The Watcher: The Real Case Of Derek And Maria Broaddus! Find Out True Story Behind Netflix Series

The Watcher, although it may not seem like it, is based on a disturbing true story that rivals The Amityville Horror. The series, produced by Ryan Murphy (creator of the Jeffrey Dahmer series) stars Naomi Watts and Bobby Cannavale and tells the story of Derek and Maria Broaddus, who moved with their family to what they thought would be their home. his dreams, only to discover that the dream was a nightmare.

The real story happened in 2014, when the Broaddus arrived at their new home at 657 Boulevard, New Jersey, and were soon harassed and threatened by a figure calling himself The Watcher, who wrote them terrifying letters telling them that he was watching and that he was never going to leave them alone. And the first letter was followed by many more that eventually led the couple to leave the house.

The Watcher: What Happened To Derek And Maria Broaddus From The Watcher?

According to the true story behind the series, which appeared on The Cut in 2015, the first letter appeared one day in the Broaddus ‘ mailbox and was addressed to “the new owner”. There, someone welcomed them to the house (a $1.3 million, 6-bedroom estate built in 1905), but then the message took on a darker, more menacing tone. The author believed they had gotten the house unfairly and accused them of destroying it with their renovations, writing that he knew they had children and if they wanted to protect them, they “don’t want to make 657 Boulevard angry.”

The Watcher wrote that his grandfather watched the house in the 1920s, his father did it in the 1960s, and now it was his turn to do the same, claiming something dark lurked within the walls. The family called the police, but they couldn’t do anything, since it was just a letter and it was signed by The Watcher, and that didn’t give them any clue as to the identity of the writer.

Desperate to find out more, the Broaddus called the family who lived there before them, the Woods, who confirmed they received similar letters while living there, but in their case, they weren’t as aggressive. Soon, more and more letters came in and the family began to fear that The Watcher would turn from letters to action, so they eventually decided to move again.

No one ever knew who The Watcher was and it was believed that the Broaddus themselves wrote the letters as a way of attracting attention Derek thought maybe it was the neighbors, who probably wanted to get rid of them to keep the house, but Nothing has been confirmed and the letters do not give many clues either.

As a result of what they went through, Maria began to show symptoms of post-traumatic stress, according to Newsweek, and when the story of the case began to circulate, many amateur detectives began to investigate to try to reveal the identity of The Watcher, but they found nothing.

In 2016, the Broadduses arranged for someone to rent the house, and according to Newsweek, Derek received a threatening letter that read “Maybe a car accident. Maybe a fire. Maybe something as simple as a minor illness that never seems to go away but makes you feel bad day after day after day after day. Perhaps the mysterious death of a pet. Loved ones die suddenly. Planes, cars and bicycles collide “Bones break”. Finally, the family managed to sell the house in 2019 for a price much lower than what they paid to buy and renovate it ($400,000).