Latest news with #StalkingSamantha
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Christopher Thomas Kidnapped Samantha Stites and Trapped Her in a Bunker Inspired by Netflix's 'You'. Here's Where He Is Now
Christopher Thomas' case is the subject of Hulu's docuseries 'Stalking Samantha: 13 Years of Terror' NEED TO KNOW Christopher Thomas stalked and harassed Samantha Stites for more than a decade He ultimately kidnapped and raped her in October 2022 The case is the subject of Hulu's docuseries Stalking Samantha: 13 Years of Terror, which premiered on Aug. 19 Christopher Thomas relentlessly stalked Samantha Stites for more than 10 years before abducting her in October 2022. After they first met in 2011, Thomas began sending frequent messages to Stites, even after she told him to leave her alone. Thomas then escalated to following Stites wherever she went, including showing up at her job when her grandmother died. "It was the first real experience where someone knows what my wishes are very clearly and doesn't care," she recalled in the docuseries. Thomas' terrifying behavior culminated in kidnapping Stites from her home near Traverse City, Mich., and raping her in a soundproof bunker. The case is the subject of the new ABC News true crime docuseries Stalking Samantha: 13 Years of Terror, which premiered on Aug. 19 on Hulu. So, what happened to Christopher Thomas? Here's everything to know about where he and Samantha Stites are now — plus, how her case may impact stalking victims going forward. Who is Samantha Stites? Stites was born on Nov. 23, 1991, and grew up in Elk Rapids, Mich. Stites was raised by a single mom who worked in restaurants and bars to make ends meet. Stites describes herself in the docuseries as a person who "[wants] to be welcoming and kind." Stites' friends added that she is an avid soccer player with a dark sense of humor who tries to make everyone around her feel included. The Michigan native told PEOPLE in August 2025 that she loves biking, kayaking and hiking. Stites is also a fan of the Detroit Lions, the Kansas City Chiefs and the WNBA, she said. Stites graduated from Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Mich., with her bachelor's degree in social work in 2014. She later earned her master's degree in social work from the University of Kansas in 2019, per her LinkedIn. Who is Christopher Thomas? Thomas was born Christopher Blaine Thomas on Aug. 15, 1984. According to The Huron Daily Tribune, Thomas was born and raised in Gladwin, Mich., where his family still resides. Stites met Thomas in 2011 after he joined a campus Christian group, of which she was a member. "I saw him at different events the Christian group was doing. He friended me on Facebook one day. At first I thought he was just lonely and for some reason saw me as an approachable person to talk to," she recalled in Stalking Samantha: 13 Years of Terror. In the docuseries, Stites' roommate Charissa Hayden described Thomas as a "nobody that [Stites] met in college — like a sad, lonely guy." Stites said her first impression of Thomas wasn't that memorable beyond him being "six to eight years older" than her and seeming "very socially awkward." Stites and her friends didn't know it at the time, but two years earlier in 2009, Thomas had stalked a college student named Kelli (whose last name is withheld in the docuseries). The two first met at a residential treatment facility where she worked. Kelli said Thomas began asking her out on dates and following her on her school's campus, even though he wasn't a student there. After Kelli spotted him outside of her home, she got a personal protective order (PPO) against him, but he kept driving past her house. Thomas was eventually convicted of one count of stalking and was sentenced to two years of probation, according to the docuseries. How long did Christopher Thomas stalk Samantha Stites? Thomas stalked Stites for 13 years. He began messaging Stites on Facebook within days of meeting her in 2011 and repeatedly asked her on dates. Each time, Stites politely but firmly declined his advances. Thomas continued to message her and followed her at her job, at school, while she was out with friends and at frisbee practice. Stites recalled Thomas saying that he once "saw red and beat someone up," causing her to fear his temper. In 2014, Stites was accepted to a ministry internship in Kansas City, Mo. Thomas enrolled in the same program, causing Stites to realize that he had been stalking her for the past three years. On Sept. 18, 2014, Stites filed a petition for a restraining order against Thomas, per the docuseries. "I was really concerned. I've never seen a stalking case as severe as this," Norman Hayes, a retired Michigan judge, said in Stalking Samantha. "He was absolutely obsessed with her, he's going to do something very severe — either rape, kill her, kidnap her. If you looked up 'stalker' in the dictionary, there'd be a picture of Christopher." Hayes granted Stites a protective order against Thomas for six years, and her life largely went back to normal: Thomas' internship offer was revoked and he left her alone. She went to graduate school in Kansas, became a licensed social worker and bought a house in her hometown. However, as soon as the PPO expired in September 2020, Thomas started following Stites again, even joining the same recreational soccer league. Stites filed a petition for a new PPO in July 2022. Judge Kevin A. Elsenheimer denied the PPO due to a "complicated relationship" between Thomas and Stites, she said in the docuseries. What did Christopher Thomas do to Samantha Stites? In the early morning hours of Oct. 7, 2022, Thomas broke into Stites' apartment. He jumped on top of her and choked her in her bed, then put her hands in cuffs, bound her feet and put a ballgag in her mouth, which he secured with duct tape around her head, she said in the docuseries. Thomas then took Stites from her home and put her in her own car. "Once we leave my house, the likelihood of me surviving this experience goes down drastically," she recalled thinking in the docuseries. "This really becomes a fight for my life." Thomas blindfolded Stites and began driving, but because she was familiar with the neighborhood, she counted the turns he made in an effort to figure out their destination, Stites said. Thomas took her to a bunker he'd built inside of a storage unit that had a mattress on the floor and soundproof panels on the walls. Thomas told Stites he planned to leave her paddleboard near Lake Michigan so anyone looking for her would assume she drowned, she said in Stalking Samantha. He then bragged about putting trackers on her car and the cars of several of her friends, adding that the Netflix series You inspired his bunker idea. Stites said she knew her best chance to stay alive would be to remain as calm as possible. When Thomas told her he was terrified of going to prison, she told him that if he let her go, she wouldn't call the police — and that as a social worker, she was good at keeping secrets. Thomas refused to let Stites go unless he could rape her. After initially refusing, she agreed if he'd bring her home that evening, she said in the docuseries. "I know enough about Christopher to know his integrity is important to him, and I was banking on that," she said. Thomas then raped Stites for several hours, she said. How did Samantha Stites escape? After he raped her, Thomas took Stites back home. Knowing he still had a tracker on her car, Stites called a neighbor to drive her to the hospital, where she underwent a rape kit. While hospitalized, she spoke to Detective Mike Matteucci of the Grand Traverse County Sheriff's Office about what she saw and remembered. When discharged, a friend picked Stites up and let her stay at her home. "As social workers, we take courses on crisis intervention," Stites told PEOPLE. "I happen to always have been one who can think and act very clearly — some people will freeze, others kind of panic. That's something I had always had in the background, just my DNA. I'm usually somebody who you know can deal with a crisis in a calm manner, but I think definitely my training and education helped contribute to quick thinking and knowing what I should do." Stites added that she had previously read memoirs of sexual assault survivors — including Chessy Prout's I Have a Right To and Chanel Miller's Know My Name — which assisted her in knowing how to proceed. How did Christopher Thomas get caught? Stites' attention to detail aided police in arresting Thomas at his apartment and finding his bunker that night. Officers searched Thomas' house the night of his arrest and found the ballgag, handcuffs, receipts and boxes from GPS trackers, which he claimed Stites put on her own car. They also found countless photos and videos of Stites on his devices going back more than a decade. Thomas first told officers he was hunting in the woods at the time of the kidnapping, then said that the abduction was actually "role-playing gone too far." Thomas was arraigned on Oct. 10, 2022, on one count of kidnapping, first degree home invasion, torture and aggravated stalking and four counts of first degree criminal sexual conduct, per the docuseries. He pleaded not guilty to all charges and was denied bail. Where is Christopher Thomas now? In December 2023, Thomas agreed to plead guilty to his kidnapping, torture aggravated stalking and home invasion charges in exchange for prosecutors dropping the four counts of criminal sexual conduct, per the Traverse City Record-Eagle. Judge Elsenheimer — the same judge who denied Stites' second PPO petition — sentenced Thomas to 40 to 60 years in prison in February 2024, per the Traverse City Record-Eagle. During his sentencing, Elsenheimer told him, "If somehow you are released at some point in your future, then it is a requirement that you will have a lifetime GPS so that we will know where you are all the time for the rest of your days." Thomas is serving his sentence at Bellamy Correctional Facility in Ionia, Mich. His earliest possible release date is Oct. 7, 2062, per his Michigan Department of Corrections profile. "Christopher's in a place where the worst of the worst people are," Matteucci said in the docuseries. "He needs to be there. To do something like that to another human being, I just don't understand it." Thomas' sentence came as a huge relief for Stites. "It just felt like I was kind of holding my breath for a year and a half — you know, thinking, 'If, for some reason, somehow this person escapes jail, they're in the local community,' " she recalled to PEOPLE. "Since I felt like the system had let me down previously, was that going to happen again?" She continued, "When all was said and done, I was pleased with the outcome. There's an element of safety I have now knowing that this person isn't going to harm others or myself now." Where is Samantha Stites now? The trauma of her kidnapping and assault drove Stites to seek treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and seek short- and long-term disability from her job as a social worker. She estimates she has lost $40,000 in wages, per her victim impact statement, which she posted on Instagram. Stites has also moved out of her house and invested in extra security for her new home. "There's a huge financial and physical burden to stalking," she told PEOPLE. "I clearly wasn't able to stay in that house where I had been kidnapped, you know? I had to move, and was feeling like, 'How do I protect myself? What if somebody stalks me again?' " Even though Thomas is in prison, Stites has continued to feel unsafe. "I think there's an element with sharing my story too that makes you feel uneasy, because now there's all this attention, people can be crazy online," she said. "Is somebody going to attach to me again? How do I protect myself through the future?" Since moving out, Stites since found and spruced up a new home, which she shares with her dog, Murphy, a cat and foster pets. She enjoys sports and has continued her career as a social worker, per her LinkedIn. Stites is sharing her story in hopes of reducing the shame that survivors of sexual assault, stalking and abduction face. "Talking to different survivors I've met, no matter what their story is, there's always something that they feel like [they] could've or should have [done differently], and it's tough," she said. "I think about how much I benefited from hearing other stories and feeling less alone. [It's part of] my attempt to try to make a change in the way the PPO process is done and help advocate for other survivors." Stites and her friend Robin Treiweiler have also launched Beekeepers Advocacy, a survivor-led organization to protect victims of stalking, domestic abuse and abduction. As a result of her case, the Grand Traverse County Court changed their PPO policy to ensure that if the petitioner mentions a previous PPO in their filing, court staff overseeing the petition must find out details of the previous order, per UpNorthLive. If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to Read the original article on People
The Review Geek
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Review Geek
Stalking Samantha: 13 Years of Terror Review – One woman's thirteen-year nightmare
Season 1 Episode Guide Episode 1 Episode 2 Episode 3 Nearly a third of women and one-sixth of men will experience stalking at some point in their lives. This means millions of people across the world carry the uncomfortable trauma of being watched, followed and harassed. To make matters worse, only 1.4% of reported case (at least in the UK) end in conviction. Stalking and harassment is a growing and ever-present (for lack of a better word) societal problem. This troubling backdrop forms the crux of Hulu's latest docu-series, Stalking Samantha: 13 Years of Terror. As the title may allude, this documentary centers on a young woman called Samantha, who winds up terrified, harassed and eventually kidnapped by an unhinged guy called Christopher. Initially presenting himself as a socially awkward recluse at school, Christopher went out of his way to stalk and harass Samantha over the years, growing ever-bolder and more uncomfortable as time goes on. All of this eventually leads to the worst possible outcome. For Samantha, she manages to get closure for her story, but for many others that's not the case. The three episodes here document Samantha's harrowing ordeal, with the first giving a background into Samantha and Christopher's past, how they crossed paths and the beginning of the stalking. It starts as a bit of a joke between Samantha and her friends as Christopher persistently messages. Unfortunately, there's nothing funny about his behaviour, as it slowly gets worse. The second episode is where Samantha's kidnapping comes into view, and she goes into shocking detail about how she was grabbed in the middle of the night, bundled in her own car and taken to a secluded bunker. Eventually, this story culminates into the third and final chapter, where we see the mounting evidence against Christopher come to the foreground, as well as a couple of surprise inclusions. One of those includes the surprise of another woman who was stalked and harassed by Christopher, called Kelli. Her inclusion is necessary for this story but it's also oddly edited into the story. She only has a few words to say and she shows up midway through episode 3, almost like an afterthought despite how important she is to the backstory and mindset of Christopher's actions. We also don't really see anything of Christopher's family outside of a few recorded phone calls with his mother. However, this is very much a documentary designed to give Samantha a voice to tell her story, and in that respect, the show succeeds. On that same note though, I can't help but feel the docuseries missed a trick by not expanding out to the widespread problem of stalking in society, how damaging that can be to someone's life, and the ongoing struggles that this legally presents to different courts. Even just some legal understanding over how restraining orders aren't always dished out or how hard it is to prove stalking would have helped give this documentary a bit more weight. Stalking Samantha is nicely paced though and at only 3 episodes, there's enough here to prevent this one from dragging its heels. The story itself features a ton of evidence and a lot of archival footage, blending in with re-enactment scenes blurred and done tastefully so it never feels exploitative. There are also videos from police interviews, CCTVs outside the bunker and police cams from raiding Christopher's house. All of this works well to flesh out more of the story, and the reveals hit that much harder as a result. Ultimately, Stalking Samantha plays out as a cautionary tale, retelling one woman's awful ordeal and how, despite justice being served, she may never heal from the scars Christopher has left.
The Irish Sun
12-08-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
My stalker was inspired by Netflix show to kidnap & chain me to wall in torture chamber… I struck dark deal to survive
When twisted Christopher Thomas was finally caught he took extreme action to conceal evidence CHILLING PLOT My stalker was inspired by Netflix show to kidnap & chain me to wall in torture chamber… I struck dark deal to survive WAKING to a creaking floorboard in her bedroom, Samantha Stites was about to reach for a small axe hidden under her bed when she was suddenly attacked. Intruder Christopher Thomas gagged her, tied her up and bundled her into a car before driving her to a bunker in a storage unit - where he kept her chained to a wall. Advertisement 14 Samantha Stites bravely shares her ordeal in a new documentary Credit: Supplied 14 Christopher Thomas spent 11 years stalking Samantha Credit: Supplied 14 Samantha with Thomas at college, where they first met as students Credit: Netflix But this horrific kidnap, in October 2022, was no random attack. Thomas had been stalking Samantha for over a decade, after becoming obsessed with her when they first met at Grand Valley State University in Michigan in 2011. And his terrifying plot to kidnap, rape and murder her was inspired by watching hit Netflix show You, which saw its deranged main character Joe Goldberg, played by Penn Badgley, torture women in a glass box hidden in the basement of his New York bookshop. Recalling the horrifying moment Thomas forced her into a custom-built soundproof bunker in a rental storage unit, Samantha said: 'He takes off my bandana, I'm in this torture chamber. Advertisement 'Holy s***, this is like a horror film. Is he going to rape me and kill me in this room? I can't fight my way out.' Samantha had to summon every ounce of strength to survive and escape. Fighting for her life, she was eventually forced to strike a dark deal - to have sex with her sick captor in return for her freedom. In a gripping three-part Disney+ documentary Samantha bravely shares her story for the first time, recounting years of fear and astonishing resilience. Advertisement Featuring never-before-seen police interview footage, CCTV surveillance from the storage unit and disturbing images and videos recovered from Thomas' phone, Stalking Samantha also includes powerful testimony from her friends and the investigators who helped bring her attacker to justice. Thomas's dark obsession took hold the moment he laid eyes on her, 11 years before the attack. Obsessed stalker faked pregnancy, swerved car into ex & bombarded him with messages in relentless campaign of harassment 14 Samantha recalls the terrifying moment she was bundled into the bunker Credit: Netflix 14 Penn Badgley plays deranged stalker and murderer Joe Goldberg in You - the show that inspired Thomas Credit: CLIFTON PRESCOD/NETFLIX Advertisement After their first meeting Samantha turned down repeated requests for dates, but he refused to take no for an answer and became increasingly persistent. Several years older than her and socially awkward, Thomas bombarded Samantha with lengthy emotionally charged messages, insisting: 'I want you to be part of my life.' He nicknamed her Jellybean and quoted passages from the Bible, suggesting their relationship was God's plan. She said: 'Every time I saw him I was more and more scared.' Advertisement Her former roommate Charissa Hayden explained: 'He was a nobody, a sad, lonely guy. She felt sorry for him and was nice to him. He took that and ran away with it.' Samantha's childhood friend Patrick Bruening added: 'He showed up with flowers at her work and I thought that was a huge red flag. "He thought he was her knight in shining armour. Not at all - he was creepy.' Every time I saw him I was more and more scared Samantha Stites Although pathetic Thomas continued to harass Samantha, she ignored him for months until she finally snapped one day when he approached her at a bus stop. Advertisement 'On the inside I was flaming mad, the angriest I've been because I thought we were past all this,' she recalled. She told Thomas: 'I've told you I don't want to see you, I don't want to speak to you, I don't want flowers, just leave me alone. 'I've told you multiple times, I've blocked you. I don't want to see you, I don't want to talk to you." She adds: 'I think he was surprised that I wasn't flattered. But he knows very clearly what my wishes are and doesn't care.' Advertisement Another friend, Robin Trierweiler, said: 'All I wanted to do was shake her and say please take care of yourself. 'It seems like she's in danger and it's frustrating to watch her downplay that. It's not a normal situation, it's a hazard.' Drastic action 14 Samantha, right, was a happy-go-lucky teenager before she met Thomas Credit: Netflix 14 Thomas caught on camera outside Samantha's home Credit: Netflix Advertisement After graduating from college, Samantha returned to her home town of Elk Rapids, a small close knit community, where she thought the ordeal was behind her. But soon Thomas turned up there too, and even applied for the same internship she was starting. 'I just feared that I would never be free of him,' she said. 'I felt scared and threatened.' When he was spotted coming out of her apartment in 2016, Samantha took drastic action and applied for a personal protection order - banning him from all contact. Advertisement Judge Norman Hayes, who granted the order for six years, recalled: 'I was really concerned. I've never seen a stalking case as severe as this. 'He was obsessed, absolutely obsessed with her. He's going to do something very severe - either rape, kill her or kidnap her. I was really concerned. I've never seen a stalking case as severe as this... He's going to do something very severe - either rape, kill her or kidnap her Judge Norman Hayes 'At the time it was the longest personal protection order I had ever granted.' With Thomas legally banned from making contact, Samantha's life gradually returned to normal. Advertisement She trained as a social worker and bought a house, but in September 2022 - as soon as the restraining order expired - she spotted Thomas lurking as she played football. 'I stopped dead in my tracks,' said Samantha. 'I worry that he's coming after me in a vengeful way wanting to hurt me for denying him all those years ago.' Thomas also joined Samantha's gym and football league, but technically he had not done anything wrong and her request for another personal protection order was denied. Gagged and bound 14 The storage unit where he intended to keep his victim for two weeks Credit: Netflix Advertisement 14 The bunker inside the storage unit where Samantha was held Credit: Netflix 14 Cuffs found by police while gathering evidence against Thomas Credit: Netflix Lying in bed in the early hours of 7 October 2022, Samantha jumped as she heard a floorboard creak. 'My heart starts racing, my mind shoots to the hatchet I kept under my mattress,' she said. Advertisement 'In a second somebody storms into my room and jumps on to me. I start screaming and I feel his hands around my throat and he begins to choke me. 'It gets tougher to breathe and I think he's going to kill me. I recognise immediately it's Christopher. In a second somebody storms into my room and jumps on to me. I start screaming and I feel his hands around my throat and he begins to choke me Samantha Stites 'I say, 'If you want to rape me just do it,' but he said, 'I just want to talk to you, not here.' 'He shoves a ball gag in my mouth, pulls out black gorilla tape, puts it around my head and hair multiple times. I feel like a prisoner.' Advertisement Thomas handcuffed and blindfolded Samantha, and bundled her into her own car, along with her dog. She added: 'Once we leave my house the likelihood of me surviving goes down drastically - this really becomes a fight for my life.' Chilling plan Once they reached the bunker Thomas revealed his chilling plan for them to spend two weeks holed up together. He gave Samantha pyjamas, told her to use a bucket as a toilet and then chained her to a wall. Advertisement Then he calmly explained that he intended to fake Samantha's death by leaving her paddle board in a nearby lake so people would assume she had drowned. She said: 'On the inside I'm freaking out - there's no way we're going to just talk for two weeks. Is he going to rape me and kill me? Will I see daylight again? 'I need to stay focused, I can't fight my way out - this guy is faster and stronger than me. 'Christopher is a psychopath, he is someone I can't use normal logic with. I try not to react with disgust. Advertisement On the inside I'm freaking out - there's no way we're going to just talk for two weeks. Is he going to rape me and kill me? Will I see daylight again? Samantha Stites 'He talks about the TV show You, about a good-looking young man who becomes obsessed with a young woman, kidnaps her and keeps her in a glass room - which he says wasn't logistically possible, he looked into it. 'In the show he ends up murdering her.' Thomas gave Samantha a football shirt with her name on the back - which he'd bought when first he asked her out 11 years earlier. Over the next 13 hours Samantha begged him to let her go, promising not to go to the police. Advertisement She said: 'I try to convince him we can be friends, and what he's done isn't a big deal. 'I said, 'As a social worker, I'm good at keeping secrets,' but he says, 'What will convince me is if you sleep with me.' 'I told him, 'I'm seeing somebody, I don't want to sleep with you,' but he said, 'That's the only way I can trust you.' 'I think this person is capable of killing me, he holds the key to my life. Advertisement 'I don't see anything sharp I could hide and stab him with, not a screwdriver I could take the locks off the door, there is no way out of this. If I say no is he going to rape me anyway? 'I say, 'You promise me if I sleep with you, you'll let me out tonight?' He looked me in the eye and shook my hand. His integrity is important to him, I was banking on that." 'Dead inside' At the time, she thought the actual rape would be over quickly. She adds: 'This guy hasn't had a girlfriend in a long time, this might be a quick endeavour. Advertisement 'But then he says, 'I masturbate 12 times a day so this might take a while.' I felt myself go dead inside. It was painful, I cried and I shook. I didn't want him to know I was disgusted and terrified. I didn't want him to get angry Samantha Stites 'I felt myself go dead inside. It was painful, I cried and I shook. I didn't want him to know I was disgusted and terrified. I didn't want him to get angry. 'He said, 'That's all I've wanted for so long, you can't imagine how long I've wanted that. You're the person I'm supposed to marry.' 'My stomach turns just thinking about that, but I said, 'I've held up my end of the bargain, you need to let me go'.' Advertisement Astonishingly, Thomas agreed and drove Samantha home. 14 Samantha in hospital following the ordeal Credit: Netflix 14 Police examine the bunker where she was held Credit: Netflix 14 Thomas is arrested after kidnapping Samantha Credit: Netflix Advertisement Within 36 hours he had been arrested, having chemically burnt the skin off his head and body in a desperate bid to conceal evidence. Cops then discovered he'd had a tracker on Samantha's car for months, and found more than $5,000 worth of receipts for tools and equipment he bought to create the lair - where he also hid rifles and a crossbow. It also emerged that he had been arrested for stalking a former colleague in 2009. Although he claimed Samantha participated in 'role play', Thomas was convicted of kidnapping, home invasion, torture, aggravated stalking and four counts of criminal sexual conduct. Advertisement He was sentenced to 40 to 60 years in prison. In a call to his mother from prison, he admitted he had thought about Samantha every day for 12 years. Samantha has chosen to share her story to help other women avoid harm. "I would want other women or people in general to know how to identify those signs that somebody is potentially stalking you or is at risk of harming you in some way," she says. Advertisement "Knowing some things that you can do, places you can go to get help, and really advocating for yourself if you've got a gut feeling that something's wrong, it likely is and really pursuing that. "I felt like I did that to the best of my ability." Stalking Samantha is available on Disney+ from August 19. 14 Thomas was jailed for over 40 years Credit: Netflix
Scottish Sun
12-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
My stalker was inspired by Netflix show to kidnap & chain me to wall in torture chamber… I struck dark deal to survive
When twisted Christopher Thomas was finally caught he took extreme action to conceal evidence CHILLING PLOT My stalker was inspired by Netflix show to kidnap & chain me to wall in torture chamber… I struck dark deal to survive Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) WAKING to a creaking floorboard in her bedroom, Samantha Stites was about to reach for a small axe hidden under her bed when she was suddenly attacked. Intruder Christopher Thomas gagged her, tied her up and bundled her into a car before driving her to a bunker in a storage unit - where he kept her chained to a wall. 14 Samantha Stites bravely shares her ordeal in a new documentary Credit: Supplied 14 Christopher Thomas spent 11 years stalking Samantha Credit: Supplied 14 Samantha with Thomas at college, where they first met as students Credit: Netflix But this horrific kidnap, in October 2022, was no random attack. Thomas had been stalking Samantha for over a decade, after becoming obsessed with her when they first met at Grand Valley State University in Michigan in 2011. And his terrifying plot to kidnap, rape and murder her was inspired by watching hit Netflix show You, which saw its deranged main character Joe Goldberg, played by Penn Badgley, torture women in a glass box hidden in the basement of his New York bookshop. Recalling the horrifying moment Thomas forced her into a custom-built soundproof bunker in a rental storage unit, Samantha said: 'He takes off my bandana, I'm in this torture chamber. 'Holy s***, this is like a horror film. Is he going to rape me and kill me in this room? I can't fight my way out.' Samantha had to summon every ounce of strength to survive and escape. Fighting for her life, she was eventually forced to strike a dark deal - to have sex with her sick captor in return for her freedom. In a gripping three-part Disney+ documentary Samantha bravely shares her story for the first time, recounting years of fear and astonishing resilience. Featuring never-before-seen police interview footage, CCTV surveillance from the storage unit and disturbing images and videos recovered from Thomas' phone, Stalking Samantha also includes powerful testimony from her friends and the investigators who helped bring her attacker to justice. Thomas's dark obsession took hold the moment he laid eyes on her, 11 years before the attack. Obsessed stalker faked pregnancy, swerved car into ex & bombarded him with messages in relentless campaign of harassment 14 Samantha recalls the terrifying moment she was bundled into the bunker Credit: Netflix 14 Penn Badgley plays deranged stalker and murderer Joe Goldberg in You - the show that inspired Thomas Credit: CLIFTON PRESCOD/NETFLIX After their first meeting Samantha turned down repeated requests for dates, but he refused to take no for an answer and became increasingly persistent. Several years older than her and socially awkward, Thomas bombarded Samantha with lengthy emotionally charged messages, insisting: 'I want you to be part of my life.' He nicknamed her Jellybean and quoted passages from the Bible, suggesting their relationship was God's plan. She said: 'Every time I saw him I was more and more scared.' Her former roommate Charissa Hayden explained: 'He was a nobody, a sad, lonely guy. She felt sorry for him and was nice to him. He took that and ran away with it.' Samantha's childhood friend Patrick Bruening added: 'He showed up with flowers at her work and I thought that was a huge red flag. "He thought he was her knight in shining armour. Not at all - he was creepy.' Every time I saw him I was more and more scared Samantha Stites Although pathetic Thomas continued to harass Samantha, she ignored him for months until she finally snapped one day when he approached her at a bus stop. 'On the inside I was flaming mad, the angriest I've been because I thought we were past all this,' she recalled. She told Thomas: 'I've told you I don't want to see you, I don't want to speak to you, I don't want flowers, just leave me alone. 'I've told you multiple times, I've blocked you. I don't want to see you, I don't want to talk to you." She adds: 'I think he was surprised that I wasn't flattered. But he knows very clearly what my wishes are and doesn't care.' Another friend, Robin Trierweiler, said: 'All I wanted to do was shake her and say please take care of yourself. 'It seems like she's in danger and it's frustrating to watch her downplay that. It's not a normal situation, it's a hazard.' Drastic action 14 Samantha, right, was a happy-go-lucky teenager before she met Thomas Credit: Netflix 14 Thomas caught on camera outside Samantha's home Credit: Netflix After graduating from college, Samantha returned to her home town of Elk Rapids, a small close knit community, where she thought the ordeal was behind her. But soon Thomas turned up there too, and even applied for the same internship she was starting. 'I just feared that I would never be free of him,' she said. 'I felt scared and threatened.' When he was spotted coming out of her apartment in 2016, Samantha took drastic action and applied for a personal protection order - banning him from all contact. Judge Norman Hayes, who granted the order for six years, recalled: 'I was really concerned. I've never seen a stalking case as severe as this. 'He was obsessed, absolutely obsessed with her. He's going to do something very severe - either rape, kill her or kidnap her. I was really concerned. I've never seen a stalking case as severe as this... He's going to do something very severe - either rape, kill her or kidnap her Judge Norman Hayes 'At the time it was the longest personal protection order I had ever granted.' With Thomas legally banned from making contact, Samantha's life gradually returned to normal. She trained as a social worker and bought a house, but in September 2022 - as soon as the restraining order expired - she spotted Thomas lurking as she played football. 'I stopped dead in my tracks,' said Samantha. 'I worry that he's coming after me in a vengeful way wanting to hurt me for denying him all those years ago.' Thomas also joined Samantha's gym and football league, but technically he had not done anything wrong and her request for another personal protection order was denied. Gagged and bound 14 The storage unit where he intended to keep his victim for two weeks Credit: Netflix 14 The bunker inside the storage unit where Samantha was held Credit: Netflix 14 Cuffs found by police while gathering evidence against Thomas Credit: Netflix Lying in bed in the early hours of 7 October 2022, Samantha jumped as she heard a floorboard creak. 'My heart starts racing, my mind shoots to the hatchet I kept under my mattress,' she said. 'In a second somebody storms into my room and jumps on to me. I start screaming and I feel his hands around my throat and he begins to choke me. 'It gets tougher to breathe and I think he's going to kill me. I recognise immediately it's Christopher. In a second somebody storms into my room and jumps on to me. I start screaming and I feel his hands around my throat and he begins to choke me Samantha Stites 'I say, 'If you want to rape me just do it,' but he said, 'I just want to talk to you, not here.' 'He shoves a ball gag in my mouth, pulls out black gorilla tape, puts it around my head and hair multiple times. I feel like a prisoner.' Thomas handcuffed and blindfolded Samantha, and bundled her into her own car, along with her dog. She added: 'Once we leave my house the likelihood of me surviving goes down drastically - this really becomes a fight for my life.' Chilling plan Once they reached the bunker Thomas revealed his chilling plan for them to spend two weeks holed up together. He gave Samantha pyjamas, told her to use a bucket as a toilet and then chained her to a wall. Then he calmly explained that he intended to fake Samantha's death by leaving her paddle board in a nearby lake so people would assume she had drowned. She said: 'On the inside I'm freaking out - there's no way we're going to just talk for two weeks. Is he going to rape me and kill me? Will I see daylight again? 'I need to stay focused, I can't fight my way out - this guy is faster and stronger than me. 'Christopher is a psychopath, he is someone I can't use normal logic with. I try not to react with disgust. On the inside I'm freaking out - there's no way we're going to just talk for two weeks. Is he going to rape me and kill me? Will I see daylight again? Samantha Stites 'He talks about the TV show You, about a good-looking young man who becomes obsessed with a young woman, kidnaps her and keeps her in a glass room - which he says wasn't logistically possible, he looked into it. 'In the show he ends up murdering her.' Thomas gave Samantha a football shirt with her name on the back - which he'd bought when first he asked her out 11 years earlier. Over the next 13 hours Samantha begged him to let her go, promising not to go to the police. She said: 'I try to convince him we can be friends, and what he's done isn't a big deal. 'I said, 'As a social worker, I'm good at keeping secrets,' but he says, 'What will convince me is if you sleep with me.' 'I told him, 'I'm seeing somebody, I don't want to sleep with you,' but he said, 'That's the only way I can trust you.' 'I think this person is capable of killing me, he holds the key to my life. 'I don't see anything sharp I could hide and stab him with, not a screwdriver I could take the locks off the door, there is no way out of this. If I say no is he going to rape me anyway? 'I say, 'You promise me if I sleep with you, you'll let me out tonight?' He looked me in the eye and shook my hand. His integrity is important to him, I was banking on that." 'Dead inside' At the time, she thought the actual rape would be over quickly. She adds: 'This guy hasn't had a girlfriend in a long time, this might be a quick endeavour. 'But then he says, 'I masturbate 12 times a day so this might take a while.' I felt myself go dead inside. It was painful, I cried and I shook. I didn't want him to know I was disgusted and terrified. I didn't want him to get angry Samantha Stites 'I felt myself go dead inside. It was painful, I cried and I shook. I didn't want him to know I was disgusted and terrified. I didn't want him to get angry. 'He said, 'That's all I've wanted for so long, you can't imagine how long I've wanted that. You're the person I'm supposed to marry.' 'My stomach turns just thinking about that, but I said, 'I've held up my end of the bargain, you need to let me go'.' Astonishingly, Thomas agreed and drove Samantha home. 14 Samantha in hospital following the ordeal Credit: Netflix 14 Police examine the bunker where she was held Credit: Netflix 14 Thomas is arrested after kidnapping Samantha Credit: Netflix Within 36 hours he had been arrested, having chemically burnt the skin off his head and body in a desperate bid to conceal evidence. Cops then discovered he'd had a tracker on Samantha's car for months, and found more than $5,000 worth of receipts for tools and equipment he bought to create the lair - where he also hid rifles and a crossbow. It also emerged that he had been arrested for stalking a former colleague in 2009. Although he claimed Samantha participated in 'role play', Thomas was convicted of kidnapping, home invasion, torture, aggravated stalking and four counts of criminal sexual conduct. He was sentenced to 40 to 60 years in prison. In a call to his mother from prison, he admitted he had thought about Samantha every day for 12 years. Samantha has chosen to share her story to help other women avoid harm. "I would want other women or people in general to know how to identify those signs that somebody is potentially stalking you or is at risk of harming you in some way," she says. "Knowing some things that you can do, places you can go to get help, and really advocating for yourself if you've got a gut feeling that something's wrong, it likely is and really pursuing that. "I felt like I did that to the best of my ability." Stalking Samantha is available on Disney+ from August 19.
