After a family of five moved into their dream home in the idyllic suburb of Westfield, N.J., eerie and threatening letters soon began to arrive.
Netflix’s newest seriesThe Watcheris loosely based on the family’s harrowing experience after buying the six-bedroom Dutch colonial home. The revived attention on the home has left some wondering if the case of the creepy letters is still under investigation.
While still owning the home but not living there, Derek became determined to find the culprit. He set up cameras and employed a private investigator who ran background checks on one of the neighbors who he thought could be responsible,The Cutreports.
657 Boulevard.Google Maps
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The Broadduses hired former FBI agent Robert Lenehan to conduct a threat assessment on the letters, the outlet reports. Lenehan noted that the writer was most likely an older person. He also said the writer had a “seething anger” toward wealthy people.
“The house is crying from all of the pain it is going through. You have changed it and made it so fancy. You are stealing its history. It cries for the past and what used to be in the time when I roamed its halls. The 1960s were a good time for 657 Boulevard when I ran from room to room imagining the life with the rich occupants there,” one of the letters read, in part.
After the mysterious case began to gain national attention, Barron Chambliss — a detective from the Westfield Police Department — was asked to look into the case,The Cutreports.
While doing so, he discovered that investigators conducted DNA analysis on one of the envelopes that contained one of The Watcher’s letters — and the DNA belonged to a woman.
However, the DNA never matched any of the suspects authorities had on their radar, and the investigation began to die down. The Watcher was never caught.
The Westfield Police Department did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on the investigation.
Because the person responsible was still at large, the Broadduses didn’t want to move in. After renting out the house for a short period, the family decided to sell it in 2019 at a $400,000 loss.
According toThe Cut, the new owners have not received any letters from the infamous Watcher, and Derek, Maria and their children still live in Westfield.
And although the Broadduses did sell the rights to their story to Netflix forThe Watcher,The Cutreports that the money they received didn’t even cover their losses on the house at 657 Boulevard.
source: people.com
