Three key findings from the Broaddus family’s own investigation and chilling surveillance to discover the Guardian’s identity

THE new Netflix series The Watcher follows a family being terrorized by an unknown stalker who keeps an eye on their home, and what’s even scarier is that the series is based on a true story.

Starting in 2014, Derek and Maria Broaddus received several creepy letters from an anonymous individual known only as “The Watcher.”

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The Broaddus family had hired a private investigator hoping they would find out who the terrorist was.

The investigator concluded that the suspect was “someone in their 50s or 60s” who lived nearby, CNN reported.

After examining the area, investigators also concluded that the neighbors “did not appear normal.”

The Broaddus family had tried to sue John and Andrea Woods, the previous tenants, for “fraudulent concealment, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress and several other issues relating to the sale of the property,” according to CNN.

The case was later dropped.

While the Woods family lived in the home for 23 years, they received a letter from The Watcher just days before their release.

They say the letter wasn’t a threat and they threw it away.

However, they declined to comment on the case.

In the case against John and Andrea, Derek Broaddus said that a neighbor reported receiving a letter signed by The Watcher around the same time as the Broaddus family.

The content of the letter is unknown.

Throughout the investigation, a neighbor pointed to a man next to him as a possible suspect, and Westfield, New Jersey, police and Union County prosecutors were investigating the claims, according to CNN.

No suspect has ever been publicly identified and no arrests have been made.

But before the letters became threatening, the first letter was a friendly welcome to the neighborhood.

It read: “Dearest new neighbor… allow me to welcome you to the neighborhood.

“657 Boulevard has been my family’s topic for decades, and as it approaches its 110th birthday, I’ve been tasked to watch it and await its second coming.

“My grandfather watched the house in the 1920s and my father in the 1960s. Now my time has come.”

The letters then harassed the Broaddus family and threatened to harm Derek, Maria, and their children.

Detectives investigating The Watcher’s case generally agreed that the suspect lived near the Broaddus family residence.

In addition, DNA samples obtained from several suspects in the case did not match.

Some people who were reported as potential letter writers died in the years that followed.

One of these men is the Broaddus’ neighbor Michael Langford.

Langford, who died in 2020, was never named as a suspect. He was not accused of any wrongdoing.

He also denied knowing anything about the letters when questioned.

His unnamed brother told The Independent: “It never fucking ends.

“We were accused of doing something we didn’t do.”

Some of the letters documented 657 Boulevard’s specific layout.

One claimed that the home is anxious for Maria and Derek to move in.

It says: “It has been years and years since the young blood ruled the halls of the house. Have you already discovered all the secrets it holds?

“Will the young blood play in the basement?”

The letter continued: “It calls out to the past and what used to be as I roamed its halls.

“The 1960s were a good time for 657 Boulevard, running from room to room imagining life with the wealthy residents there.”

Another letter read: “Welcome once again to your new home at 657 Boulevard. The workers have been busy and I’ve watched them unload heaps of personal belongings.

“The dumpster is a nice touch. Have you found what’s in the walls yet? In time they will.”

The house is in an affluent neighborhood, leading sleuths to speculate if the letters were sent by someone who was interested in buying the house but missed out.