When Jerry and Janice bought their dream home in Carmel Valley, they had really high hopes for their life together there. Not long after moving in, though, someone began to leave strange and threatening notes outside their house that really took a toll on their sanity.
The notes were just the start of this nightmare, though, and things only continued to get worse…
The Perfect Start
For Janice and Jerry, this was an exciting time. Janice was nine months pregnant, and after searching high and low with their real estate agent, Renee Milton, they had finally found their dream home in Carmel Valley, California. It was quaint and located in a peaceful neighborhood, something they were thrilled about since they were expecting their first child…
Packing Up
They were so excited that their offer was accepted that they got started packing right away. They weren’t aware, however, that once they moved in, their lives would take a very strange turn…
Move-In Day
Move-in day had finally arrived, and they couldn’t wait for their fresh start. But all good things come with a cost and unfortunately, for Janice and Jerry, a wild chain of events was set into motion…
A Friendly Neighborhood
Upon moving in, neighbors introduced themselves and this town seemed like the best place for them to start their family. They couldn’t wait to make memories here…
A Strange Offer
After getting settled in, they felt like they had really made the right choice. One day, outside their door, they found a note offering them $100,000 for their newly purchased home. They thought it was strange because they hadn’t talked to anyone about selling their home, after all, they had just moved in…
Listed for Sale?
After getting this strange note they realizes that someone had listed their home for sale on Zillow, an online real estate website. Jerry gave Janice a call about it, asking if she had mistakenly listed in on there. Together, they couldn’t figure out why the home they had just purchased was listed for sale once again…
Calling Their Realtor
They hadn’t done this themselves, but they had no idea how this could have happened. Worried, they called their realtor to see is she had any information, and unfortunately, she did not ease their anxiety…
Utter Confusion
When they spoke to their realtor she had no clarity on how this happened. Was someone pulling a prank on them?
Just a Mistake…
Initially, they thought that perhaps it was just a mistake, so they decided to ignore it. Unfortunately, this was not the best move, as the person who had originally left the note, saw this as an opportunity to increase the harassment…
Bills & Subscriptions
Within days they began to receive strange mail; bills for bladder control products totaling over $1000 along with random magazine subscriptions, but this was just the start…
New Year’s Eve
The situation only continued to worsen. A friend forwarded them an E-vite with their names on it inviting people to their home for a New Year’s Eve party at their house. They had not planned any such thing. This was getting out of hand…
Not So Neighborly
One day, their neighbor, Paul Abel, who they had never met, began knocking on their door and shouting at them. Janice and Jerry were very confused by his hostility…
The Valentine Mystery
Paul began to yell at Jerry accusing him of sending a romantic Valentine’s Day card to his wife, Tanya. Paul denied that accusations, in fact, he had never even met Paul or his wife Tanya. What on earth was going on…
The Whole Town
Tanya was not the only one to receive this odd card signed by Jerry, though—every wife in their neighborhood had received one! He apologizes to everyone who was sent a card in his name, and clarified that they had not been sent by him. This was going too far…
Police Involvement
They had no choice but to get the police involved now. Whoever was behind this was not only toying with them, but threatening their marriage and their relationships with everyone around them. This was a clear case of harassment.
A Massive Case
The police were struck by this situation because they had never seen a case of this nature develop into something quite so massive. The authorities were worried for the couple…
No Contact
What they struggled with the most was who could have done all this to them. As far as they knew, they didn’t have enemies of this nature, and the person behind it had not made any contact with them.
Securing the Perimeter
Because the person was still out there, they had security cameras installed in every corner of their home and property. They also had spikes fixed to the top of their fences. They didn’t know what to expect next, so they attempted to prepare for the worst…
Self-Defense
Janice enrolled in self-defense classes and together, she and Jerry also planned an escape route should anything terrible occur. This situation really started to take a toll on their marriage…
Security Obsessed
Jerry became obsessed with security. He would pace around their home, looking for any ways that an intruder could enter their home and harm them. This put a rift between him and Janice. Things were just getting worse…
Depression & Anxiety
Jerry became very detached and skeptical of everything. He was experiencing signs of depression and anxiety and he lived in a state of constant worry. Paranoia was controlling him…
Taking It Even Further
Then things really took a turn when they came across an ad with Janice’s face for an adult entertainment company. Someone had used her likeness without permission to advertise for “Carmel Valley Adult Entertainment.” This was worse than they could have expected…
Serious Jeopardy
“Come see me during the day while my husband is at work and we can get our freak on,” read a part of the ad. Whoever was behind this had crossed a major line. This put her family and career in major jeopardy…
Responding as Janice
The person behind this began to respond to inquiries from the ad. One man got a response that read, “Just stop by any Monday-Friday, 9 am-3 pm. I like the element of surprise. I’m pretty much home all day, every day, bored…I love to be surprised and have a man just show up at the door and force his way in.” Sure enough, men started to show up at their home…
A Man Showed Up
A man showed up at their house and was greeted by Jerry. He sent an email to “Janice” saying, “A guy was there. Had to make up an excuse why I was there.”
The First Note
No matter where they looked, they just couldn’t get answers. There was no clue or evidence. After sifting through old paperwork from when they bought their house, however, they uncovered the initial note they found that seemed to start all of this…
The Offer Letter
The person who reached out trying to buy their home had left her email address and name—a woman named Kathy Rowe. They had all but forgotten this until now and decided she was worth looking into…
Looking Her Up
They looked up her name on Facebook and upon seeing her face Janice recognized her. She had showed up at their house while trick-or-treating on Halloween. They immediately called the prosecutor…
Missed Out
When they began to investigate Kathy they unraveled some interesting information. Kathy was a 53-year-old woman who wanted to buy the house but was outbid by Janice and Jerry. She had become obsessed with the house and was very angry that she did not get it…
‘Best Mom’
Quite ironically, Kathy had won the honor of being named one of San Diego’s 50 Best Moms for how she cared for her disabled son. It seemed odd that she would go to such lengths to hurt a young couple…
Wild Revenge
Unfortunately, her desire for the house and subsequent loss of it made her crazy. “I was jealous, destroyed and devastated with pain and depression,” Kathy admitted.
Payback
Kathy said, “They didn’t mean to harm me, but them getting the house did harm me. It’s a little bit of payback, so it would make the pain less… I’m going through so much pain so if I cause someone else a little bit of pain, it equalizes it or helps me feel better.” This strange way of thinking was downright sinister…
Federal Indictment
Once Kathy had been named and deemed a serious suspect, a task force was formed and necessary evidence was collected. The woman was then sentenced to 9 years in federal prison, or so they thought…
House Arrest & Probation
Her sentence was drastically reduced to 1 year of house arrest after apologizing to the couple and filing a plea of felony stalking. She would wear an ankle monitor and stay on probation for five years. The Deputy District Attorney of San Diego County said, “It is one of the most disturbing cases I have handled. She really terrorized this young couple. They have had to seek out counseling to cope with it.”
Pleading Her Case
Kathy said he had no intention of harming the couple, but that her actions were a result of a lack of sleep, her hectic schedule and the hardships of parenting a disabled child. But was that really enough of an excuse to justify her horrible actions?
“Childish Pranks”
She claimed that she experienced anger and grief after losing the house of her dreams and she committed what she described as “childish pranks” to ease her pain and frustration. She said she had been running herself ragged in her own life and for that reason, she did not cope appropriately. But Janice and Jerry needed justice and peace of mind…
Displeased
Jerry and Janice were not pleased with the lenient verdict. As Kathy lived within a few miles of their house they feared that she would attempt to harm them again. Jerry said, “The purchase of a home, taking care of a toddler and then a newborn, it was during this time, while we were at our most vulnerable state, that Mrs. Rowe began her pattern of attacks.”
Russian Roulette
Jerry pleaded with the judge saying that his home felt like a prison because of Mrs. Rowe, and that he felt that she was playing Russian Roulette with his family. He felt that had the law not intervened, this would have continued and worsened…
Not Apologetic
Kathy’s attorney argued that this was totally out of character for his client, though, and suggested that this was simply stress-related behavior. Ultimately, when asked if they could forgive her, they said, “We would love to forgive her, but I don’t think she has really apologized for the full scope of what she did against us. We pray and hope she doesn’t make bad decisions anymore.”