of pain and torment until, through a combination of courage and sheer will to survive, Thad was finally able to escape from the clutches of his tormentor after three failed attempts to escape. On that summer day, Thad spent the evening with his family. They had been out for dinner, his parents, himself and his three younger siblings. Afterwards, back at home, Thad and his youngest sister had made themselves comfortable on the sofa to watch television together. It was a perfectly ordinary evening – until Thad’s life took a shocking turn. Late at night, Thad woke up with a start. He was being carried, but his foggy mind initially assumed it was his father putting him to bed as he often did. However, the person carrying him left the house, and something about the situation felt strange. Despite his unease and initial confusion, Thad failed to recognise the impending danger. In the darkness of the night, he did not notice that the man carrying him was a stranger. The unknown man pretended to be a friend of the family who needed help. Thad, unsuspecting and dazed from sleep, willingly followed him into the cool night air. The two eventually entered a dilapidated house about half a mile away that was completely littered with rubbish. The stranger, who called himself Joe, wanted to show Thad his model cars upstairs in the room. When they got there, however, Joe immediately pushed him onto the bed. What followed was the beginning of a cruel series of tortures that culminated in the perfection of pain. He twisted Thad’s ankle until it broke and splintered. Joe did this with apparent ease, as if it were a macabre game he had played many times before. Afterwards, Joe buried his face in his hands. Thad seized this opportunity, jumping up from the bed and trying to escape. He made it down the stairs to the kitchen, but Joe caught up with him there. He choked Thad and dragged him into the living room, where he threw him onto the sofa. Then he began his torture again. He grabbed Thad’s right leg and pressed it with all his might towards his head. Joe shifted his entire weight onto it until Thad’s leg was above his head and his thigh bone broke. The thigh bone is known to be the strongest bone in the human body, protected by several layers of muscle. To break it, 4000 newtons of force are required, which is equivalent to over 400 kilograms. This highlights the incredible brutality of Joe, who was addicted to the sound of breaking bones. Joe was a ruthless sadist who had already committed similar acts. During the ordeal, Joe switched back and forth between brutal abuse and uncomfortable normality, as if nothing had happened. This schizoid duality confused Thad and reinforced his helplessness. The endless hours of torment were not only a physical ordeal; Joe also manipulated Thad’s mind, playing with his hopes and fears. Even when Thad was given the opportunity to call his parents, it was just another perfidious game by Joe, because the phone had been disconnected. After Joe had first tortured Thad on the sofa and then watched television with him as if nothing had happened, he dragged him back to his room upstairs and threw him on the bed. Thad fought back fiercely, but Joe was too strong, grabbing his left ankle and twisting it until it broke and splintered. During this ordeal, Thad was not allowed to scream or fight back, as Joe threatened to break his neck or back. Afterwards, Joe left the house, but his car would not start. This made him so angry that he kept going back to Thad’s room to continue torturing him. After the torture, Joe tried to treat the injuries by making a kind of plaster cast out of white socks, only to torment Thad again afterwards. Despite the tremendous brutality and monstrosity that befell him, Thad retained his fighting spirit. He repeatedly tried to escape from Joe, even though his broken limbs made every step a torture. He did not give up despite three failed escape attempts, even though Joe tortured him even more severely afterwards. When Joe wanted to leave the house again to attend a party, he locked Thad in a cupboard. When Thad heard that Joe had left, he desperately searched for something to break open the locked cupboard. He found a guitar and hammered on the door with it until it gave way. He managed to unlock the door and crawl out of the cupboard. He dragged himself to the stairs and threw himself headfirst down them, then lost consciousness. After he came to, he dragged himself with his shattered legs to the kitchen, where there was a telephone on the wall that still worked. With his last ounce of strength, he dialled the emergency number and alerted the police. They found Thad lying in the kitchen and he was immediately taken to hospital. A short time later, the police arrested Joe Clark. Thanks to his detailed statements, investigators were also able to solve the disappearance of another boy, which exposed Joe’s further criminal activities. During Thad’s ordeal, Joe had told him about two other boys he had tortured and killed. However, Thad could only remember the name Chris Steiner. This 14-year-old boy had been found dead in the Wisconsin River on 10 July after disappearing from home without a trace for five days. Despite his leg injuries, his death was classified as a tragic accident due to drowning for unexplained reasons. Following Thad’s statement, his body was exhumed. The autopsy revealed that he had similar leg and ankle fractures to Thad. The police then searched Joe Clark’s home and found a diary. It contained a kind of death list with the names of 25-30 boys, divided into three categories: ‘Can wait’, ‘Act now’ and ‘The leg problem’. The police now assumed that Joe had also abducted Chris Steiner from his parents’ home on 4 July 1994. At the time, Chris’s parents had noticed after his disappearance that the fly screen in the room where Chris slept had been cut open. There were also muddy footprints in the house and the patio door was unlocked. After the autopsy and Thad’s statement, the police were certain that Joe had tortured Chris in his house for five days and then thrown him alive into the Wisconsin River. Due to his shattered legs, Chris could not swim, which is why he drowned in agony. Joe denied everything and insisted on his innocence. He only admitted to taking Thad to his home to hang out with him. He did not know how Thad had sustained his injuries. He claimed to have had a blackout, which is why he could not remember anything. But Thad’s testimony weighed heavily on Joe. When Thad was due to testify at the trial, Joe’s 15-year-old neighbour and friend, Michael Huebsch, shot him twice in the back with a hunting rifle out of pure anger over Joe’s arrest. After Thad recovered, he testified against Joe again. This finally put an end to Joe’s career as a brutal bone-breaker. Joe was sentenced to 100 years in prison for kidnapping Thad and torturing him for 43 hours. In a civil lawsuit, Thad’s family was awarded £21 million, but this was never paid. For the murder of Chris Steiner, Joe received a life sentence without the possibility of parole plus an additional 50 years. After his rescue, Thad had to undergo several operations. Although he was able to walk again, he will limp for the rest of his life. Through his courageous actions, Thad not only saved his own life, but also led to the discovery of the truth about Chris Steiner’s death, which would otherwise have remained hidden. In doing so, he may also have saved other boys from suffering the same fate as him and Chris. The story of Thad Phillips is a harrowing reminder of the depths of human behaviour, but also a testament to an unshakeable will to survive and triumph over absolute darkness. It shows that even in the deepest shadows, a light of hope can shine.
The Bone Breaker: Thad Phillips’ cinematic struggle for survival
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