Family flee dream home after getting terrifying letters
A terrified family in the US has fled from their new home, after they started receiving horrifying letters from an anonymous letter-writing stalker.
Derek and Maria Broaddus were thrilled when they bought their new six-bedroom home in New Jersey for $US1.3 million ($A1.7 million) last June.
However just three days later, they found out that their dream home was being watched by man who had a “mentally disturbed fixation” on the property.
The Watcher who claimed to have been controlling the house for two decades, began to send the family threatening letters and packages, according to CBS News.
“My grandfather watched the house in the 1920s and my father watched in the 1960s. It is now my time,” one letter said.
“All of the windows and doors in 657 Boulevard allow me to watch you and track you as you move through the house.”
Another frightening letter targeted the couple’s young children: "I am pleased to know your names now, and the name of the young blood you have brought to me.”
“Have they found out what’s in the walls yet?”
The details of this real life horror story came to light when the couple decided to sue the sellers for failing to tell them about The Watcher.
A lawsuit filed last month, says The Watcher claimed that former owners John and Andrea Wood, sold the property because The Watcher has asked them to, as it was their time to move on.
The Broadduses allege they would not have bought the property if the sellers had warned them about The Watcher.
They argued in their suit that they had been deceived as “a reasonable person ... would undoubtedly attach significant importance to the fact that a mentally unstable individual ... claimed a right of ownership to the house”.
They added they are unable to live in the home without extreme fear for their children’s safety and that they have not been able to resell because of The Watcher.
The lawsuit also names an insurance company and settlement company as defendants.
However, this is not the first time that the small picturesque town of Westfield, has been the scene of a horror story.
Back in 1971, a religious accountant called John List killed his mother, wife and three children, in a mansion which was located less than 5km from 657 Boulevard.
List played organ music as he arranged the bodies in neat rows before fleeing the scene, according to Murderpedia. By the time the horrific crime was discovered a month later, he was long gone.
List spent 18 years living under a new name and with a new family in Virgina, before he was arrested in 1989.
Unfortunately ongoing police and FBI investigations have been unable to discover the mystery identity of the neigbourhood's latest villan, The Watcher.
Westfield Mayor Andy Skibitsky has said no turn had been left unturned in the search for the anonymous letter-writer.
“When over a year ago this matter was reported to the police, our police department conducted an exhaustive investigation based on the factual circumstances and evidence available,” he said.
He has urged anyone with information to come forward.
Morning news break - July 2
