Solved Murders - True Crime Stories - Four Chilling True Encounters With Stalkers, Creeps, and Dangerous Strangers PART2 #8

Starting point is 00:00:00 Horror. Number two. So this story I'm about to tell you, it's from my perspective, a female, and, well, I'm 33 now, but the events happened when I was 18. Man, 18 is such a weird age, right? You think you know who you are, but you don't really, and people can be way scarier than you imagine. Back then, I had this friend named Javier. He lived right across the street from my apartment building. We hung out all the time. I mean, I trusted him like a brother, or maybe the annoying friend you can't shake. Through him, I met this guy named Jake. At first, Jake seemed like the kind of guy who could charm a nun. He smiled in a way that made you think he was genuinely sweet. But, spoiler alert, that smile was a mask and a damn good one at that. We started dating, and at first it felt great. I thought,

Starting point is 00:00:55 okay, maybe this is love, maybe this is fun. But soon things changed, or rather the mask slipped. That sweet charm, gone. The real Jake started showing up, possessive, controlling, paranoid, and, yeah, a serious pothead. Not the laughs too much, harmless kind of pothead, the kind who got aggressive if he didn't get his way. It started small. He'd get jealous if he thought another guy was looking at me. He told me outright that I wasn't allowed to go to the club because he didn't want other guys hitting on me. At first, I thought it was just a weird quirk, a phase maybe. I mean, some jealousy is normal, right? But this was different.

Starting point is 00:01:38 It wasn't cute. It was suffocating. Then came the money. He started demanding cash for me to buy weed. Usually, I'd give it to him just to stop his whining, which felt exhausting. But one day, I refused. That refusal was a mistake, or maybe it was the best decision I ever made for myself, because what happened next gave me the excuse to finally leave.

Starting point is 00:02:04 Jake slammed my head against the air conditioner in his room. I mean, what the hell? I shoved him off, heart racing, breath coming fast, and walked out, telling him flat out that we were done. I was secretly relieved. Finally, I had a reason to cut ties. I could finally go back to hanging out with my friends, going to the club, living my life without a mini tyrant hanging over me.

Starting point is 00:02:29 Skip ahead to that weekend. I'm at the club, dancing, laughing, feeling free for the first time in weeks. And then, because of course, the universe loves to mess with you, Jake shows up. He's there to confront me, to harass me for breaking up with him. But here's the thing. The bouncer sees him, notices his attitude, and throws him out. He tries to fight back, makes this pitiful attempt, and gets tossed like a rag doll. I remember laughing that night, the relief of knowing I didn't have to face him, at least not physically.

Starting point is 00:03:04 Every weekend after that, he tried to sneak back into the club. Every single weekend he was denied. But that wasn't enough. He started spreading rumors. He told people I had an STD. He even asked someone he knew to hack into my computer and plant a virus. The paranoia, the stalking, it didn't stop. One weekend, some guy I didn't even know came up to me at the club.

Starting point is 00:03:29 He told me that Jake had handed him a knife outside and instructed him to come inside and stab me. Can you even imagine? My stomach dropped, my heart raced, my brain screamed, call the cops, call someone. But I didn't, mostly because I was young, foolish, stubborn, and determined not to let him intimidate me. I made sure my male friends would walk me home, watch my back, and make sure he didn't get close. Months passed. Jake disappeared. Just like that.

Starting point is 00:04:00 No explanation, no apology, nothing. I was ecstatic. Freedom tasted sweet, like finally breathing after being underwater. Eventually, Javier told me he'd been arrested. Apparently, he and a friend had beaten a guy into a coma with a skateboard. That was the last anyone heard from him for him for. a while. Fast forward 10 years later, and suddenly I get a Facebook message from him. He's out of prison. He wants to get back together. He knows I'm married with kids now, but he doesn't care. He insists

Starting point is 00:04:34 that I should leave my husband and be with him, that he'd take care of me and my kids. What? Are you kidding me? A crazy convict stalker thinks I'm going to drop my life for him? No, just no. And it gets worse. He tells me his mother died, left him a place in Manhattan, and I should come live with him. And then, without pausing for a breath, he asks for nudes. I didn't even hesitate. Block. Gone. Poof. Two years later, my friend Javier went missing in the Bronx after leaving his brother's house. Weeks later, his body was found in the river. As far as I know, no one was ever caught. I don't know if Jake had anything to do with it, but considering he was the only violent person Javier had been around, it's hard not to wonder. Javier left behind a daughter, who grew up without a

Starting point is 00:05:26 dad. Jake, as far as I know, he's still wandering the streets of New York City, dangerous, unpredictable, free. And the thought makes my stomach churn. He's out there somewhere, and I can't help but remember every malicious word, every threat, every moment, every moment, moment of fear he forced me to endure. Looking back, I realize how naive I was, how lucky I was to escape without real harm. But that fear, that tension, it shaped me, made me hyper aware, cautious, careful with trust. I can't forget it. I don't want to. And the lessons I learned, about boundaries, about danger, about the people who seem charming but hide monsters underneath, those lessons stuck with me. Even now, I think.

Starting point is 00:06:14 think about that time and shudder. How quickly life can go from normal to terrifying, how one person's obsession can ripple through your life like a tsunami. And yet, somehow, I survived. Somehow I learned how to navigate a world where danger can lurk behind a smile, where friendship and trust can be both shields and vulnerabilities. There's more I could tell you about Jake, the small, creeping ways he tried to control me, the bizarre manipulations, the chilling tech. the moments when I thought, this could get worse, this could get really bad. But, honestly, the important part is the survival, the escape, and the strength I found in myself and in the friends who watched my back. And Javier, I still think of him, his laughter,

Starting point is 00:07:02 his warmth, the way he looked out for me. The loss is heavy, and some nights I lie awake wondering about the people in our lives, the ones we never forget, and the ones who leave scars that never fully fade. The city keeps moving, life keeps moving, but memories, especially the raw, dangerous, real ones, they stick. And sometimes, just sometimes, you feel a shadow of the past, a reminder that things weren't always safe, weren't always fair, and weren't always kind. I don't know what Jake is doing right now. Maybe he's gone back to prison. Maybe he's living quietly somewhere. Maybe he's still out there. And maybe, just maybe, he's thinking about the chaos he caused. I hope he's gone, truly. But there's this nagging, persistent thought that he's still

Starting point is 00:07:53 walking the streets, and it makes me tighten my grip on the people I love and the life I've built. To be continued.

Solved Murders - True Crime Stories - Four Chilling True Encounters With Stalkers, Creeps, and Dangerous Strangers PART2 #8

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