A Michigan man was sentenced to 40 to 60 years in prison for kidnapping and torture of women he followed for more than a decade, a situation underscoring the impact of potential barrier behaviors.
Christopher Thomas, 39, pleaded guilty to the crime of kidnapping, torture and aggravated stalking in December 2023 and was sentenced in 2024. The allegations stem from a horrible incident in October 2022, when he kidnapped Samantha, in which he built her soundproofing device in a storage unit.
“I wonder if I'll see the sunlight again,” Stites said in a victim's impact statement during the sentencing. “I shook and sobbed after he raped me, and I'm not sure he'll stop.”
ABC News Studios’ “Stalking Samantha: 13 Years of Horror” (13 Years of Horror), a three-part series that starts on Tuesday, August 19, and plays the entire process of Hulu and Disney+.
Although Thomas was initially charged with criminal sexual acts, the charges were later dropped as part of a plea agreement.
Samantha shares her painful survival story in Tracking Samantha: 13 Years of Horror, a documentary that explores how a decade of stalking was imprisoned in a horrible 14-hour soundproof bunker.
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The case has attracted national attention due to its disturbing details, and also because Stites previously sought protection for Thomas through legal systems. A few months before the kidnapping, she demanded a party demand that appeared (which means the defendant was not present) denied the personal protection order.
The tracking began in 2011, and Stitus was a college student at Otani State University. Thomas, seven years older than Stites, began to appear in the same Christian group she joined. The initial seemingly innocent interaction quickly evolved into something more sinister.
“At first, I thought he was just lonely and for some reason I found out that I was an approachable person to talk to,” Stites told ABC News. “And then at some point, that changed.”
Despite Stites' repeated rejection and clear boundaries, Thomas' behavior is still escalating. He would show up at her workplace with flowers, appear in her sports practices, and eventually start following her movements through the GPS tracker he placed secretly in the car and on his friend’s vehicle.
“She felt sorry for him. So she was kind of nice to him,” Stites' former roommate Charissa Hayden told ABC News. “He took it away, he spun it into something and ran away.”
Samantha Stitus Samantha talks about her journey from victim to advocate.
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On October 7, 2022, Thomas broke into Stites' home in the early morning and kidnapped her. He spent months preparing for this moment, building a quarantine room inside the storage unit.
“He spent thousands of dollars creating this box so he could spend time with Sam,” Mike Matteucci, a detective in the Greater Travers County Sheriff's Office, told ABC News. “God only knows what.”
Thomas revealed inside the bunker that he used GPS devices to track Stites' movements for more than a year, showing her the tracking app on her phone. He told her that she would be in custody for two weeks, showing her collection of supplies, including food, water and buckets of water for bathroom needs.
Stites is worried about his life and strategically involves him in the conversation. When Thomas expressed concerns about going to prison, Stites saw an opportunity. After being imprisoned for nearly 14 hours, she convinced him to release her by promising not to report a crime. Once free, she immediately sought medical care and reported the incident to the authorities.
The investigation shows that Thomas had been previously convicted of stalking another woman. Kelli, who was withheld the last name for legal reasons, told ABC News that she received a protection order against Thomas in 2009 after engaging in similar stalking practices.
“I always knew there would be other people,” Kelli said after contacting Detective Stites' case. “When they called me in 2022, it was like he did to others. I was right.”
During the sentencing, Judge Kevin Elsenheimer denied the demand for a partisan protection order in July 2022 (three months before the kidnapping), acknowledging the seriousness of Thomas' actions and the possibility of his re-offending.
The judge noted that Thomas’ prison conversation with his mother was evidence of his obsession, noting that Thomas admitted: “Nothing important is the thing that can stop you from doing what you want to do.”
If Thomas has been released, he will be asked to wear a GPS monitor for the rest of his life.
“Justice is an interesting thing. It doesn't necessarily come in the form of a prison year,” Stiters said. “I can't go back until I'm kidnapped. That's something I have to be sad. But knowing that I finally turned a page on this, I should have him off the street and I'm protected, I'm protected, that means a lot. I feel free.”
According to court documents, the case prompted the court to deal with changes in Michigan's protection order. The new policy requires referees – they consider PPO applications and refer to judges on what to do – to examine any previous PPOs before making recommendations to the court.
According to national statistics presented in the case, one-third of women will be stalked throughout their lives.
“I want other women, whether they are being stalked or sexually assaulted, I want them to see my story and think things will change,” Stitus said.