- Samantha Stites was stalked by Christopher Thomas for years
- She first met him in 2011 when he moved into her off-campus housing at uni
- In October 2022, he attacked and kidnapped Samantha, trapping her in a cage in his bunker
Here she shares her story in her own words.
Heart hammering in my chest, my hands shook as I reached for the light switch on my bedside lamp.
It was early one morning in October 2022, when a creak in the floorboards woke me. My Goldendoodle dog, Murphy, stirred beside me.
Through the crack in my bedroom door, I saw a shadow.
Before I could move, a man burst into my room.
I cried out as he lunged for me, pinning me to the bed with his body.
‘Help me!’ I screamed, thrashing under the covers.
Murphy began to bark and I hoped my roommate might hear.
But when no-one came, I realised she was at work, and I was alone.
‘I recognised my attacker.’
I recognised my attacker as Christopher Thomas. I’d first met him in 2011 when he moved into my off-campus housing at uni.
He was quiet and awkward, so I tried to be kind whenever I bumped into him. Later, he added me on Facebook.
We didn’t speak often, so when he asked me on a date, I politely declined.
But the messages kept coming.
Soon he began showing up at my work, my gym, even my house. One day, I found roses on my car.
I don’t have that sort of interest in you. Please leave me alone, I wrote to him online. How did you even know where I was?
His reply horrified me.
I followed you there, he wrote casually.
Eventually, I went to the police and was granted a six-year personal protection order (PPO), banning Christopher from contacting me or coming near me.
I moved cities after graduating from university with a degree in social work, but it didn’t stop him.
READ MORE: Stalker jailed after breaking into victim’s home and kissing her as she slept
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He even made fake accounts to reach me on social media.
Still, I tried to move on.
I loved my job in social work, paddleboarding, and being with friends.
In 2020 I returned to my hometown. My PPO had expired, but I was shocked when I started seeing Christopher again – at the supermarket, at the gym, at my soccer games.
Although he was always nearby, he never approached me.
‘I felt like I was going crazy.’
I felt like I was going crazy.
In early 2022, I filed for a new PPO, but learning that it would require a hearing with both parties, I withdrew.
No need to provoke him, I thought.
I was always checking over my shoulder. But still, I tried to not let him hold me back from seeing my family, friends and dating.
Now, as he crushed my windpipe with his meaty hands, I realised he would stop at nothing to get what he wanted – me.
Letting my whole body go limp, I pretended to pass out.
I thought about going for the axe I’d hidden under my bed in case a moment like this came.
But before I could move, he was handcuffing my hands in front of me.
He secured a ball gag in my mouth with duct tape.
Carrying me out of the house, along with Murphy, he shoved me into the back seat of the car, blindfolded me, and drove for about 10 minutes.
Then I heard a garage door creak open and close.
When my blindfold came off, I was met with a scene straight out of a horror movie. I was in some kind of makeshift bunker built inside of a storage unit. There was a mattress on the floor, and soundproof panels on the walls.
Food, water and a bucket were arranged neatly nearby.
‘I saw no way to escape.’
Scanning the wooden cage, I saw no way to escape as he chained my wrists to an eye bolt on the walls.
Satisfied no-one would hear me, he painfully ripped the tape off my mouth, and removed the gag.
‘Where are we?’ I asked, determined not to show fear.
But horror set in as Christopher explained he’d built this place for me.
READ MORE: Woman kidnapped by doctor wakes up in his secret bunker
He said the setup was inspired by the Netflix show You, where a stalker keeps women captive in a glass cage.
He planned to fake my death so we could be together.
‘I’m going to leave your car and paddleboard by the lake so people think you drowned,’ he told me.
Then he proudly showed me an app with a GPS tracker that he’d attached to my car.
There was no way out of the two by two metre box. Murphy protectively lay by me. Christopher took him out to use the bathroom a couple of times.
There was nothing to use as a tool, no gaps, nothing to break. My only chance of getting out was to gain his trust.
As hours passed, he started to panic about being caught by police.
I could tell he was rattled. This was my in.
Using my skills as a social worker, I suggested we be friends.
‘If you let me go, I won’t call the police,’ I promised.
But he wanted more.
‘If you sleep with me, I’ll let you out,’ he bargained.
My stomach churned. In fear for my life, I agreed.
‘I felt myself go dead inside.’
He untied me, and as he raped me I felt myself go dead inside.
When he was done, he opened the box, leading me to the car.
It was around 8pm and by now I’d been his captive for 13 hours.
This time I sat in the front seat, as he drove me and Murphy to where he’d parked my car, just over a kilometre away.
I hugged him awkwardly, keeping up the ruse of friendship before getting out, and climbing into the driver’s seat of my car.
I couldn’t believe I’d made it out alive.
Knowing the tracker was still on my car, I drove home with Murphy, shaking like a leaf.
Then I called a neighbour to take me to the hospital, where I underwent a sexual assault exam.
I reported the incident to police and the next day Christopher was arrested at his apartment, where police found handcuffs, a ball gag, GPS trackers, receipts, and more than a decade of photos and videos of me.
They also found the keys to his bunker.
First he claimed it was ‘role-playing gone too far’.
But the evidence was overwhelming.
Christopher was charged with one count of kidnapping, first degree home invasion, torture, and aggravated stalking, and four counts of first degree criminal sexual conduct.
In December 2023, Christopher struck a deal in which the home invasion and criminal sexual conduct charges were dismissed, pleading guilty to the remaining.
Reading aloud my victim impact statement, I said, ‘Christopher choked me and violated my body. In doing so, he also smothered my independence, which he claimed he was attracted to.’
In February 2024, in the Grand Traverse County Court, Judge Kevin Elsenheimer sentenced Christopher Blaine Thomas, then 39, to 40 to 60 years behind bars.
‘If somehow you are released at some point in your future… you will have a lifetime GPS so that we will know where you are all the time for the rest of your days,’ the judge said at the sentencing.
It seemed fitting that the man who tracked me for 13 years would be tracked for life.
‘I’ve focused on rebuilding my life.’
With him now behind bars, I’ve focused on rebuilding my life.
Sadly, in July 2024, Murphy, my constant companion, who stuck by my side during the ordeal, passed away from old age.
Later that year, I founded Beekeepers Advocacy, a survivor-led initiative supporting victims of stalking, domestic violence, and abduction.
People shouldn’t feel shame about being stalked, just as no-one should feel shame about surviving sexual assault.
I’m sharing my story to help others find peace, hope, and the courage to seek help.
Through Beekeepers Advocacy, I’m raising awareness and pushing for stronger protections.
I want survivors to know healing is possible.
