#So frustrating that even when I headcanon stuff that incorporates Loretta

[trashhoarder]

Uh... this is a warning for drug talk, mentioned child murder, uxoricide, judicial prejudice, overdose, etc.

It seems ooc for someone like Krueger to have solemn moments regarding drugs unless he experienced negative consequences. So, I looked at the most commonly abused drugs available during his teen and adult years with this assumption in mind. Marijuana(illegal), LSD(legal), cocaine(illegal), heroin(illegal), amphetamines(regulated), and barbiturates(regulated) were the most frequently abused. Many of these, LSD, cocaine, heroin, and marijuana, can cause premature ageing. LSD was also legal before 1966 until the year of his arrest, so it likely wouldn't have been hard for Fred, someone known for risky habits, to get his hands on it. 

And if it was marijuana, maybe that's how he got busted. The Boggs Act of 1951 set mandatory sentences for drug convictions. For example, the first offence conviction for marijuana possession carried a minimum sentence of 2 years, which would fit his timeline, considering he was caught in 1966 and released in 1968. If his wife is suspiciously missing and children abruptly stop dying, things look questionable for Krueger. It'd be like (almost) catching Al Capone on tax evasion.  

One important thing to note for Loretta is that while available studies have shown that prevalent drugs like ecstasy, marijuana, and cocaine do not diminish the efficacy of hormonal birth control, barbiturates will. Enovid as a contraceptive was used in 1960, a year before Maggie was born. So, besides simply not believing in birth control, this could explain why the couple had their child when Fred was 19, and Loretta was presumably(?) the same age. Barbiturates became popular in the 1960s as a treatment for anxiety, insomnia, or seizure disorders.

Barbiturates are highly addictive and deadly, with several high profile actresses overdosing from it in the sixties. If consumed daily for longer than one month, the brain forms a dependence, which causes harmful withdrawal symptoms. Barbiturates are highly addictive and deadly, with several high profile actresses overdosing from it in the sixties. If consumed daily for longer than one month, the brain forms a dependence, which causes harmful, even lethal withdrawal symptoms.

If Loretta was proscribed Barbiturates, Krueger could've acted the role of the concerned husband because his wife would have a history of seizures and took medication that also put her at risk. When speaking to Katherine, Krueger specifically mentioned medicine, and five-year-olds are young enough to be guided in a courtroom setting if she recalled anything at all at this point. It could put some doubt in a (likely ableist) judges mind whether young Katherine witnessed a murder,  a seizure, or the side effects of Barbiturates.

From a judge's standpoint, this set up might become (slightly) more reasonable that they'd release the charges as well. Did he murder the children? Yes, yes he did. When the police searched the local pariah's home on drug charges without a judge's signature, possibly "forgot" to read the man his Miranda rights, incarcerated him, then tried to finish the prisoner off with murder charges afterwards, a person might suspect something was off. It wouldn’t be the first time police bias has interfered with a case.