True Crime Conversations · Mamamia Podcasts

"I Was Held In A Soundproof Bunker By My Stalker": Samantha Stites Speaks Out

·1 hr 8 min·1 clip

The flowers after my grandfather's funeral made me understand the truth.

True Crime Conversations episode featuring Samantha Stites, who survived 13 years of stalking by Christopher Thomas and a 2022 abduction. Episode contextualizes stalking epidemiology (2.7M Australians affected, 1-in-5 women, primarily by men). Samantha describes being targeted starting age 20 at Grand Valley State University; Christopher was 6-8 years older, awkward, socially struggling. Despite her clear rejections, Facebook messages, and public confrontations, he persisted. After showing up at her workplace with flowers following her grandfather's death, she realized his behaviour was deliberate predation, not misunderstanding. Filed 7-year personal protection order, got him ejected from internship. Believed it ended after seven years. Age 28-29, saw him at rec soccer league; heart dropped. Episode explores how victims rationalize abusers (his bar fight/anger confession), why legal interventions failed, and how predators adapt behaviour post-restraining order.

As heard by us

A steady account of stalking as control, not just harassment.

Samantha Stites' story unfolds as a slow squeeze of pressure: unwanted contact, being followed, and the way ordinary routines shrink under persistence.

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Why you'd press play

Hear Samantha Stites trace how stalking turned everyday routines into a fight for control.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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