NJ - " I am the Watcher..." -- A Hoax ?
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EllieBee
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Yes, but still....
A town of 30,000? A patricidal murder discovered after a month of decomp......and now creepy letters in the same town?
Yeah, I know....but still...
Super spooooooky........
Sorry, I really love the "freaky stalker" premise.
EllieBee
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He lost his job months prior to the murders. He was $10,000 behind (in 1971) in mortgage (I believe) and had skimmed enough money from his mother's accounts that she would be aware of it rather soon. Also, he perpetuated the lie of having a job by taking the train each day and just sitting at the train station all day.
According to his own confession, he killed them so they would not have to live a life "poverty", or as most of us would call it "living within your means".
The Watcher thing reminds me somewhat of the urban myth of Slender Man. Which led to at least one murder.
As for John List, one of the ceilings in his "murder" home was a genuine Tiffany and if he indeed had financial problems, the answer to them was literally right above his head.
I do recall him saying he didn't approve of a lot of the actions of his family members, but poor excuse once again.
He was a heartless and cold man.
Who knows? Does anyone have any info that tends to support that this couple couldn't pay the mortgage on the Boulevard home?
I'm in favor of giving them the benefit of the doubt. Those communications sent to me would definitely creep me out.
jmo
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_List
The List home was destroyed by arson ten months after the murders, a crime which remains unsolved. Destroyed along with the home was the ballroom's stained glass skylight, rumored to be a signed Tiffany original worth over $100,000.[6]
As for John List, one of the ceilings in his "murder" home was a genuine Tiffany and if he indeed had financial problems, the answer to them was literally right above his head.
I do recall him saying he didn't approve of a lot of the actions of his family members, but poor excuse once again.
He was a heartless and cold man.
Who knows? Does anyone have any info that tends to support that this couple couldn't pay the mortgage on the Boulevard home?
I'm in favor of giving them the benefit of the doubt. Those communications sent to me would definitely creep me out.
jmo
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_List
The List home was destroyed by arson ten months after the murders, a crime which remains unsolved. Destroyed along with the home was the ballroom's stained glass skylight, rumored to be a signed Tiffany original worth over $100,000.[6]
wfgodot
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Nominations open for soundtracking the mystery. Here's one. And another.
charminglane
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wfgodot
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EllieBee
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Holy hell. As careful as List was, you KNOW he knew that Tiffany fixture had value. He wanted to kill his burdensome family and be free. And it worked for 18 years.
No matter who is sending the threatening messages or why, I wouldn't want to live in that home. When the addition to our house was built, I wrote messages on the inside of the walls before the drywall was put on. But I just wrote who lived here, when we moved in, what year we added the addition and information about the house. I thought someone in the far future might find it interesting if the house was remodeled or torn down or if it fell apart.
As I was researching this case, I like everyone else started off thinking that a creepy stalker linked to the past history of the house was to blame. But the police have already investigated those links--and investigated the neighbors--and found nothing. You're spot-on Christina.
EllieBee
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IMHO, the police are taking this seriously as an actual threat and not a scam on the part of the family buying the home.
That said, my first impression was "SCAM!", thinking they were upside down on that house.
Howver, after reading pressers from police and mayor, I think they also might think the letters are worthy of scrutiny.
That said, my first impression was "SCAM!", thinking they were upside down on that house.
Howver, after reading pressers from police and mayor, I think they also might think the letters are worthy of scrutiny.
wfgodot
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Investigated the neighbors -- have they? And how could police investigate every possibility of some odd lurker going about sending these things? You imply the police are convinced this is an inside job, so to speak, which it may turn out to be, but I've certainly not read that at present.
momthebomb
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I'm having a hard time trying to understand what has gone on for the past year. I get the impression that there were 3 letters sent soon after they closed on the house. Where have they been living this past year? Why only now is all this coming to the surface? If the letters were sent soon after the purchased, why did they go ahead and renovate? Can one if my fellow sleuthers help me out with this?
One of the links you yourself so generously posted to this forum...one neighbor described the actual letters, as they had seen them. So yes, I am inclined to believe the police have questioned the neighbors...according to that same article, all the neighbors seem upset that "the police aren't doing anything". Because they can't determine the source of the letters. Period. They have no other evidence to go on, as the letters are the only source. And if no fingerprints or DNA on them? No evidence.
We sleuths mustn't allow our judgement to be blinded or deflected by even the strangest or creepiest tone of these letters. Waiting For Godot, I realize this is a very sensational case with such crazy implications, press field-days and delightful fictional movie possibilities as to fool the public (and most importantly, the police) into thinking this "Watcher" is a real person and a real serial stalker, and that these homeowners are helpless victims. Except "The Watcher" is not a real person--and the only victims here are the ones the homeowners are suing. Truth is stranger than fiction...read the entire lawsuit (available on Gawker)--you will discover that the homeowners' entire case (whether they win or lose) hinges on (A) "The Watcher" remaining an unknown person who through his writing "made a claim" (however crazy or illegitimate) to ownership of the house; and (B) the "fact" that the sellers truly received a stalker letter prior to the home's closing date (June 2, 2014), proving the new owners would be in danger. How were the buyers so sure that the sellers had also received a stalker letter, and at the convenient time of *just one week before* their home purchase became legally-binding? According to the lawsuit document, the Woods family (sellers) received the first "Watcher" letter "on or about the week of March 26, 2014". Could it be that the buyers approximated that time period, because they knew they had mailed it to them that week (perhaps Monday the 24th), but weren't sure which day the Woods actually received it?
Godot, the poem idea is interesting--but remember you are only pulling a few selected quotes from 3 different letters, the complete versions of which none of us are privy to (in fact, sadly they are probably the only pieces of evidence the police have in this case). So I'm sure there is no meaning to be derived from those individual statements by themselves, arranged in any which way from Sunday. These letters are now known to be type-written, mailed through USPS from nearby Newark, NJ. Type-written: the best way to prevent discovery of fingerprints or DNA for someone who simply wore gloves while handling (and all stamps are self-stick anymore). They were probably typed and printed from a public library or other remote source, thus avoiding any reasonable possibility of police locating the source via IP trace.
As I researched this case, I was initially abhorred by this stalker's gall in writing such creepy and scary stuff to a family with 3 kids, who were just moving into what their lawyer describes as their "dream home". Then just the other day their names were released by the press...and so was the complete lawsuit document by Gawker. It was an eye-opener...and I started humming a song--no reason, I thought--but then I realized what I was humming: a kinda crappy, but catchy song by Steely Dan called "Vikki Don't Lose That Number"..."you don't have to call nobody else...SEND IT OFF IN A LETTER TO YOURSELF"...yep. I think that's what they did: one of the homeowners mailed the letters to their own home, to create the "legal documents" they'd need to win a lawsuit in the State of New Jersey--and worse, I believe they even sent a letter to the home sellers just before the house closed, to create a legal document that could "prove" in the legal record that the seller was negligent in not disclosing the "stalker" thing to them before the official closing date.
The "Watcher" said he had been watching the house at "657 Boulevard" (he conveniently repeats it multiple times, apparently just for legal clarity), for "the better part of 2 decades". That is almost 20 years--the sellers had owned the house for 24 years--so to me this is further manufactured "proof" the buyers threw in to solidify their assertion that the seller knew about the stalker before the home sale. I think the buyers "received" the first "Watcher" letter, then called the sellers to verify if *they* had also received a similar letter--again, how else would the buyers know the sellers received it unless they themselves mailed it??? Remember, the buyers' whole case rests upon proof that the sellers received at least one stalker letter prior to the sale--and verbal proof over the phone between buyer and seller may be all they need...
Derek Broaddus is a Senior Vice-President at Allied World Assurance Company--based in New York City. They deal with property insurance--those facts are Public Record. Westfield, NJ is a quick commute from NYC...and Newark, NJ and several of its post offices are along that very rail line between Westfield and NYC. And this is my opinion: I've heard a lot about insurance superstars and how they get to the top: by finding ways not to pay on claims.
Did the Broaddus family aim to duck out of the sale once they realized they were "in over their heads"? Am starting to think that perhaps their whole "renovation" project--which was taken on AFTER they received at least the first stalker letter-- was also a scheme to elicit more funds to the lawsuit by adding equity to a home they knew they would soon be vacating? Strange too that the lawsuit was filed EXACTLY one year to the day of the closing...
Godot, the poem idea is interesting--but remember you are only pulling a few selected quotes from 3 different letters, the complete versions of which none of us are privy to (in fact, sadly they are probably the only pieces of evidence the police have in this case). So I'm sure there is no meaning to be derived from those individual statements by themselves, arranged in any which way from Sunday. These letters are now known to be type-written, mailed through USPS from nearby Newark, NJ. Type-written: the best way to prevent discovery of fingerprints or DNA for someone who simply wore gloves while handling (and all stamps are self-stick anymore). They were probably typed and printed from a public library or other remote source, thus avoiding any reasonable possibility of police locating the source via IP trace.
As I researched this case, I was initially abhorred by this stalker's gall in writing such creepy and scary stuff to a family with 3 kids, who were just moving into what their lawyer describes as their "dream home". Then just the other day their names were released by the press...and so was the complete lawsuit document by Gawker. It was an eye-opener...and I started humming a song--no reason, I thought--but then I realized what I was humming: a kinda crappy, but catchy song by Steely Dan called "Vikki Don't Lose That Number"..."you don't have to call nobody else...SEND IT OFF IN A LETTER TO YOURSELF"...yep. I think that's what they did: one of the homeowners mailed the letters to their own home, to create the "legal documents" they'd need to win a lawsuit in the State of New Jersey--and worse, I believe they even sent a letter to the home sellers just before the house closed, to create a legal document that could "prove" in the legal record that the seller was negligent in not disclosing the "stalker" thing to them before the official closing date.
The "Watcher" said he had been watching the house at "657 Boulevard" (he conveniently repeats it multiple times, apparently just for legal clarity), for "the better part of 2 decades". That is almost 20 years--the sellers had owned the house for 24 years--so to me this is further manufactured "proof" the buyers threw in to solidify their assertion that the seller knew about the stalker before the home sale. I think the buyers "received" the first "Watcher" letter, then called the sellers to verify if *they* had also received a similar letter--again, how else would the buyers know the sellers received it unless they themselves mailed it??? Remember, the buyers' whole case rests upon proof that the sellers received at least one stalker letter prior to the sale--and verbal proof over the phone between buyer and seller may be all they need...
Derek Broaddus is a Senior Vice-President at Allied World Assurance Company--based in New York City. They deal with property insurance--those facts are Public Record. Westfield, NJ is a quick commute from NYC...and Newark, NJ and several of its post offices are along that very rail line between Westfield and NYC. And this is my opinion: I've heard a lot about insurance superstars and how they get to the top: by finding ways not to pay on claims.
Did the Broaddus family aim to duck out of the sale once they realized they were "in over their heads"? Am starting to think that perhaps their whole "renovation" project--which was taken on AFTER they received at least the first stalker letter-- was also a scheme to elicit more funds to the lawsuit by adding equity to a home they knew they would soon be vacating? Strange too that the lawsuit was filed EXACTLY one year to the day of the closing...