Winona Ryder wary of dark roles after Polly Klaas murder

Actress Winona Ryder always turns down roles in movies focusing on child sex killers because she is still haunted by her memories of a high-profile murder in the U.S. The Edward Scissorhands star was devastated when 12-year-old Polly Klaas vanished from her home in Ryder’s native Petaluma, California in 1993, and she offered up a reward of $200,000 (£125,000) to help find the missing girl.
Serial crook Richard Allen Davis later confessed to snatching and strangling Klaas and was sentenced to death for the crime, but memories of the horrific murder continue to haunt Ryder.
She frequently turns down dark movie roles that could involve depiction of child abuse, and she recently ditched a potential part in a film about paedophilia, admitting she is still deeply affected by the Klaas case.
Ryder, who was born in Minnesota but grew up in Petaluma, even spoke to a criminal psychiatrist about the issue and was shocked when he blamed Hollywood for making films about child sex murders.
The actress tells Britain’s Stella magazine, “He said, ‘You know that the movies you guys make are like porn to these people?’ And it’s true that I get sent these scripts and they’re so dark. I just got sent this one about paedophilia and it had a great cast but I read it and – maybe because of Polly – just thought, ‘I don’t want to be a part of that’.”