Is it just me or has this been a particularly awful month in terms of horror stories about women being kidnapped, killed or forced to do depraved things against their will? Last thing we need is another one, but of course, we got it. A former Philadelphia police officer has been arrested for date raping -- possibly at gunpoint -- two 20-year-old women he met at a party. Richard DeCoatsworth, 27, was arrested and charged with rape, sexual assault, terroristic threats and related offenses after the two victims reported him to police.

Here's how the sordid string of events went down:

Just weeks after those three girls were rescued in Ohio, here's some more encouraging news about another missing child: Madeleine McCann might still be alive! Yes, we've heard this before. And yes, we -- especially her parents -- have been disappointed. Supposed leads and sightings that turned out to be nothing. But this time feels different, dare I say it, more hopeful. Police in England say they have identified about 20 new "persons of interest" that they want to talk to, and have found some "forensic evidence" they want to take a look at. In the six years since 3-year-old Maddie vanished from her bedroom at the Portuguese resort where her family was staying, we have never heard the police come forth with something this "big" before.

Ariel Castro allegedly tortured three young women inside his house of horrors in Cleveland, Ohio for a decade, leaving them with both physical and emotional trauma. He also kept the daughter he fathered with one of the women, Amanda Berry, captive. But few know that Ariel had others in that house -- others just as helpless as the women and the little girl. They were three dogs. One chihuahua and two terrier-poodle mixes. What happens to those dogs, who must have witnessed god only knows what horrors and abuse, remains to be seen.

Here's an unsettling story that makes me play the What Would I Have Done? game in my own head: on Wednesday evening, a 4-year-old girl was playing in front of her home in Albuquerque's North Valley neighborhood when a stranger picked her up and drove off. A group of teenagers witnessed the kidnapping and raced to tell the little girl's mother, Melissa Torrez, at which point the family called 911. Torrez didn't wait for the authorities to respond, however. She instantly ran for her car and began chasing the man who took her child.

I certainly hope I'm never called upon to find out what I'd do in that sort of awful situation, but I can't help but wonder. Would I have had enough adrenaline coursing through me to take vigilante action? Would the mama bear instinct have completely taken over? Or would I have been flatlined with terror, unable to decide what to do next?

So, remember that super weird, kind of crazy, yet totally likable guy, Kai the Hitchhiker? His interview with a reporter went viral after he helped rescue a girl from some crazed lunatic? He was dubbed by some as the "hero hitchhiker". He seemed like a tweaked out surfer/stoner dude, and the world fell in Internet love with him after the reporter asked him how old he was, and he replied: "I can't call it."

Yeah, well, he was just arrested. For murder.

When well-adjusted people have a poor experience at a restaurant, they may complain to the manager and make a note to never return. When maladjusted people have a poor experience at a restaurant, they murder the cook. A Japanese chef was allegedly killed over a meal of beef and noodles that two unruly, intoxicated diners on the German island of Sylt, a vacation destination, really didn't like. Miki Nozawa, 57, was a famous chef known for his Japanese-Italian fusion. Reportedly, the men were dissatisfied with their noodles and demanded a refund of their 10 euros.

Then, things escalated.

We've had more than a few "tried to sell the kid on Craigslist" stories floating around the Internet in recent years. Way too many, if you ask me. But there's something about the latest mom charged with trying to adopt out her 3-year-old son via a Craigslist ad that's a bit unusual.

The mom, Stephanie Redus, doesn't sound like your typical jerk mom who would use Craigslist to offload a kid because she doesn't care. I can't get truly enraged at her. If anything, I read the Texas mom's story and I felt ... pity.

If we've said it once, we've said it a thousand times: Some people just aren't cut out for kids. Two moms took "enjoy Mother's Day" to the extreme when they allegedly ditched their young children in order to go on a festive, Mother's Day booze cruise.

Billie Jean Williams and Mary Joyce Daffron were arrested and are being accused of leaving their 8- and 6-year-olds at Gator Joe’s restaurant in Florida. The children reportedly approached a staff member of the restaurant, explaining that they couldn't find their moms and suspected they left.

Turns out, they did!