Stalking Samantha: 13 Years of Terror on Hulu: The Case of Christopher Thomas
The documentary series follows Samantha Stites' 13-year nightmare with a stalker that culminated in a brutal kidnapping in Michigan.
What is the series about?
Stalking Samantha: 13 Years of Terror (Hulu, 2025) is a three-part documentary series that follows the harrowing case of Samantha Stites, who was the victim of an obsessive stalker for 13 years. The series focuses in episode 2, 'The Escalation', on how the perpetrator Christopher Thomas transformed a peripheral acquaintance from college into a life-threatening obsession. Through interviews with Samantha Stites, her friends, and investigators from the Michigan police, the series highlights the warning signs that were overlooked and the technological surveillance that Thomas used to control his victim's life.
The real case
The real case behind Stalking Samantha: 13 Years of Terror began in 2011 when Samantha Stites met Christopher Thomas at their shared college. What started as an awkward friendship quickly developed into a one-sided relationship driven by Thomas' pathological fascination. For over a decade, he followed her to gyms, social events, and her workplace. He went so far as to travel to other states where Stites had internships and installed GPS trackers on her car to constantly know her whereabouts. According to the investigation, Christopher Thomas was inspired by the fictional series 'You' and mistakenly believed he could force a romantic relationship through stalking.
On October 7, 2022, the situation escalated fatally. Thomas broke into Samantha's home in Michigan and forcibly kidnapped her. He took her to a storage unit where he had constructed a soundproof bunker. Here, she was held captive and subjected to sexual abuse before she managed to escape and alert the local authorities. Upon his arrest, police found extensive evidence of his digital surveillance and the meticulously planned preparations for the kidnapping on his electronic devices.
Timeline of the case
- 2011: Samantha Stites and Christopher Thomas become acquainted during their education.
- 2015-2021: The stalking intensifies with the use of surveillance equipment and unwanted physical presence at Samantha's residences.
- October 2022: The kidnapping takes place in Michigan, and Samantha is rescued after escaping from a storage building.