1 00:00:04,839 --> 00:00:08,039 Speaker 1: In twenty eighteen, I went through a divorce that left 2 00:00:08,080 --> 00:00:11,880 me basically without anything. I managed to move into a 3 00:00:11,919 --> 00:00:15,320 small home, but had nothing to fill it with. I 4 00:00:15,400 --> 00:00:21,640 needed furniture, appliances, literally everything. Obviously, this is a big 5 00:00:21,679 --> 00:00:25,600 task to take on, especially financially, so I thought this 6 00:00:25,760 --> 00:00:29,719 was the perfect opportunity to get some discounted stuff on Craigslist. 7 00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:33,359 My priority was on the big things like a couch, 8 00:00:33,520 --> 00:00:36,640 TV and so on, and it really didn't take long 9 00:00:36,799 --> 00:00:40,399 to find some deals. I messaged a few people and 10 00:00:40,479 --> 00:00:43,920 picked up a few things, and during this process I 11 00:00:44,039 --> 00:00:47,520 found and contacted a cellar about buying their TV stand. 12 00:00:48,799 --> 00:00:51,640 It was posted for forty bucks and looked like a 13 00:00:51,719 --> 00:00:57,359 super average wooden TV stand. The seller, Matt, was very 14 00:00:57,399 --> 00:01:00,159 strict on when I could pick it up, though it 15 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:02,840 had to be after nine because of his work schedule, 16 00:01:03,079 --> 00:01:06,920 and it couldn't be on the weekend. This time frame 17 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:09,560 still worked for me, but I just found it kind 18 00:01:09,599 --> 00:01:12,879 of odd how specific he was, and I figured that 19 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:16,640 was probably why no one had bought it yet. I 20 00:01:16,680 --> 00:01:19,200 agreed to pick it up on a Wednesday at nine thirty, 21 00:01:19,439 --> 00:01:22,799 and on that day I followed through. He sent me 22 00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:26,040 his address and I headed out thirty minutes to his place. 23 00:01:27,359 --> 00:01:29,920 The town he lived in i'd only heard in conversation 24 00:01:30,079 --> 00:01:33,000 before and had never actually been to it, and I 25 00:01:33,120 --> 00:01:36,879 soon found out why. Most of the homes were run 26 00:01:36,959 --> 00:01:40,719 down and very old. Even the roads were in bad shape, 27 00:01:40,959 --> 00:01:43,280 with a lot of the street lights not even working. 28 00:01:44,920 --> 00:01:48,120 Pulling up to Matt's house didn't make me feel any better. 29 00:01:48,879 --> 00:01:51,200 It was just as run down looking as the others, 30 00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:56,200 with only what looked like a hallway light on inside. 31 00:01:56,239 --> 00:01:58,599 I sorted out forty bucks and shoved the bills in 32 00:01:58,680 --> 00:02:02,519 my pocket, then stead and walked onto their porch, ringing 33 00:02:02,560 --> 00:02:07,519 the doorbell. As I waited, I looked around at his lawn. 34 00:02:08,199 --> 00:02:12,360 He had stuff everywhere, like garden statues and just interesting 35 00:02:12,439 --> 00:02:16,240 decorations all throughout his yard and even on the porch. 36 00:02:17,680 --> 00:02:21,800 Then he opened the door. Matt was a tall and 37 00:02:21,919 --> 00:02:26,120 skinnier looking man, probably in his forties. He had a 38 00:02:26,159 --> 00:02:29,120 tired look, as if he hadn't slept in days, and 39 00:02:29,159 --> 00:02:31,919 I could smell booze from his breath as he welcomed 40 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:36,520 me inside. If I'd known beforehand that this was who 41 00:02:36,520 --> 00:02:39,439 I'd be buying from, I never even would have come here. 42 00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:43,879 But it was too late. For that now. As we 43 00:02:43,919 --> 00:02:47,520 walked down the hall, there was stuff scattered all around 44 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:50,639 the house, not to the point like a hoarder's home 45 00:02:50,639 --> 00:02:54,039 you'd see on TV, but more like an abandoned house 46 00:02:54,159 --> 00:02:58,879 that had been trashed by random teenagers. When we got 47 00:02:58,919 --> 00:03:01,000 to the living room in the back of the house, 48 00:03:01,439 --> 00:03:05,759 he pointed at the TV stand. The room was barely lit, 49 00:03:06,080 --> 00:03:08,240 making it hard to see what condition it was in. 50 00:03:09,840 --> 00:03:11,879 Any chance you could turn on the light for me, 51 00:03:12,439 --> 00:03:17,080 I asked politely. Matt didn't respond, but walked over to 52 00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:20,159 the wall and flicked on a small lamp in the corner. 53 00:03:21,759 --> 00:03:24,360 It was around this time that I got a really 54 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:28,319 weird feeling that something was wrong, and before I even 55 00:03:28,360 --> 00:03:31,280 got to look at the TV stand, I heard someone 56 00:03:31,360 --> 00:03:36,159 else behind me. Another man had come around the corner, 57 00:03:36,639 --> 00:03:40,919 standing next to Matt. He didn't say hello or anything, 58 00:03:41,479 --> 00:03:45,960 he just watched me. I was really unsure what to 59 00:03:46,039 --> 00:03:49,080 make of this and didn't want to overreact right away, 60 00:03:49,560 --> 00:03:53,400 but was also getting really uncomfortable as that eerie feeling 61 00:03:53,800 --> 00:03:58,759 only grew larger. I was standing there trying to think 62 00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:02,319 of what to say or do, but then Matt walked 63 00:04:02,400 --> 00:04:05,319 past me and stood in front of the TV. Stand. 64 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:09,240 They were now on either side of me, facing me 65 00:04:09,639 --> 00:04:17,319 and not speaking. Several long seconds passed as nobody spoke 66 00:04:17,839 --> 00:04:21,800 or moved before I quickly walked past the other guy 67 00:04:22,120 --> 00:04:26,480 and down the hallway toward the front door. As I left, 68 00:04:26,720 --> 00:04:29,480 I heard them laughing in the room behind me, like 69 00:04:29,560 --> 00:04:33,079 this was funny, and as I got halfway to my car, 70 00:04:33,439 --> 00:04:40,800 the front door slammed shut. I can't even find any 71 00:04:40,839 --> 00:04:43,920 reasons for what occurred that night or what those two 72 00:04:43,959 --> 00:04:47,319 guys were trying to do. Maybe it was just some 73 00:04:47,439 --> 00:04:50,120 sick joke they were pulling, trying to get me to 74 00:04:50,160 --> 00:04:54,800 freak out, or maybe it was something more sinister. I 75 00:04:54,879 --> 00:05:12,120 don't plan on finding out though. I was twenty three 76 00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:16,399 and looking for a studio apartment to rent. I was 77 00:05:16,439 --> 00:05:19,079 fresh out of college and had almost no money to 78 00:05:19,120 --> 00:05:22,360 work with, only making a bit more than minimum wage, 79 00:05:22,639 --> 00:05:26,480 so I really needed the absolute cheapest place I could find. 80 00:05:27,439 --> 00:05:30,879 At first, I was looking for one bedroom and studios, 81 00:05:31,319 --> 00:05:34,639 but over the following weeks it became apparent that that 82 00:05:34,800 --> 00:05:38,720 was just not in the budget. Reluctantly, I went on 83 00:05:38,759 --> 00:05:42,759 to Craigslist and looked at their section for housing. I 84 00:05:42,800 --> 00:05:45,800 knew this site had some bad reputation, but one of 85 00:05:45,800 --> 00:05:48,800 my friends had a good experience and vouched for it, 86 00:05:49,319 --> 00:05:52,759 so I gave it a go. The first day of 87 00:05:52,879 --> 00:05:56,759 looking on Craigslist, I didn't find anything, though I got 88 00:05:56,759 --> 00:05:59,680 a bit of hope seeing there were a lot of listings, 89 00:06:00,519 --> 00:06:05,079 they just weren't in my area or price range. I 90 00:06:05,199 --> 00:06:07,560 think it was on the third or fourth day that 91 00:06:07,639 --> 00:06:10,800 I reloaded the website and found a new listing that 92 00:06:10,879 --> 00:06:14,160 piqued my interest. It was for a place a few 93 00:06:14,199 --> 00:06:17,600 miles away. I clicked on it and looked at all 94 00:06:17,639 --> 00:06:20,800 the details, seeing it was a studio and a small 95 00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:25,560 apartment building. The pictures were really low quality, like so 96 00:06:25,759 --> 00:06:29,759 pixelated that I couldn't see anything, but with everything else 97 00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:34,160 seeming good, I sent the owner a message. He replied 98 00:06:34,240 --> 00:06:38,279 quickly and we scheduled a tour later that day around seven. 99 00:06:39,959 --> 00:06:43,480 From our quick back and forth, I saw nothing unusual 100 00:06:43,519 --> 00:06:47,600 about this guy. His messages were very professional, and he 101 00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:52,759 seemed happy to show me the place. A couple hours later, 102 00:06:53,079 --> 00:06:55,600 I got in my car and started driving over to 103 00:06:55,639 --> 00:06:59,480 the address he sent me. I should mention that I 104 00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:02,600 knew before beforehand that this wasn't a very nice area 105 00:07:02,680 --> 00:07:06,560 of our city, but it's the cheapest area, and honestly, 106 00:07:06,680 --> 00:07:10,680 I didn't think it was that bad, though in hindsight, 107 00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:14,000 maybe I was just being naive because it was my 108 00:07:14,079 --> 00:07:19,120 only option. Anyway, I pulled up to this rather old 109 00:07:19,120 --> 00:07:22,480 looking apartment building. I parked on the side of the 110 00:07:22,519 --> 00:07:25,759 street and got out, texting the man that i'd arrived, 111 00:07:25,920 --> 00:07:29,399 and walking up to the front door. I didn't see 112 00:07:29,399 --> 00:07:32,600 the man anywhere, so I buzzed the room and waited 113 00:07:32,639 --> 00:07:38,600 for a few seconds. Then the door unlocked. I stepped in, 114 00:07:39,079 --> 00:07:42,199 greeted by a staircase in the middle in two rooms 115 00:07:42,240 --> 00:07:45,800 on either side. Before I even got to looking at 116 00:07:45,800 --> 00:07:49,839 the room numbers, a voice yelled from somewhere above the staircase, 117 00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:54,360 saying they were on the third floor. Assuming the man 118 00:07:54,480 --> 00:07:59,199 was talking to me, I started walking up At this point, though, 119 00:07:59,360 --> 00:08:01,639 I was beginning to wonder why he didn't meet me 120 00:08:01,720 --> 00:08:05,480 at the door, especially since he was so professional when texting. 121 00:08:07,120 --> 00:08:09,439 As I reached the top of the steps, there was 122 00:08:09,480 --> 00:08:13,519 a small hallway with two doors, one of which was open. 123 00:08:15,480 --> 00:08:19,040 I walked over and looked inside, seeing a man standing 124 00:08:19,079 --> 00:08:22,680 a few feet away and looking over at me. He 125 00:08:22,720 --> 00:08:26,199 greeted me and shook my hand, then showed me inside, 126 00:08:26,759 --> 00:08:33,360 but immediately I was confused. The place had a couch, TV, chairs, 127 00:08:33,679 --> 00:08:37,639 and even food on the counters. It was clearly lived in. 128 00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:43,840 Does someone else live here? I asked kindly. The man 129 00:08:43,919 --> 00:08:47,039 quickly replied with a short laugh and said no one 130 00:08:47,120 --> 00:08:51,320 lived here and everything would be gone by tomorrow. I 131 00:08:51,399 --> 00:08:54,799 smiled and said okay, but that response didn't come off 132 00:08:54,840 --> 00:08:59,080 the right way to me. He started leading me further 133 00:08:59,159 --> 00:09:02,960 in hinting out features of the place, but it suddenly 134 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:07,600 came across me that this wasn't even a studio. There 135 00:09:07,600 --> 00:09:10,639 were multiple doors which had to lead to other rooms. 136 00:09:11,600 --> 00:09:14,159 This was at least a one or two bedroom apartment, 137 00:09:14,559 --> 00:09:16,600 and there was no way the price could be what 138 00:09:16,679 --> 00:09:20,559 he said it was. It seemed like he noticed my 139 00:09:20,639 --> 00:09:24,000 suspicions as he stopped what he was saying and moved 140 00:09:24,120 --> 00:09:28,080 toward the hallway. He opened one of the doors that 141 00:09:28,240 --> 00:09:31,279 was clearly to a bedroom and started telling me to 142 00:09:31,360 --> 00:09:35,360 take a look inside. But before I could answer, we 143 00:09:35,360 --> 00:09:40,000 were interrupted when my phone chimed. I pulled it out 144 00:09:40,039 --> 00:09:44,000 of my pocket and checked who it was. My face 145 00:09:44,120 --> 00:09:47,879 went pale seeing it was from the man from Craigslist, 146 00:09:48,399 --> 00:09:53,759 asking where I was. I looked up in horror realizing 147 00:09:53,799 --> 00:09:57,159 what had happened, and I could tell that whoever this 148 00:09:57,279 --> 00:10:00,039 guy was in front of me knew that I I 149 00:10:00,200 --> 00:10:05,919 figured it out. This terrifying moment passed and the guy 150 00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:10,399 didn't move or say anything. He just stood and looked 151 00:10:10,440 --> 00:10:15,480 at me with a blank stare. After a moment, I 152 00:10:15,600 --> 00:10:18,960 hurried out of there and down the stairs, not hearing 153 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:23,279 the guy follow I got in my car and left, 154 00:10:24,120 --> 00:10:28,320 being so horrified. I never even texted the actual man back, 155 00:10:28,519 --> 00:10:31,559 as I was no longer interested in staying anywhere near 156 00:10:31,639 --> 00:10:34,200 that place, and I didn't know if maybe he was 157 00:10:34,240 --> 00:10:38,440 in on it too somehow. But whoever that guy was 158 00:10:38,600 --> 00:10:42,000 that lured me into his home was so close to 159 00:10:42,120 --> 00:10:46,519 being able to probably abduct me. I don't know, and 160 00:10:46,559 --> 00:10:49,519 I don't even want to know. But I never opened 161 00:10:49,600 --> 00:11:08,200 Craigslist again. After that night. I was on Craigslist for 162 00:11:08,279 --> 00:11:12,720 the first time in probably five years. I'd forgotten about 163 00:11:12,759 --> 00:11:15,879 the site, never having any need or use for it, 164 00:11:16,279 --> 00:11:19,240 and never really hearing about it anymore. But due to 165 00:11:19,279 --> 00:11:22,000 my moving situation, I needed to get rid of a 166 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:27,159 bunch of random things. I initially called a junk removal company, 167 00:11:27,360 --> 00:11:30,240 hoping they would just take everything, but their estimate was 168 00:11:30,279 --> 00:11:32,919 over four hundred dollars for getting rid of just a 169 00:11:32,960 --> 00:11:38,039 couple things. So that's when I went to Craigslist. I'd 170 00:11:38,039 --> 00:11:41,240 put up a listing for free stuff and had pictures 171 00:11:41,279 --> 00:11:45,759 of all the things I was giving away. Maybe I 172 00:11:45,879 --> 00:11:48,639 just didn't know how it worked nowadays, but I thought 173 00:11:48,639 --> 00:11:51,320 i'd get a lot of responses from people wanting to 174 00:11:51,360 --> 00:11:56,240 pick up free stuff. However, I barely got any, and 175 00:11:56,279 --> 00:11:59,039 the ones that did respond to the listing ended up 176 00:11:59,080 --> 00:12:03,840 ghosting me after couple texts. Then, about a week after 177 00:12:03,840 --> 00:12:07,320 making the listing, a man who introduced himself as kJ 178 00:12:07,840 --> 00:12:10,600 reached out. He said he wanted to pick up my 179 00:12:10,720 --> 00:12:13,279 couch and was good to do so on any day. 180 00:12:14,679 --> 00:12:16,519 I really thought this was just going to be the 181 00:12:16,559 --> 00:12:19,120 same as all the other people that reached out, so 182 00:12:19,240 --> 00:12:21,639 I didn't put much effort into getting this man to 183 00:12:21,679 --> 00:12:25,120 actually come pick up the couch. I let him know 184 00:12:25,200 --> 00:12:27,799 that I worked between nine and five, so if he 185 00:12:27,840 --> 00:12:31,000 wanted to pick it up, he could just let me know. Again, 186 00:12:31,240 --> 00:12:34,759 I didn't think he'd actually come, but sure enough, in 187 00:12:34,799 --> 00:12:37,879 the morning before work, he sent me a text saying 188 00:12:37,919 --> 00:12:41,240 he'd like to swing by tonight. I told him that 189 00:12:41,360 --> 00:12:44,159 was great, and as I left work that night, I 190 00:12:44,240 --> 00:12:48,639 sent him my address. The drive home was only twenty 191 00:12:48,720 --> 00:12:51,840 ish minutes, but I'd hope he comes sooner rather than later, 192 00:12:52,080 --> 00:12:54,559 because I didn't want to waste my night waiting on them, 193 00:12:55,000 --> 00:12:59,399 even more so if they didn't end up showing. When 194 00:12:59,440 --> 00:13:02,399 I pulled in to my driveway, though a car was 195 00:13:02,519 --> 00:13:06,840 parked on the curb right next to my house, nobody 196 00:13:06,960 --> 00:13:09,440 was in it, and it was the only car parked 197 00:13:09,440 --> 00:13:12,480 on the whole street, so it seemed clear that they 198 00:13:12,480 --> 00:13:17,000 were at my house. Thinking it was CAJ I quickly 199 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:19,399 got out and ran out to my front door, but 200 00:13:19,639 --> 00:13:23,000 he wasn't there. It was in the back of my 201 00:13:23,120 --> 00:13:26,639 mind that this could be just some crazy coincidence and 202 00:13:26,759 --> 00:13:30,759 the car was for someone else's house, but I wasn't convinced. 203 00:13:31,960 --> 00:13:34,879 I got inside and sent a text to kJ asking 204 00:13:34,919 --> 00:13:37,879 what his eta was. Then I stood by the window 205 00:13:38,159 --> 00:13:43,279 and looked outside. After ten or so minutes, I still 206 00:13:43,320 --> 00:13:47,519 hadn't gotten a response. I didn't see anyone outside either, 207 00:13:47,960 --> 00:13:51,360 so I calmed myself down and turned away from the window. 208 00:13:52,720 --> 00:13:55,799 I went to the kitchen, pouring myself a drink and 209 00:13:55,919 --> 00:14:01,080 just standing there when a small thud sounded from upstairs. 210 00:14:02,840 --> 00:14:05,799 Unaware of what it was, I put my drink down 211 00:14:06,080 --> 00:14:11,879 and listened. There were a few seconds of silence, then 212 00:14:12,039 --> 00:14:18,840 suddenly heavy footsteps were running down the stairs. I was 213 00:14:18,919 --> 00:14:21,600 so caught off guard. I just stood where I was 214 00:14:21,720 --> 00:14:24,799 and stared down the hallway as a man appeared at 215 00:14:24,799 --> 00:14:28,399 the other end, running right to the front door. He 216 00:14:28,559 --> 00:14:31,679 swung it open and ran out, and when I made 217 00:14:31,720 --> 00:14:34,559 it to the front he was already driving away in 218 00:14:34,639 --> 00:14:38,440 that car that was parked on the curb. I was 219 00:14:38,519 --> 00:14:42,039 still stunned, trying to process what happened because it was 220 00:14:42,080 --> 00:14:46,799 all so sudden and quick. Eventually I got my phone 221 00:14:46,799 --> 00:14:50,679 out and called the police, then tried calling kJ, but 222 00:14:50,919 --> 00:14:53,279 he didn't pick off, which meant to me that it 223 00:14:53,360 --> 00:14:58,399 was definitely him who had broken in. When the police investigated, 224 00:14:58,720 --> 00:15:01,919 they found that Kj's phone wasn't registered to a name 225 00:15:02,039 --> 00:15:06,840 or address, so we were back to square one. Nothing ever, 226 00:15:06,919 --> 00:15:10,360 did come of it, despite me trying multiple times to 227 00:15:10,399 --> 00:15:13,960 get the police back on the case. As far as 228 00:15:14,000 --> 00:15:17,639 I know, nothing was stolen, So maybe he didn't have 229 00:15:17,759 --> 00:15:22,279 enough time, or he was waiting for me. Maybe that 230 00:15:22,360 --> 00:15:26,120 thought I heard was him accidentally giving himself away, so 231 00:15:26,200 --> 00:15:28,639 he took his chance to run now that he didn't 232 00:15:28,679 --> 00:15:33,320 have the surprise on me. But whatever really happened, all 233 00:15:33,360 --> 00:15:36,279 I can do is hope that he never comes back.