"Abducted from My Bedroom: How My Stalker Held Me Captive in a Soundproof Bunker and Forced Me into a Terrifying Bargain for Survival"

As she lay asleep in the stillness of the night, Samantha Stites’ heart raced as she was startled awake by the sound of footsteps outside her bedroom door.

Grabbing an axe that she had hidden beneath her mattress for protection, she realized she was too late; Christopher Thomas – the man who had stalked her for more than a decade – was already looming over her with a sinister expression.

Samantha Stites was kidnapped and tortured by Christopher Thomas, who had been stalking her for over a decadeCredit: Supplied Samantha with Thomas at college, where they first met as studentsCredit: Netflix

He then gagged and kidnapped her, holding her captive for nearly 15 hours in a soundproof bunker he had constructed inside a remote storage unit near her home.

Samantha, a student at Grand Valley State University, had met Thomas at a Christian group on campus in 2011.

From the moment he first laid eyes on her, now 33 years old, the disturbed Thomas convinced himself that she was the girl he would eventually marry.

The First Meeting

“I must have been in my third year when I met him,” Samantha recalled during her interview on Mama Mia’s ‘ True Crime Conversations ’ podcast.

“We had been playing frisbee at my off-campus apartment in a nearby green space when he joined us.”

Describing Thomas as a “really awkward guy,” Samantha noticed he appeared to be around eight years older than her and assumed he might struggle to make friends.

“I just offered him kindness,” she explained.

After he added her on social media and began messaging her, Samantha sensed his interest, but since she had no feelings for him, she continued to politely decline his advances.

Christopher Thomas, 39, pleaded guilty to kidnapping, torture, and aggravated stalking in December 2023Credit: MDOC Samantha, right, was a cheerful teenager before meeting ThomasCredit: Netflix Samantha initially did not notice any warning signs regarding Christopher ThomasCredit: Apple TV+

“At that time, I didn’t see any red flags… this was before the Me Too movement and in a Christian environment where I felt obligated to be kind and welcoming to newcomers,” she stated.

“It never occurred to me that it could lead to stalking. I saw him as someone who was lonely, new on campus, and struggling with social cues.”

However, his persistence only continued to grow.

The Obsession Escalates

The turning point for Samantha occurred when Thomas showed up at her bus stop and later at her workplace with flowers after her grandfather had passed away.

By this time, she had already blocked his phone number and email and had explicitly told him in person and through text messages that she was not interested.

Recalling the incident, Samantha, whose story is depicted in the three-part Disney+ documentary ‘Stalking Samantha: 13 Years of Terror,’ said: “I got angry with him at the bus stop, and others witnessed me yelling at him, telling him, ‘I’ve asked you to leave me alone so many times.’

It was like something that someone would create in a horror movie

Samantha Stites, 33, Michigan

“I don’t understand why you would come to my workplace with flowers. What makes