← Heart Starts Pounding: Horrors, Hauntings and Mysteries
Heart Starts Pounding: Horrors, Hauntings and Mysteries
139. Reddit Scary Stories: Reddit Stories That Could Be True Crime Docs (feat. Annie Elise)
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- [00:01]
A
Today's episode is brought to you by alma. When you're navigating mental health challenges, nothing replaces the support of a real person. And that's why ALMA is changing how people find care by making it easier to connect with a therapist who understands your unique needs. Alma's easy to use directory lets you search by what matters to you, like race, gender, therapy style, or other areas of expertise. And 99 of therapists on ALMA accept insurance. So. So getting help is more affordable than you might think. And that, at least for me, can sometimes be a huge barrier to entry. In fact, people who find care through ALMA save an average of 80% on the cost of sessions. ALMA isn't about quick fixes or generic advice. It's about building a relationship with a therapist who helps you make real Progress. With free 15 minute consultations and a free cost estimator tool, Alma makes it simple to find the right fit. Better with people, better with Alma. Visit hello Alma.com heartstarts pounding to get started and schedule a free consultation today. That's hello a l m a.com H-E-A-R-T s t a R T S P O U N D I N G this episode is brought to you by Jennybird. I love jewelry that not only goes with everything, but feels timeless. And that's why I love the pieces that I have from Jenny Bird. I've been rocking my Noah bracelet almost every day since I got it. It's this pearl bracelet and I feel like pearls never really go out of style. And I've also been wearing my Lucille anklet, which is absolutely perfect for summer. It's got these little seashells and pearls on it and I get so many compliments on it when I wear it out. Another Jenny Bird piece that I've really been loving are their Florence earrings. And I actually just saw that this is one of their most popular items. It makes it look like you have two earrings in your ear even though you're only wearing one. It's cheeky and fun and also just is this really classic look that I love. These pieces are stackable, versatile, and while you're getting something to treat yourself, you might as well get something for someone else because they make fantastic gifts, if I do say so myself. I've been eyeing their astrology necklaces because I do actually want to get them for all my friends. And for listeners of Heartstarts Pounding, you can get 20% off your first order with Jenny Bird by visiting jenny-bird.com and using code HEART at checkout welcome to Heart Starts Pounding, a podcast of horrors, hauntings and mysteries. I'm your host, Kayla Moore, and today I have some terrifying true stories that I want to share with you. I'm talking a woman who got an overwhelming feeling that there were cameras hidden in her smoke alarms, someone who was very certain that their mother in law was trying to kill them, and even the story of one woman who had to take a terrifying situation with her stalker into her own hands. And I felt like there was no one better to join me this episode than my dear friend Annie. Elise, you might know Annie from her shows Serial and Tend to Life, where she covers all things true crime and breaks down some of the most interesting, bizarre and breaking cases of the moment. Check out her shows if you haven't already, and I hope you enjoy our episode together. It's when your heart starts pounding. Annie, welcome to Heart Starts Pounding.
- [03:18]
B
Hi. Thanks for having me.
- [03:19]
A
So happy to have you on. This episode that I have planned for you is going to be a little bit of a doozy.
- [03:24]
B
I'm excited.
- [03:25]
A
I wanted to pick stories especially for you and the stuff that you cover. I found a lot of Reddit stories that feel like they could be true crime documentaries for sure. People just writing about some of the craziest stuff that's ever happened to them, which is really your domain.
- [03:39]
B
I mean, I live for that. I like, hopefully it's not like overly true crime, but like, I love when people talk about what they experienced firsthand and you kind of get to like dive into their world from their perspective.
- [03:50]
A
I'm the same way. I feel like a lot of times, like at least on Heartstopping, what we cover, I read a lot of newspaper articles and books and stuff, but it's so great to actually like be in the skin of the person experiencing something. Have you watched any true crime documentaries recently that have really stuck out to you?
- [04:05]
B
So not true crime, but I guess true crime adjacent kind of true crime. The catfish documentary, Unknown, Unknown texter caller, whatever it's called. I did a whole deep dive on my podcast about that this Monday, Unhinged.
- [04:18]
A
And you did the stuff that wasn't in the documentary, right?
- [04:20]
B
Yes, they left quite a bit out.
- [04:22]
A
They did, because the mom was a lot more of a problem than they actually talked about in the documentary, which is wild.
- [04:27]
B
And how she, like, just so casually is like, well, yeah, everybody messes up. It's like, no, you were a predator sending the most graphic text messages to this kid. Why aren't you on the registry? Like, what's going on here.
- [04:39]
A
Why are you not still in jail? I have so many questions. After watching that doc and then after. Yeah. Reading more about just how obsessed she was with the kid. It's so concerning.
- [04:48]
B
It is. And then not documentary, but I guess it's. What, docuseries or dramatization? Amanda Knox on Hulu. I'm back in that.
- [04:56]
A
Oh, I watched the first episode and I wasn't hooked. But do you think, is it worth it continuing to watch?
- [05:01]
B
No. I mean, I know the story so well, so, like, the only reason I'm watching it is kind of just because that's one that I actually get requests for all the time. And I'm like, why would I go back and cover Amanda Knox? There's no value that add that's gonna happen.
- [05:15]
A
Oh, interesting, that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [05:17]
B
But I get why you wouldn't be hooked. It's kind of shot from a weird point of view, and there's, like, weird humor elements involved in it, too, that I don't love.
- [05:24]
A
There's magic realism in the first episode with some of the shots.
- [05:27]
B
Yeah, but it's pretty.
- [05:28]
A
They stick to the story pretty much.
- [05:30]
B
Like it's her point of view and she's, I believe, the EP on it, so.
- [05:34]
A
Yeah, yeah, yeah, Absolutely.
- [05:36]
B
Just those so far. What about you?
- [05:37]
A
The catfish one? Yeah, that's the one that everyone told me to watch. And so I watched it immediately and was like, my job was on the floor. That was one where I had a friend come over and tell me to watch it, and she watched with, like, her back to the tv, just watching.
- [05:50]
B
Oh, my gosh. Did she. She should have filmed your reaction.
- [05:53]
A
I know, I know. I've been getting tiktoks of people being like, my boyfriend finding out he realized what's going on. And people, like, even my mom watched it, and she's like, I was ready to throw something at the television.
- [06:03]
B
I know.
- [06:03]
A
That's been the big one. So let's get into the stories. Today. We're gonna cover a lot of stuff that really feels like it could be the subject of a true crime doc. Okay, so the first story that I have for you that I'm gonna read is just titled Sociopath, Kidnapper, and Supermarket Parking Lot.
- [06:18]
B
Oh, great.
- [06:19]
A
And this is from a Reddit user called officefern007, and it was originally posted on January 9, 2019 in the let's Not Meet subreddit. So this story included trigger warnings for attempted kidnapping and physical assault. And the poster writes, my husband and I were at a supermarket and Our baby was being especially fussy, so he took her for a quick drive. The motion usually calms her down. It only took about 10 minutes to settle her, and I was still inside the store, but I was unsure of how much longer it would be. And there's also poor cell reception inside. So he pulled back into the parking lot to wait for me. It was an unseasonably nice day, so he took her in her car seat to sit on one of the benches outside of the store. He took a business call and had just sat them down absentmindedly rocking the carrier, when a woman who was well dressed, in her mid-30s, average height, fit, build, approached them. It's not uncommon for people to ask to play with our baby. She's got these big rosy cheeks, especially when she's, like, having a really good nap, but her nap schedule is really important to us. So my husband was preparing to tell the woman that she actually couldn't play with our baby right there and then. But this woman walked over right in their direction, brimming with this nonchalant confidence. And before he could even finish his sentence, explaining that she was napping and not to be touched, this woman picked up the carrier and just started walking off.
- [07:37]
B
What?
- [07:38]
A
He was in shock for a moment, not fully believing someone would be ballsy enough to do something so sinister in plain daylight. So he said, excuse me, put her down, in a really panicked voice. She remained calm the entire time, but when he called after her, she started walking away more briskly than when she had approached. He ran full speed ahead to try to grapple the carrier out of her hands, finally resulting in him restraining her arms. And the woman starts yelling, help. He's trying to take my baby. Kidnapping, 911. Help. She starts kicking him in the shin, pulling a pink bottle of pepper spray out of her handbag. Of course, no one in the park parking lot had seen their earlier interactions, so they assumed he was really a kidnapper. I mean, think about it. A lone man in a Deadpool T shirt versus this tiny, well dressed woman. Immediately, a man knocked my husband to the ground and started holding him down. He could hear bystanders encouraging the woman to file a police report, but she was doing a very convincing job of acting really shaken up and insisted that she just wanted to get home. To make matters worse for my husband, she was driving a minivan.
- [08:43]
B
He.
- [08:43]
A
He was in a raw state of panic, realizing the entire parking lot had banded together to inadvertently facilitate the kidnapping of our daughter. He was begging and pleading with them, but no one was Listening. They just kept screaming at him that the jig was up and he needed to lie still and wait for the police and stop terrorizing this young mother. My husband finally had the novel idea to show them family pictures on his phone. But because he was too panicked to think clearly, this manifested as him shouting, I have pictures of the baby on my phone. And that, of course, made the situation entirely worse. Is at this point that a man. I mean, I can barely blame him, considering what he thought was going on, started kicking my husband as hard as he could in the ribs. Finally, I came out of the store and I thought he was being robbed by these people. I started yelling for security. I was so panicked, my chest was constricting and I could barely get any sound out. But then I had the horrible realization that he did not have our baby with him. And when I saw that she was being held by a woman, I was relieved. I thought maybe this woman had intervened to move my daughter out of harm's way. While my husband was being robbed and walking away to get help, I couldn't find a security guard outside the store. So I ran up to the people holding my husband down, waving my wallet, pleading, take everything you want, just leave us alone. And one of the men holding him down said something like, lady, we need to wait for police to deal with him. And I was confused. Why would the muggers have called the police? I just kept stammering, what do you mean? What are you talking about? And made out someone saying he tried to abduct that woman's kid. I didn't understand. I thought I had misheard him. My husband would never hurt a child. Also, we have four kids, so if he was going to commit a crime, he was not going to bring another kid home. That would have been at the bottom of his list. I kept trying to understand what the man was saying, and suddenly it all clicked. I looked around for the woman who had our baby carrier, and she was halfway across the parking lot. I went into total ballistic Tiger Cub mode. Literally leapt out of my heels, sprinted across the parking lot. I'm not a UFC fighter. I've never taken a self defense class. So all I could think to do was grab the woman by her hair and squeeze her throat with my other hand. It didn't really do much. She was still getting away even as I grappled with her. Amazingly, none of the other bystanders had yet to connect that my husband was telling the truth and this woman was actually leaving with my baby. I yanked her hair as hard as I could, and it was enough to get her to drop the carrier. I was so scared and surprised that I actually threw myself on top of the carrier, covering the entire thing like a blanket. And I stayed that way without saying or doing anything else. The woman left. Not one person tried to stop her, even though she was clearly leaving without the child that she claimed was hers, which would be pretty damn incriminating if I had watched this scene unfold. Within the next couple of minutes, the police had arrived. After all that, there were still several bystanders who explained that my husband was most likely trying to kidnap the baby. The police, to my horror, assumed that she must not have had bad intentions. The first questions they asked me after getting her description weren't investigative. They were questions, thinly veiled, trying to convince me not to pursue charges, still placing the blame on my husband. A small sampling. Do your husband and the baby look dissimilar? Is there a chance that she thought he was abducting the baby and she was trying to intervene? Could your husband have been doing something inappropriate or violent to the baby that would have made her feel compelled to extricate the baby from the situation? Did she seem groggy or confused? Could she have mistaken either of them for her own family members? They spent more time verifying that the baby was actually mine than they concerned themselves with the fact that the baby was not actually hers. My husband had called his brother at that point, who works in an office with a lot of lawyers, and we connected with one asap, who gave us the priceless advice to get every officer's name and badge number, to request copies of the store's security tapes right away, and to escalate our complaint higher up the chain if these officers were not taking us seriously. Finally, we had enough reason to believe that we were being taken seriously, and we went home, and both of us just shook and cried until we had to get our other kids from school. My husband is seething with rage and grappling with a feeling of helplessness from how little he was able to do, and he has two cracked ribs from the man who kicked him. To the officer's credit, they did ask if he would like to press charges, but considering that the man was genuinely trying to intervene and he was convinced at the time that he was on the right side by intervening on a kidnapper and stayed to talk to the police. He also apologized profusely. When the truth became clear, he declined to press charges. Amazingly and frustratingly, there were still people who stuck around to talk to the police, who were giving my husband dirty looks. And one man who even implored that the police involved CPS to verify that it was our baby. Really? So someone actually commented on this thread and they said that something very similar actually had happened to them. They said, someone sent me your post because it was so similar. I'm so sorry that you went through this nightmare. Congratulations on you guys for remaining so calm and acting so decisively. And then another commenter wrote, I remember you. Did they catch that woman? And did they press charges against the man who broke your husband's ribbon? And the original poster said that they had a suspect they wanted to bring in for questioning, but so far have been unable to find her. They're fairly certain they know who it is and that this person is afflicted with a pretty severe mental illness. If or when she comes into contact with the police again, they're supposed to send her back here for questioning. I take comfort in at least knowing that it most likely wasn't a sex trafficking thing. We ultimately did not end up pressing charges against any of the men. We just wanted to put the whole thing behind us. But thank you for asking. And that's why that's the whole story.
- [14:21]
B
And when was that again?
- [14:22]
A
That was 2019.
- [14:24]
B
That is, first of all, so scary. But also, as you were saying that, I was kind of thinking to myself, that's the perfect crime for a kidnapper.
- [14:33]
A
Yes.
- [14:33]
B
You got a minivan. You have this woman who looks like unassuming. She's saying that it's her child. Like anybody in public, like, nine times out of ten would think that it is her child.
- [14:44]
A
You almost can't fault the people who were trying to stand up for her because they had no idea what was going on. They just see this woman who is saying that a man was trying to abduct their child. Yeah, Normally that's how it works anyways, so of course they're gonna believe her.
- [14:58]
B
But, like, it makes sense that you say that mental health was at play, because it seems as though she possibly. I mean, anybody could say it, whether or not it's true or not, but when she was saying, he's trying to take my baby, maybe she really did have that illness where she thought that this was her child or something like that.
- [15:14]
A
Oh, yeah. Like she was having some sort of delusion that this was actually her baby and she's doing the right thing.
- [15:19]
B
Yeah.
- [15:19]
A
I mean, it's interesting. They make a note at the end that this wasn't some sort of trafficking endeavor. It didn't seem like it was a big organized crime, which would always be my fear, that there's some very specific reason why you're taking the child. This was maybe just a woman that was having a crisis, but still unnerving. Still so unnerving. I feel like I hear stories, not all the time, but like, cases where someone will say, steal someone's baby from the hospital or there was just actually this year, a cold case. It was like one of the longest ever missing person cases where they found the person alive, but it was a man who was kidnapped as a baby from a hospital by just a stranger woman who then flew him to the east coast, and they found him at, like 80 years old. They were able to die.
- [16:05]
B
Wait, I've heard about this. I think they may have covered this in headline highlights and they did some sort of like genealogy testing or something to track it, right? Yes. Yeah.
- [16:13]
A
Wild that they can still find people after all that time.
- [16:16]
B
I know. And like, at that point, it's like you're at the end of your life and you realize your whole life was a lie. How do you even grapple with that and, like, try to, I don't know, come to terms with that?
- [16:27]
A
I don't know. I mean, my family has definitely gone through like, 23 and me testing where.
- [16:33]
B
You realize things are weird.
- [16:35]
A
Things are weird.
- [16:36]
B
I've done that.
- [16:38]
A
You realize, I didn't think anyone in our family was Italian, and I'm 50% Italian. What's going on there?
- [16:43]
B
Yeah. Yeah.
- [16:44]
A
A lot of secrets are coming out for a lot of families.
- [16:46]
B
Yeah.
- [16:47]
A
Which is crazy. But most of the time it's just that, at least like with our family, it's who you thought was your dad was not really your dad. It's not necessarily like this person stole you from a grocery store. No.
- [16:57]
B
Could you imagine?
- [16:59]
A
Wow. Yeah. Wow. Very scary. Something. Ever since I read this story, I've been kind of just turning it over my head and very terrified of it happening.
- [17:07]
B
It's a very real threat that could be out there because anybody could do this.
- [17:12]
A
I mean, you're a mom. Do you ever, like, is that just kind of always running in the back of your head when you take your kids places?
- [17:17]
B
Yes.
- [17:18]
A
Or is it something you're. You're able to put it aside?
- [17:20]
B
No, unfortunately. It's like even going to Target doing all those things. I'm always so hyper paranoid just watching my back everywhere I go.
- [17:28]
A
Really?
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B
Because I don't know. You just. The world is getting so scary. And that's not to fear Monger, but it's like, there is a big fear of that because people are doing things every single day and snatching kids and robbing people and.it's always a fear.
- [17:43]
A
Have you ever had a situation where you felt weird and you were like, I have to remove my kids because I feel like something could happen?
- [17:50]
B
No, luckily I haven't. I'm like trying to think back and nothing comes to mind, so. Nothing directly. Yeah. But I do get the intrusive thoughts all the time. And those never go away either. Even, like almost every single day when I leave the studio and get in my car. I know I dropped my kids off at school, but I have this thought of, like, what if I left them in the backseat and I check like every single day? It's so crazy.
- [18:11]
A
Oh. Even we have a lot of parents who listen to this show. So I'm curious if you guys listening? Definitely.
- [18:17]
B
I mean, I'm alone.
- [18:19]
A
Yeah.
- [18:20]
B
Am I alone with all these intrusive thoughts? Yeah. Tell me I need to go back to therapy.
- [18:24]
A
No. It kind of like helps normalize it, I guess, if everyone's like, no. I always fret that my kids are in the backseat when I drop them off at school.
- [18:30]
B
Totally.
- [18:31]
A
I think it's just something a lot of people deal with. This episode is brought to you by Hellofresh. Fall is here, and every fall I like to change up my menus that I'm cooking. Think cooler nights, heartier meals. I just want something warm and a little more satisfying. And that's where hellofresh comes in, bringing you comforting chef designed recipes and fresh seasonal ingredients right to your door. And now hellofresh has actually doubled its menu. You can choose from a hundred options each week, including new seasonal dishes and recipes from around the world. I just did this pork wonton soup that I really loved. It's a new addition that they have. That one was great. I also got cheddar crusted chicken the other night with sweet potatoes. I absolutely loved that one. And every time I go on their website, I just see something else that I want to order and I get really excited. 91% of customers say they feel healthier eating with HelloFresh. And 9 out of 10 say dinner is more delicious with hellofresh. The best way to cook just got better. Go to hellofresh.com hsp pod10fm now and get 10 free meals and a free item for life. One per box with active subscription free meals applied at discount on first box. New subscribers only. Varies by plan. That's hellofresh.com HSP P O D10FM to get 10 free meals and a free item for life.
- [19:51]
B
Hi, I'm Nancy Cartwright. You may know me better. As the voice of Bart Simpson on Simpsons Declassified, we're diving into the mysteries. The key Keep the Simpsons forever young. Have you ever wondered how the Simpsons regularly predicts future events? Who better to ask than the show's creators, performers and writers?
- [20:09]
A
The celebrity guests?
- [20:11]
B
Be sure to follow and listen to.
- [20:13]
A
Simpsons Declassified wherever you get your podcasts. This episode is brought to you by Kachava. I always like to stay sharp. Whether I'm researching for an episode or I'm out driving or I'm in the office. I just feel better when my mind is is working and clear and I can feel sharp. And that's because a day can change in an instant. We need nourishment so that we can stay sharp and out of danger. And Kachava's whole body meal shakes will keep your body and mind nourished all day and ready for anything. And they just launched a new strawberry flavor with real freeze dried strawberries recently. I tried their new strawberry flavor and I absolutely love it. I've been craving a lot of cold sweet treats recently and the strawberry cachava is just absolutely Perfect. It also has 85 plus superfoods, plant based ingredients, 25 grams of plant based protein, antioxidants, adaptogens and more. So I feel like I'm having a whole meal when I have it. I don't really need to eat anything else when I have a big cachava shake. Strawberry might have just unseated my favorite flavor which was vanilla and chocolate. I liked both of them probably equally. Cachava contains nutrients to support your strength, energy, digestion, metabolism, cognition and immunity. It mixes into smoothies. Really smooth. It's very creamy. The texture I think is perfect. Whether you use a shaker bottle or a blender, you've never tasted strawberry like this. Go to cachava.com and use code HSP for 15% off your order. That's Kachava K A C H A V A.com code HSP for 15% off before we dive back in, I wanted to give a quick reminder that next week we are starting our spooky season Monsters programming and we're kicking it off with with the real story of a vampire that descended upon Dusseldorf, Germany in the 1920s. Next month we're also going to be re releasing our horror audio drama called the Timekeeper which stars Judah Lewis, Chandler Kinney and Arjun Atelier. I'm going to Include a trailer at the end of next week's episode. So make sure you stick around for that. Okay, back to it.
- [22:17]
B
Okay. So should we get into this next story?
- [22:19]
A
Yes.
- [22:19]
B
Okay. So the title of this one is I think My mother in law Tried to kill Me. The poster is Sugar Mama and there is a trigger warning of incesty behavior and attempted murder. Not looking good. Okay, so I have been married for a week now. My mother in law always hated me and blatantly told me that my husband also has no spine. Today is the day that I annulled my marriage. There is no need for divorce under six months in the country that I live in now. My mother in law tried everything to get me away from her son and she finally succeeded. The following is what she did that led me to my decision. I have a very crazy allergy against latex. I react really badly to it. We found out when I was a little toddler and I was treated in the hospital and went into shock after a nurse just touched me. Since then, I have a little sticker on my driver's license and I wear an allergy necklace. I can even die from sniffing a glove. My mother in law knew this because my husband had told her. Last week, after I got home from work, I was angry with my ex husband. I can't remember why. Everything is really fuzzy now. I cannot remember too well. However, I went to bed early. I had just bought this bed a month ago because I refused to sleep in our old one. The reason being my mother in law slept there the night after our wedding. I spent my wedding night on the couch. But that's a whole other story. When I got into bed, it felt really comfy. But I could feel something strange. It felt like a small layer of plastic under my mattress. I assumed that this was normal since it's a new bed. I might have missed some of the plastic cover on the mattress. I didn't think too much about it and I went to sleep. I woke up 17 hours later in the hospital. My ex mother in law cut up 75 latex gloves to create a little layer under my duvet cover. I do not remember any of this. But when my husband went to bed several hours later, he. He found me white as a ghost, sweating and barely breathing. You know why I knew it was my mother in law? Because she called me later to brag about it. While in the hospital, she told my ex husband that she was afraid that I would wet the bed since I acted so childish. I am a 27 year old woman. My ex husband, instead of going full no contact, said that he was sorry about my behavior. He was sorry. I was in the hospital for a week. My ex husband only visited me once and that was to make me apologize to his mother, which I did not. I asked for security and told everyone he was not allowed to be back in my room. I don't know what happened. I don't. He was never like this. We had been together for five years. It's like I married a man that I had never met before. I'm still shaking with anger and disappointment and I'm pissed at myself. How could I have married a man like this? How could I still love him after everything that he has done to me? Thank you for reading. Now a comment. First of all, that's a lot to take in.
- [25:12]
A
Like that is that is a ride.
- [25:14]
B
Yeah, that is a crazy ass mother in law story. So a commenter said, please tell me that she has been arrested and the original poster says I pressed charges. Arrest is still pending. Then she posted another update saying update to the day I nullified my marriage. Yep already. And this 1 was posted Feb. 21, 2018. It says so I already got an update for you. No time to mourn for me I guess. To clarify, yes my dumb ex husband did want me to apologize, but not because of the attempted murder. Took me a while to accept that this was actually what she wanted, but because I hung up the phone on her while I was at the hospital and she called me to brag about her quote for thinking. I honestly do not know if my ex husband intended for his mother to do what she did. I I just know that she got a key from my apartment and she did what she did while he was at work. I did not know that she was even there or that she received our spare key, but she must have done this in the early morning. I started work at 4am and I got home at approximately 4pm and I went to bed at 8pm so my wonderful, wonderful aunt is a lawyer and she called me and told me that my mother in law, who I will now refer to as Latex Lucy, is in custody. Unfortunately my ex husband was already released from the police. Apparently he told them that he was not aware that the gloves were made out of latex because you cannot buy latex gloves in an ordinary supermarket here. And I honestly do not know if he's being truthful or if he just does not want to go to prison. Then another update was posted a few months later in April, April 27, 2018 saying update to Latex Lucy. I am sorry. Hello guys, it's me again. Here is an update to the situation with Latex Lucy. Yesterday she was sentenced to 13 months in prison. After that she will have to spend a month in a psychiatric ward. She's not allowed in my immediate vicinity under any circumstances whatsoever. The trial was hard. Really hard. I got married just three months ago and everyone that danced at my wedding and congratulated me was there at the trial. I felt like they all hated me. But nothing hurt me more than the way that my ex looked at me. So disappointed. I am a mess. But this sub has a therapeutic effect on me. So thank you guys for everything you have done for me. I'll try to calm down. Maybe I can go into more detail. Thank you so much. Then we have one final update from the poster almost a year after her first post. This one is titled Latex Lucy was released from prison and it was posted on January 9, 2019. Hello everyone. I am much better now. I barely think about Latex Lucy and my ex husband because I moved on with my life. I have a new boyfriend now. Our relationship is exactly a month old and everything is fine. And today I got a call from my lawyer aunt that Latex Lucy was released from prison today. She was supposed to serve 13 months, but she ended up serving almost eight and she only spent two weeks in a psych ward. My aunt told me that she also said that she would like to apologize to me in person. I laughed, guys. I couldn't stop. I literally laughed out loud and I was like I was not physically able to stop it. And after I calmed down, I said no very loudly. And my aunt told me that she thought that would be my reaction. She said she just wanted to ask me first. I live very, very far from where I used to live and I haven't talked to my ex since the day I saw him at the trial. But I'm still scared. I'm scared that this woman will somehow find me. I'm just glad I'm not alone. Hope you guys are okay. Stay safe.
- [28:50]
A
Wow. It kind of reminds me of that mushroom poisoning case.
- [28:53]
B
Yes, yes, yes, yes.
- [28:55]
A
She killed her husband's family, correct?
- [28:58]
B
Yeah.
- [28:59]
A
And her husband was supposed to be there.
- [29:00]
B
Yeah.
- [29:00]
A
At the. Yes.
- [29:01]
B
I mean, it's really wild. I've heard a lot of mother in law horror stories and I mean, look at the Adelson case. I don't know if you've been following that with Donna Adelson in Florida. It's Tallahassee.
- [29:11]
A
I'm not as Familiar with that one. Someone just sent me an article.
- [29:13]
B
It's like this whole murder for hire plot and basically her daughter Wendy, her ex husband Dan Markel, they had like this horrible custody dispute and the mother in law is the matriarch of this family and enlisted the brother, the brother's ex girlfriend, all of these people in this like conspiracy murder plot against Dan Markell. Four, no, five people now have been convicted and everybody thinks Wendy, the daughter, the ex wife, is about to be charged next. She hasn't been charged.
- [29:40]
A
Oh my gosh.
- [29:40]
B
But it's like I've heard of mother in law stories.
- [29:43]
A
Yeah.
- [29:43]
B
This kind of is next level to be so calculated that you snip up 27 latex gloves and like put them under the duvet.
- [29:51]
A
True. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like the amount and especially because there was that note that they said of you can't just buy them in grocery stores. I don't know if they're in the UK or where they were posting from, but yeah, you just can't get it in a grocery store. So like this person had to hunt down medical grade latex gloves.
- [30:06]
B
Yes.
- [30:06]
A
Snip them all up and put them. At first I was thinking, because I do hear a lot of horror stories, mother in law stories and just like parent stories in general, grandparents stories of like not trusting allergies, being like no one really has a gluten allergy. Like I'm just going to make a normal cake and I'll lie about it and then you feed it to someone and that person actually does have a reaction. And so at first I was like, maybe it's that where they think she thinks that her daughter in law is being dramatic with this allergy and is. I don't know, I don't know. But it feels like it was intentionally trying to kill her.
- [30:37]
B
Yeah. Well, and to get such a light sentence, if it was attempted murder and then for her to say she wants to apologize in person, I'd be the same way. Like hell no, you're not coming near me.
- [30:47]
A
We're not talking anymore.
- [30:48]
B
No. Yeah, the relationship is done. Yeah. Yeah.
- [30:52]
A
Oh my gosh. Yeah. Like there's like so many lesser things that could have happened for the relationship to be over at that point.
- [30:59]
B
Absolutely. Well, and also like not for nothing, but even if you were going to try to murder her with latex, like why do it this way? You're going to get caught. When there's shreds of latex gloves everywhere, it's not gonna look like it was an accident. No, of course Maybe do a little bit of strategic thinking.
- [31:14]
A
The poisoning cases that it made me think of, there's also that Brazilian one that happened late last year. Like Christmas last year where this woman tried to kill her husband's entire family. So I guess it's a little bit different because it's not the mother in law. But those people really think they're gonna get away with it because they think that poison is undetectable and no one will know that they all died of arsenic poisoning. I don't know what this person was thinking. Like what she was thinking. The police would think when you see a little latex. Like a handmade latex blanket. No.
- [31:43]
B
I mean, yeah, obviously somebody put it there. It's not like even a nut allergy. To your point, if somebody like bakes nuts in something, they're not dumping a whole canister of nuts on someone's back. Get a little more strategic.
- [31:54]
A
Absolutely. But then the enabling of the sun too, is just.
- [31:58]
B
Yeah. Mama's boy.
- [31:59]
A
Well, that's interesting you brought up in the Adelson case, because I didn't know much about it, but the fact that she was able to convince so many people in the family to be part.
- [32:07]
B
Of this plot, well, that's kind of where there's a lot of discussion now. I personally think Wendy is the catalyst in all of this. The ex wife. And that she wanted to enlist all this help. Other people are saying, and her argument is, no, my family took it upon themselves because my mom had such a hatred for him. And all of this stuff where it's like, get real. I don't know. Mortal.
- [32:27]
A
How are you the only one that doesn't know what's going on?
- [32:29]
B
Exactly.
- [32:29]
A
And you're the closest to it, and.
- [32:31]
B
You'Re the only reason that there's any sort of friction.
- [32:33]
A
I don't really believe that.
- [32:34]
B
No.
- [32:34]
A
Yeah, I saw there was something about like the grandmother maybe wanted to be closer to the grandchildren. Was that like an excuse they were saying?
- [32:40]
B
Yeah. And then she tried to say that she wasn't a part of it yet. When they arrested her, she was at the airport going to Vietnam with a one way ticket, which is like a non extradition country. And it's like, okay, I've never heard.
- [32:52]
A
Of anyone being caught at an airport trying to get to another country who is not guilty of the body cam footage.
- [32:58]
B
You have to watch it. It is insane.
- [33:01]
A
It's her trying to like, explain herself.
- [33:02]
B
Yeah. And then her like being like, ow, ow, you're hurting me. Like all these. It's so bizarre.
- [33:08]
A
You're hurting me. After everything you've done.
- [33:10]
B
Exactly.
- [33:10]
A
To this family. Exactly. Okay, so I have another one for you that I'm gonna read. This one is intense. I will add. It's very intense. Okay, so the title of this one is just I shot my stalker tonight. Ooh. Stalking cases always scare me like no other. But they're the one. I mean, a lot of cases are like this. I feel like stalking cases, it's so empowering to hear the story from the people who actually lived it because like so often they're not believed and stuff. So this woman took a lot of time to write out her story. So this one includes trigger warnings of stalking, threats of rape, threats of murder, and shooting in self defense. It was originally Posted in September, September 24th of 2014 by a now deleted account. Okay, so she remains anonymous, but it goes. For the past six months, I've been relentlessly stalked and have had threats against my life made from someone I dated for one month. It started with phone calls, upwards of 45 to 50 a day, 50 page text messages and him showing up outside my house at 5 in the morning. When I wouldn't comply or feed the negative attention, I I began receiving threats. Claims that he would murder me and get away with it. He said all he'd have to do is flee the country, telling me he shouldn't have to force me to be his friend or give him another chance or else. Every time I blocked his number from contacting me, he would then call me from a different one, try and pretend to be other people. Or sometimes he would have his friends or strangers off the street try to call me. After about two months of that, I was eventually evicted from my apartment building due to my neighbors no longer feeling safe because of his looming presence. I then applied for and was granted a TPO temporary restraining order. A few days afterwards, I received a picture message of the note that the sheriff civil had left on the door of my stalker's then residence. Also it included a message from him taunting me. It said, quote, what you're trying to do is stupid and a restraining order is just a piece of paper. May 31st of this year, I relocated. This did not deter my stalker. He vowed to find wherever I moved to and he threatened that if he couldn't find me, then he would be able to find my family. And then he proceeded to send me a map of my mother's home whom he had never met. I received a message from a woman claiming to be my former landlord letting me know that I owed A balance on my account and to avoid late fees, I needed to pay the amount which I could do with the link that was provided in the message. It turns out that was my stalker pretending to be a woman and the link turned out to be a tool used to grab the user's I address when they click the link. Upon this discovery, I changed my phone number. I began to systematically dismantle any trace of an online presence that I once had. This action only seemed to anger him and before deleting the profiles outright, I would attempt to block him from contacting me. Each and every time I blocked one, he simply created a new one and proceeded to contact me as if nothing happened. 12 different Reddit accounts, nine different Tumblrs, 10 different Instagrams, three meetup accounts, four Facebooks with which he changed his location to that of my hometown and proceeded to add nearly everyone from my graduating class in high school and even three duolingo accounts and a MySpace. Yes, he even made a MySpace. I then received an empty package from his address to my former residence with the declaration address correction requested, do not forward. I'm assuming he thought that the post office would adhere to this request and would return the package to him with my new corrected address on it. Mid July he created a profile using my photos and likeness to threaten my family and when I didn't respond, he proceeded to post semi nude pictures of me on the profile in an attempt to blackmail me into speaking with him. I did not and I contacted Twitter to report the account and have it removed, which eventually they did. In August of this year I awoke around 8pm to vigorous knocking and ringing of my doorbell. I looked out of my window to see who it was and I was horrified to see my stalker there. I called the police and of course he just fled once again, over seven separate police reports were filed at that point. This incident was followed by threatening emails from my stalker demanding that I meet him somewhere or because he had found me, that next time I would, quote, wake up to gunshots and that if I didn't he would first taser me and assault me and then use my blood for his own personal reasons. This past Sunday night I Woke up at 6:45 in the morning to the ringing and banging again. I proceeded to record him on video and I was on the phone with the police at the time. He fled on foot once again and I was hit with the same hoopla from law enforcement. Quote, we can't really do much because technically at this point he's not doing anything wrong. Then why does he flee, I wonder? I obtained a protection order once again, but I have no solid address for this person, which is why I'm posting here. I am in dire need of a private investigator to assist with finding his residence so that this person can be served. I hope you might be able to refer me to someone who might be able to assist me. I've developed insomnia, depression, anxiety, paranoia. I'm completely isolated. I'm 22 years old and I have no social life anymore. I have zero friends. I've become a shell of my former self, I've faced eviction and I've lost a job because of this man's behavior. And I don't know how much longer I can survive. There's actually so much more that he's done to terrorize me. But for the sake of this already lengthy post, I tried to condense it. I have proof in the form of recordings, even diaries, and copies of all of his threats, interactions and attempts to communicate and would be more than willing to email them to show that I'm not lying. So that was the original post. The original post, this person was just asking for a private investigator so she could serve this guy papers.
- [38:49]
B
That is so scary.
- [38:51]
A
And then there was an update that was just two weeks from this original post. It included a photo that's now been deleted, but I have an image description. So the image description of the photo was that it was a photo of a slightly open door. There was a chair in front pushed to the side, black paint covering the side of the door that has been busted in. Arrows that are most likely from a crime scene unit are stuck to the door, pointing to individual spots. And her update goes. I'm writing this staring at the mess the police left for me. I'm in a bit of a fog. After six months of stalking and threats against my life, the stalker finally snapped and decided to kick my door in and make good on his promise out of fear. This past month, I had begun sleeping with a chair propped against my front door just to give myself a few precious extra seconds in case of an emergency. I shudder to think about how differently things might have turned out had I not barricaded the door. I woke around 1:15 in the morning to the sound of the door giving way after one kick, followed by the sounds of my stalker struggling to dislodge the the chair while forcing his way inside. I jumped up and grabbed the gun. I've been learning to do everything with even shower with. I stood at the top of my stairs and I fired twice. I hit him in the chest. I've never been so afraid in my life. I don't know if he's alive, but I do know that the police have him, and that is what helps me the most. For months of him evading the police, I began to question whether he was unstoppable, untraceable like Houdini. He could just murder me and get away with it. As of now, I'm in a haze of guilt, surprise, and relief and disbelief. I shook as the canines dragged him out from his hiding place under a bush. I survived where so many people did not. And what's kind of crazy about this story is I'm going to show you this. She actually included an article.
- [40:39]
B
Oh, wow.
- [40:40]
A
Yeah. Like the first thing that pops up is, woman shoot stalker after he kicks in her door. I stood up for myself. So there's actual articles reporting on this happening and they even use quotes from her posts. So one of one of the articles reads, a woman shot her stalker after he kicked in her back door. She had been living in fear, showering with a gun and propping a chair up against her door for just this sort of situation. Her post to Reddit helped make the story go viral. Police say former boyfriend Douglas Eugene Jackson, 22 years old, kicked in her door at around 1am last Friday. KVVUTV reports that Jackson left the scene and tried to hide in some bushes. Police dogs quickly found the stalker. He was treated for his injuries at University Medical center of Southern Nevada. Jackson now faces charges of home invasion and aggravated stalking. The victim, who does not wish to be identified, has saved many threatening texts and social media posts from her stalker. She says he forced her to move, obtain a restraining order, and acquire a license to carry a concealed weapon. And what's even more wild, I just have like a little, one little more section about this is there's actually an update on this case in 2020. So that's six years after the article was published. Okay, so the editor's note on this article is that this is six years after the original event. But it's the same guy. He did this to a different woman in 2019 while he was on parole. They referred to the original poster as the, quote, former girlfriend in Las Vegas, even though she only went on two dates with him. And the article, part of the article just reads, a Nevada man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to stalking a female acquaintance while on parole for a similar crime that happened in Las Vegas. The county district office in Reno announced The sentence for 28 year old Douglas Eugene Jackson on Friday. Jackson was arrested in Florence, Arizona in January and pleaded guilty to the aggravated stalking charge in July, according to prosecutors. An investigation by the Sparks Police Department determined that Jackson had sent numerous threatening text messages to a woman over several months in 2019. The texts included threats against the woman's dog and property. He also called the woman's family and friends in an effort to get information about her. At the time of the threats, Jackson was on parole for stalking a former girlfriend in Las Vegas. That woman ended up shooting him at her home. And there's an editor's note about how it's about the first Reddit post. According to the district Attorney's office, prosecutor Travis Lucia sought a maximum sentence because of the terrifying nature of Jackson's conduct, which came after only a month on parole for the previous crime. And I read that he had been sentenced for to 15 years.
- [43:14]
B
I mean, that's great, but. And I don't know if this is like a hot take or not, but I wish that she would have shot 12 inches higher. Like this guy is scared to stop him. Yeah.
- [43:26]
A
At that point, I mean, he did the. His next crime. What did they say a month after.
- [43:32]
B
He was on parole? After he was released on parole. It's like this guy is a serial stalker and predator and he's only. I mean, we've seen it in so many things, even true crime cases, where it's like after a while, not only is it a pattern, but you start to escalate, you get more confident, you learn how to evade certain things. It's like this guy was clearly getting scary.
- [43:50]
A
The escalation is something that's really scary because you're right, it is like someone who stalks. I feel like they really only do it one time. No, there's something in your brain that latches onto people, usually strangers or someone you've had like one interaction with and.
- [44:03]
B
You feel entitled to them and entitled to their attention.
- [44:06]
A
And the escalation part is the really, really the scariest thing, which I don't know what the sentencing for stalkers. I feel like every time I read a case about stalkers being sentenced, it's like nine months for bad behavior.
- [44:18]
B
Literally. It's only here, let's look back at that catfish one that we were talking about. She, that's what she was like charged and convicted of was stalking. She's already out on parole. And not only is she already out on parole, her parole is done the first of the year in 2026. And she, she's not on the registry. She has no one to check in with. She's just done.
- [44:36]
A
So she's allowed to just contact everyone who is involved.
- [44:38]
B
Everybody. It's crazy.
- [44:41]
A
Wow.
- [44:41]
B
I know.
- [44:41]
A
How long was she actually? I remember her sentencing was not long at all, but she ended up being in for like a month or something, like, pathetic.
- [44:50]
B
Yeah. I feel like she ended up going in for a little bit longer than a few months. I'd have to get the exact thing. I don't want to quote it, but not long enough. Certainly not long enough. And there should have been, in my opinion, a lot of other things attached to that sentence, I think.
- [45:04]
A
I mean, part of it's got to be because she's a woman and also a mom, and so people think that she's not really dangerous, even though she clearly is.
- [45:12]
B
What would have happened if her daughter committed suicide like she told her to.
- [45:15]
A
Do every single day?
- [45:16]
B
Yeah, exactly. What would have happened? It's just kind of like the Michelle Carter case, if you're familiar with that.
- [45:20]
A
Yeah, of course.
- [45:21]
B
It's like it doesn't matter if it wasn't your intention for real, to drive them to that, which I think it was for Michelle Carter. But it's like there should be heavier repercussions for the content that you're sending, the types of messages and things you're trying to entice.
- [45:36]
A
I totally agree. I'm from Connecticut, and we had one of the first ever cases of this thing happening on the Internet. And this is the story I colloquially tell to people. So I will have to fact check the whole thing. But the reason I was never allowed to get a MySpace was because there was a case in Connecticut where this one woman's daughter was getting bullied at school. So the mom made a fake MySpace of a boy and friended the bully on MySpace and started talking to her and developed a relationship with her, a sexually explicit relationship bully. The bully online, bullied the bully, broke up, broke up with the bully as pretending to be this boy. And the bully took her own life. She really did do the thing that, like, the mom in the documentary was trying to get her daughter to do. And this was probably. I mean, it must have been 2006. It was so early in Internet days and social media. And so the state of Connecticut was like, listen, you can't be responsible for someone else's suicide if you were just talking to them online.
- [46:32]
B
Yeah.
- [46:33]
A
And they set the precedent that it is not your fault. Which is. I mean, we see that play out in the Michelle Carter case too that like, are you really culpable for someone else's actions? Well, yeah, if you're bullying them that hard and driving them to that place, it's psychological warfare.
- [46:48]
B
You're like inciting them to do these horrific things. Like, it's a different kind of weapon. It's a digital weapon.
- [46:54]
A
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Which I thought that was so interesting. I mean, they touch out on it in the documentary too, but like the digital Munchausens of it as well that like, I don't know, we're seeing these mental illnesses too that are so tethered to the Internet. Yeah, it's scary.
- [47:08]
B
It's very scary.
- [47:09]
A
It's really scary. I mean, obviously it's sad how little time he was put away for the first time that he committed this crime. I'm, I was almost shocked reading this that she shooting him in self defense, didn't go to jail because you hear.
- [47:24]
B
That, you do hear about that a lot.
- [47:25]
A
So much like, well, were you really, like, if he was just sending you messages, did you have to shoot him? He was coming into your house.
- [47:33]
B
You know what? Pro tip, God forbid if anybody listening ever ends up in this kind of, kind of situation. But a good family friend of mine who's a cop said whether you're being stalked, whether it's a home invasion, especially obviously here in California, what you need to do is if somebody breaks in and if you are gonna have a weapon on you to yell, I have a weapon, shoot two warning shots into the ceiling before you then ever fire.
- [47:56]
A
The 70 year old woman upstairs for me is gonna hate that because then.
- [48:00]
B
That way they'll be like, okay, you tried to warn them, you didn't just fire, they still pursued you. I don't know what loopholes there still.
- [48:07]
A
Could be, but like, yeah, my husband had told me about this, maybe you would be interested in this because he asked me if I wanted to do it. But apparently up way far in the valley in la, there's this house, I think it's just run by these people, but they run a simulation of home invasions.
- [48:24]
B
Oh, my husband does those. They have one down here in Orange County.
- [48:26]
A
Really?
- [48:27]
B
Yes.
- [48:28]
A
So you're in your house and they're like, there's a weapon somewhere in here that you would normally put it. And then they have these people pretend to break in the house and you have to do what you would normally do and if you break the law, they like stop you. And they're like, actually I know you shot the intruder, but like you weren't allowed to do it in that situation.
- [48:44]
B
Yeah.
- [48:45]
A
So, yeah, my husband's like, would you want to do that? And I'm like, I don't know.
- [48:48]
B
No. So my husband and my brother have been doing things like that down here where it's like, it also simulates, like, if somebody's trying to rob you or like carjack you and all of these things. Like, what are you allowed to do?
- [48:58]
A
Oh, my gosh.
- [48:59]
B
Which I. How crazy that we have to take these kinds of classes. Like that is. Can we just go back to taking like, cooking classes?
- [49:05]
A
I know. I remember taking self defense in college where they're like, step out in back and you'll be able to get away. And I'm like, it feels like way more complicated.
- [49:13]
B
It's way more complicated.
- [49:16]
A
Your husband likes taking those classes. Does he feel very prepared now or.
- [49:19]
B
Yeah, but like, annoyingly so. Or he like, it's just like, get off your high horse. Like, but also, I'm glad that you'll protect me.
- [49:26]
A
Oh, my God. Maybe we'll have to do like a true crime field trip to one of those houses once and run the simulations and see like, what we do. But yeah, it's just. I mean, it's a crazy time. I'm so glad that this girl is so prepared. Same went about it the right way.
- [49:40]
B
It could have ended so differently.
- [49:41]
A
I know. And she's safe. And like, this guy is in jail at least for 15 years. I'm sure they will find a reason to get him out early, but it's scary. It's really scary out there. This episode is brought to you by Beam. Let's talk about something the world seems to ignore. Our hormones. They impact our energy, mood, sleep, even our skin. And when they're out of whack, everything just feels off. So what if one scoop could fill in the gaps and keep you feeling your best? Would you give it a shot? That's why I started using Glow by Beam. It's a once daily hormone balancing blend for women that has made a huge improvement in my life. And you need to try it too. Glow is packed with 18 active ingredients plus vitamins, minerals and natural antioxidants, all working together to support hormone balance, metabolism, immune function and collagen production. And there are added electrolytes for a hydration boost, which makes it super easy to stay hydrated and glowing all day. I found Glow to be the simplest way to keep keep up with my hormones, hydration, and everything in between. Just mix one scoop with 8 ounces of water, shake, stir or froth and you're good to go. Over 40,000 women have trusted Glow by beam to support their hormone health. And now it's your turn. GLOW is here to help bring you back to balance. Because balance isn't a luxury, it's essential for a limited time. BEAM is offering our listeners up to 35% off Glow. Just visit shop beam.com HSP and use code HSP at checkout. That's shop B-E-A-M.com HSP and don't forget to use code HSP for your exclusive discount. This episode is brought to you by Zola. I'm going to let you in on a little secret about weddings. You can do whatever you want. There's really not any rules. If you want to get married in a haunted house, you can. If you want all of your bridesmaids to wear white so evil spirits don't recognize who the bride is, which is the original purpose of bridesmaids, you can also do that. But whatever you do, you do need support in your wedding journey. And Zola is here to help. Zola helps you plan the wedding you really want. I really could have used Zola on my wedding day. We thought that we could do everything ourselves and we definitely missed some stuff along the way. You know, minor things like invitations and wedding registries. Zola is modern wedding planning for modern couples. No lie. With Zola, you can plan your entire wedding in one convenient place. And not only does Zola have every tool you need to make planning enjoyable, from making your vendor search non anxiety inducing to wedding websites and an instant registry that you can literally build with one click, they also really get you from challenging the expectation that one person will do all of the planning work to reminding you that there's no right way to do things, only what's right for you. Zola will have your back from day one to the wedding day. So start planning@zola.com that's z o l a.com this episode is brought to you by Merit Beauty. My skin has always been slightly red. I call it an Irish glow. So I always like to have some makeup on my face. But a lot of times I want it to look like I'm not really wearing makeup, you know? And I don't want to go through a time consuming 50 step application process just to look like I'm not wearing makeup. Which is why I'm excited to tell you about Merit Beauty. I've been using their minimalist perfecting complexion stick on my redness and it's honestly made a huge difference. I also love their great Skin Instant Glow Serum, which gives my skin this nice glowy look before I apply my makeup. It's like my skin, but better. Merit is a minimalist beauty brand that helps you simplify your mornings without sacrificing looking put together. I can take five minutes in the morning before I film a social video or just go meet a friend for coffee and not look like I just rolled out of bed, which I love. And we've talked about makeup throughout the years. A bit on this podcast in one of our Morbid Medicine episodes, I mentioned how people in the 1800s used to put lead in their makeup and how it's important to know what's in the stuff you're putting on your face. And with Merit, their products are clean, vegan and incredibly easy to use. Like I don't even really need a mirror when I put it on. It's truly makeup you can live in. And trust me, my mornings have never been easier. Ready to simplify your routine? Head to meritbeauty.com and get their signature makeup bag free with your first order.
- [53:50]
B
Speaking of scary, this one the title is Is my Landlord Watching Me?
- [53:55]
A
I already hate it.
- [53:56]
B
I know. And the poster is Sleepy and worried and the original post was from March 16, 2021 hello, I am new to Reddit and after debating for a bit I decided to make this account to maybe get some input of what to do. English is my second language so I apologize for any typos. I am a 26 year old female living alone for the first time. My landlord has always felt a bit off to me. He is a man in his late 40s and has never held back from commenting about the way that I look, etc. When I moved in he was very clear about me not touching the two fire alarms in my bedroom and in my hallway. He justified it by saying that they were directly connected with the fire department and if I would try to do anything to them I would cause an alarm. The alarm in my bedroom has always made me feel weird. It makes a lot of noises, especially at night, almost sounding like a remote controlled car and sometimes making a very muffled beeping sound. I brought it up to him once and he said it was nothing and if it caused more problems I should call him. But other things kept happening and more and more it felt like something was off though at the same time people kept telling me I was overthinking things and scared. Since it was my first time living alone. The first thing that felt off to me was as I was renovating to move in, I grabbed a wrong shade of the color I wanted for my bedroom and it ended up looking a bit too bright on the wall. I tested it on a few days later he snapped at me about how horrible the pink was I was using in my bedroom and he asked if I was crazy. I had not let him inside my place so I was very confused but kind of brushed it off. Like maybe I had walked around in paint covered clothing. But things got weirder after that. During January last year I spent a day at my parents house and when I came back something felt off. I couldn't pinpoint it and no one was inside my apartment. But I realized after walking into my bedroom a second time one of the drawers under my bed was pulled out and I don't remember ever touching it again. I brushed it off mainly because my parents told me I probably just forgot and kind of ended up feeling ashamed for ever bringing it up. Months later during the summer, I took part in a gaming night on a friend's Discord server and when I I hate discord, okay? And when I finally hopped off to go to bed at 4am I came into my bedroom to see my underwear drawers were open. I panicked and called my mom because she lives close by and I wasn't sure if someone was still in the apartment. After that I installed a door chain and got an alarm for the time I spent at home. I suspected my landlord had a second key and now probably wasn't able to get inside anymore. But that didn't cover the time when I was not home. Sometimes when I come back furniture in my bedroom is slightly moved but at this point my family keeps telling me I just forgot and I moved it and now I am too ashamed to keep bringing it up. I know I sound insane, but is it possible to have cameras installed in the fire alarms? Could I call the fire department on their non emergency number just asking if they can take a look at it because of the weird noises. I really just want my peaceful life back. Constantly knowing someone might have been in here in the past while I slept is really creeping me me out and make me want to cry. Do you have any advice on what I should do? The next Update came on March 17th and it says Good morning and thank you to everyone giving their input and sending messages to me. I had a call with the fire department and they told me the alarm is not connected to them in any way, shape or form and that it is extremely fishy that the one tinkered with is the bedroom one. I also completely forgot. I do have a storage room that has an alarm that looks identical to the one in the hallway. They told me to ask my friends and family if anyone knows a bit about electricity and have them come by to take it off and take a look inside. They said it's very likely some kind of foul play happened here. Disregarding the camera problem, there is still a fire alarm someone messed with which they said was not okay. My mom's best friend is an electrician and I will try to reach him today to ask if he can come by asap. Otherwise I know he is going to be around on Monday so I might have to wait a bit longer. Either way, I will keep you updated. Thank you so much for your support. The next update, which is now March 23rd of 2021. So just what, six days later? Sorry for not updating instantly. Today was very stressful while as far as I know because of my mom's friend, my smoke detector is okay right now. But there is other stuff that came up I don't know and can't say more about what is going on. I don't know what I'm allowed to say and I would rather not risk it since there's an ongoing police investigation. All in all, I have made choices to keep my safety insured for now. Sorry for not being able to give some of you the closure they may want to hear. Maybe one day I might be able to share the full story of what happened until then. To all of you, thank you so much. You helped me gain the confidence to have things looked at and to make my safety my priority. I hope things are going to be good for all of you in these crazy times. Again, thank you. I wish you all the best. Then there was a final update on this post posted about a year ago and it says I logged into this Reddit by chance many years later and felt like I should finally give an update to this. To start this off. No, my landlord wasn't watching me, it was someone else. I did mention a police investigation that ended up being connected to this. Since the entire thing is finally over and I had some time to heal. I will add what happened that was in relation to this. My ex was stalking me and tried breaking into my apartment one night during the time I was still actively updating the REDD post. I was at home during that time and thankfully was able to scare him off after locking myself in the living room. This was added to an already ongoing investigation against him for something else, so I wasn't able to update this anymore since there was reason to suspect he might have gotten into my apartment at an earlier point while I wasn't home. Everything that happened left me not feeling safe anymore. And with the lockdown and the ongoing investigation, my mental health health broke down hard. My PTSD was running overtime and I ended up having to admit myself to a clinic for a while in 2022. I worked a lot on myself and changed things in my life. I am no longer living alone and I am in way better contact with my parents by now. I moved and I feel much better by now. I am sorry it took so long to update. The police investigation ended up making it to court and it took forever for things to be sorted out. After everything was over, I struggled very hard for a while, but with the help of my support system and therapy, I made it through that. The years were rough, but I thankfully am in a better place now. And yes, my ex did get punished for what he did. And all the fire alarms got fixed too. Again, sorry this took so long to update. I don't like thinking back to that time because it left a pretty deep scar. But I hope I can give some more context to why I wasn't able to continue updating this.
- [60:41]
A
I feel like I have whiplash from that one.
- [60:43]
B
No, it's like you think you know where it's going and then it takes a turn. And it did feel like her parents were gaslighting her.
- [60:48]
A
No, it definitely felt like the parents were like you're being a little dramatic.
- [60:52]
B
Yeah. Like you moved the furniture. No, I remember moving a couch.
- [60:56]
A
I would remember that.
- [60:58]
B
Yeah.
- [60:59]
A
I have so many thoughts. The idea of someone putting cameras inside of your fire alarms is terrifying to me.
- [61:05]
B
It's so scary. But, like, I see all the Airbnb stories all the time.
- [61:08]
A
Have you ever stayed in an Airbnb that you thought had cameras?
- [61:12]
B
No.
- [61:12]
A
There was one I was in that I'm convinced had cameras. This was probably 2017 or 2018, so it was before all the exposes about it started coming out. But we were staying. It was for my friend's birthday. We were young. We definitely were pushing it with how many people we had in the house, but we intentionally had driven a smaller amount of cars so it would look like there was only a couple people in the Airbnb. And really we were.
- [61:34]
B
I love it.
- [61:35]
A
Clown carring a couple more girls in there. But I remember being in there and seeing the. I think it was the carbon monoxide things and being like, that doesn't look like a normal one. That just something about it looks like a camera, but that would be crazy. Who would put a camera in an Airbnb? And I remember the owners of the Airbnb messaged my friend afterwards, and they knew exactly how many girls were in the house. They knew exactly what we had done the whole time we were there. They knew all the rules that we had broken. And I was like, I bet it was because that really was a camera. And they could just watch all the people in the house and count how many people were actually there.
- [62:10]
B
It's creepy. Like, here's one thing. I have rented houses in the past. Not like me as the owner, but, like, stayed in houses where they'll have cameras outside. Maybe there's one in the living room, which is kind of weird in itself, but it's not hidden. It's like, okay, you know that they're like, it's cameras for their property. And you kind of know, maybe they'll check in. We just need to keep it clean and, like, take care of it. But when somebody goes to the lengths of having a hidden camera, whether it's a nanny cam, a carbon monoxide thing, like, that's diabolical.
- [62:38]
A
Diabolical. Putting it in the smoke.
- [62:40]
B
Yeah. In the device. And here it's like it was her ex who was doing this, but she still had this creepy ass landlord who was, like, making weird comments and stuff, so. And like, telling her not to, like, mess with anything. It's like, what's happening here?
- [62:51]
A
He knew the color of the paint inside.
- [62:53]
B
Exactly.
- [62:53]
A
Was he also just up to something weird, but wasn't the one installing the camera?
- [62:57]
B
I know.
- [62:59]
A
Ooh, that's so spooky. I just had a friend who went through a situation. It's different than this, but she was living with her roommate, and she always felt like the roommate was, like, standing outside of her door. What? She could hear the roommate's door open, the roommate walk out but not move. And so to the point where it just felt like she was standing outside.
- [63:17]
B
Of her door, like, listening in.
- [63:18]
A
Yeah, like she was listening. And. Cause my friend would, like, call her mom during the day. She always felt like her roommate was listening in on these conversations. And then there was like, an issue where my friend had a lock on her door, and she always felt like the lock was weird. So she contacted the landlord about the lock, and the landlord was like, we didn't put a lock on your door. Like, it was the roommate who had put the lock on the door. So the roommate also had a key to the lock. That was what is happening Door. But the final straw, because it was a situation, which I kind of feel for this poster, because even my friend was like, I think I'm crazy. I think that this person is surveilling me. Am I going into psychosis? Why am I having these thoughts? But she was in her living room, and she was sweeping, and she noticed that the Alexa had moved to a position where it was just facing the living room. Like, it could be observing people inside the living room. She went over, and she was so curious. So she looked at the settings, and it was on record. Oh, my God. And she. And it was her roommate's Alexa. So she was like, this woman is fully surveilling me.
- [64:14]
B
Were they, like, friends or just, like, stranger roommates?
- [64:17]
A
No, my friend just needed a place to go. Moved in really fast, did not know this woman.
- [64:20]
B
Not that that makes it better, obviously, but that is so weird.
- [64:24]
A
But when it's just a stranger and you don't know their intentions. And there was a lot of other stuff. I mean, this one was just kind of bizarre in general. But then to find out that she's actually surveilling you and figuring out what.
- [64:34]
B
You'Re doing, and it's such an invasion of privacy.
- [64:37]
A
It is.
- [64:37]
B
And, like, it makes you kind of just, like, feel gross when you know somebody has been watching you. I remember. I forget what the exact situation was, but when I was younger, in my 20s, must have been my roommate, I thought that they were coming into my room, I think, to, like, take clothes or, like, do weird stuff like that. And I didn't have a lock on my door. And. And I put a water bottle, like, when I would close my door to leave, I'd put an open water bottle on, like, behind it so I would know when I would get home, I'd have to be, like, super careful to grab it so that if somebody opened it, it would knock over, there'd be a huge wet spot on the carpet. And, like, I would know, why you going in my room? You know? Yeah, but this is like.
- [65:12]
A
Wait, so were they going into your room?
- [65:13]
B
Yes, I know.
- [65:15]
A
Was it people you knew? Was it friends?
- [65:16]
B
Yeah, I was friends. So it's like. It's still annoying, but, like.
- [65:19]
A
But that's.
- [65:20]
B
It's safe annoying.
- [65:21]
A
I guess it's safe annoying, but it's still, like, an invasion of privacy. If it's your friend, they can just ask.
- [65:26]
B
Yeah. I mean, in all fairness, when I was younger, like, when I was in high school and middle school, I went in my sister's room, and I would steal her clothes all the time. So maybe this is just karma.
- [65:35]
A
No, it is karma. For the amount of times that I've just gone in my siblings room and been like, what are you doing?
- [65:39]
B
Yeah, exactly. But these are wild. Thanks for sharing these with me. These are wild.
- [65:44]
A
Yeah. Yeah. I wanted to pick ones that felt like they could be true crime documentaries, but also told from the perspective of the people. I always find it interesting, like, what were the people feeling at what points? Because in a lot of these stories too, they start convincing themselves they're crazy.
- [65:59]
B
Yeah.
- [65:59]
A
You start second guessing that, like, the thing is weird or that you should speak up. And she's even like, should I call the fire department?
- [66:05]
B
Right. And it's like, yes, you should. Absolutely, you should.
- [66:08]
A
But you're trying to talk yourself out of it. And I can identify with that because I think I sometimes will talk myself out of things or think that it's just my anxiety kind of driving these bad feelings. And you start second guessing your gut and you just really can't.
- [66:19]
B
I know. I tell everyone almost every single episode ever is you always have to trust your gut. That is literally your first line of defense is your intuition in your gut. Trust it because it's there for a reason. It's there to protect you. Don't second guess it.
- [66:34]
A
I totally think that you can get a read on people very fast. Within the first couple seconds of meeting them. You just pick up on energy. And so if you're really getting a bad vibe from someone, you are probably right.
- [66:44]
B
I agree.
- [66:45]
A
Don't let your parents like in this story. I guess like you that you are wrong.
- [66:49]
B
Yeah. That you're redoing your whole apartment and your seat. Yeah, exactly.
- [66:53]
A
You're just moving all the furniture. My parents would do that too. Oh, my gosh, I love them to death. But I could totally see them being like, are you sure you didn't move your couch and draw?
- [67:01]
B
Sure.
- [67:01]
A
Yeah, mom, I'm sure. But thank you so much. It's so great to get your perspective on these stories too. Thank you all the time and we will catch you guys next time.
- [67:10]
B
Thanks for having me.
- [67:11]
A
Bye.
- [67:12]
B
Bye.
- [67:13]
A
Thank you so much to Annie Elise for joining me today. I will catch you guys next week here for our spooky season programming, starting with our monster series. Wednesday is going to be our first episode on vampires. And Friday we're going to drop the first episode of the Timekeeper, a horror audio drama that you guys are not going to want to miss. I will see you guys here next week and until then, Stay curious. Bye guys. Heart Starts Pounding is written and produced by me, Kayla Moore. Heart Starts Pounding is also produced by Matt Brown. Our associate producer is Juno Hopps. Sound design and mix by Peachtree Sound. Special thanks to Travis Dunlap, Grayson Jernigan, the team at WME and Ben Jaffe have a heart pounding story or a case request. Check out heartstarsbounding.com.