Early on a cold Friday morning, Samantha Stites hears the wood floors creak and footsteps coming down the hall. Sam calls her roommate’s name, and getting no answer, quickly reaches under her bed for a hatchet.
The intruder bursts in the door and, within a matter of seconds, is on top of her with his hands around her neck, places a ball gag in Sam’s mouth, then wraps duct tape on her hands.
The intruder then blindfolds Sam, loads her into her own car, and starts driving. This is when Sam immediately recognizes her attacker as her stalker, Christopher Thomas.
Thomas tells Samantha the Netflix show, “You,” inspired him and gave him the idea of also building a constructed ‘soundproof’ cell in a storage unit. Thomas shows Samantha how he’d been tracking her on his phone and tells her he plans to keep her for two weeks, then dispose of her body.
Sam tries to count the turns while Thomas is driving her to her possible torture chamber. Despite her intense fear, Samantha, a therapist and social worker, keeps calm and uses psychological tactics to negotiate with Thomas.
Samantha talks to Thomas like a friend and lets Thomas vent to her, knowing all along exactly what Thomas wants, but she gets out of him that he’s also terrified of going to jail.
Sam tells Thomas she will never tell anyone about the kidnapping and says the sex was consensual and will even be his friend going forward if he takes her home safely afterward.
Thomas agrees to Sam’s deal, but soon after raping her, he leaves her there, and she fears he is not going to go along with her escape plan.
Joining Nancy Grace today:
Samantha Stites – Kidnapped by Her Stalker
“Crime Stories with Nancy Grace” on Fox Nation is also a national radio show on SiriusXM channel 111, airing for two hours daily starting at 12 p.m. EST. You can also subscribe and download the daily podcasts at iHeart Podcasts.
[Feature Photo: Samantha Stites/Instagram]
