The True Story Behind the Mysterious Case Known as ‘The Watcher’

Derek and Maria Broaddus are the real-life Dean and Nora Brannock who bought a house on 657 Boulevard in Westfield, New Jersey. The purchase was made back in 2014 and the house set the Broaddus family back a whopping $1.3 million.

Sadly, Maria and Derek’s dream home was about to turn into a nightmare. There’s nothing worse than feeling unsafe in your own home, but it’s a concept that’s all too relatable. Perhaps that’s why The Watcher has garnered such an audience.

Despite Netflix’s version of The Watcher portraying a family of four, the real Broaddus clan is a family of five. Maria and Derek have three children — two girls, and one boy.

Furthermore, the real kids were all under the age of 10 at the time, as opposed to teenagers as they’re depicted in the show. If you’re now worried about the storyline of Ellie dating Dakota — rest assured that part was entirely made up.

Three days after the Broaddus family moved in, they received their very first letter from the Watcher. The note was handwritten and the envelope was addressed to “The New Owner.”

Derek noticed the letter at 10 pm and immediately called the police — who were shocked that this was happening in their low-crime neighborhood. In fact, the responding officer is reported as having exclaimed “What the (…) is this?” Maria and Derek were officially spooked, and rightfully so.

The first letter read as follows: “Dearest new neighbor at 657 Boulevard, allow me to welcome you to the neighborhood. 657 Boulevard has been the subject of my family for decades now…”

“… As it approaches its 110th birthday, I have been put in charge of watching and waiting for its second coming. My grandfather watched the house in the 1920s and my father watched in the 1960s. It is now my time.”

As if that wasn’t scary enough, the letter continued on to say, “Do you know the history of the house? Do you know what lies within the walls of 657 Boulevard? Why are you here? I will find out.”

“Do you need to fill the house with the young blood I requested? Better for me. Was your old house too small for the growing family? Or was it greed to bring me your children?”

Lastly, the eerie note finished with, “Once I know their names, I will call to them and draw them too [sic] me. I ran from room to room imagining the life with the rich occupants there.”

“And now I watch and wait for the day when they [sic] young blood will be mine again.” The note was simply signed “The Watcher” with no indication as to who they were or what they expected of their new neighbors.

Given that the real Broaddus children were very young, and definitely not teenagers, they knew absolutely nothing about the Watcher. Derek and Maria wanted to shield their kids from the frightful situation.

In fact, the children only found out about the ordeal when it became a story on the news. Netflix’s reimagining of the Broaddus family was probably due to Maria and Derek’s request to Netflix to protect their privacy and not depict their children how they truly are.

The house’s previous owners were John and Andrea Woods, who were thrust into the spotlight when Derek and Maria sued them for remaining silent about the Watcher during the sale of the house.

Apparently, the Woods family received a letter from the Watcher one week before selling the house to the Broaduses. Maria and Derek decided to sue for breach of contract and fraud. The Chicago Title Insurance Company and the Watcher were also part of the lawsuit, despite the fact that no one knew who the latter was.

Andrea and John Woods claim that they’ve only ever gotten one letter from the Watcher in their 23 years living on that property, and it happened a week before the house’s sale. Furthermore, they insist that the letter wasn’t threatening so they simply threw it in the trash, never thinking about it again.

Their lawyer added, “My clients have gone through having to experience serious allegations that have made their way to the internet. They’ve been embarrassed and humiliated and subject to public ridicule.”

Eventually, the Broaddus’ lawsuit against the Woods was thrown out. It seems that Andrea and John tried to help Derek and Maria resolve the issue without getting into a legal battle. They accompanied the Broaddus family to the police station, where they showed the cops the Watcher’s letter.

The police instructed both couples not to say anything to anyone, as they were all suspects along with everyone else in the neighborhood. Interestingly, they were also advised not to tell new neighbors about the Watcher, which, given the lawsuit, seems hypocritical.

The second letter arrived on June 18th, 2014 — and, this time, it was addressed directly to “Mr. and Mrs. Broaddus.” The letter read, “The workers have been busy and I have been watching you unload carfuls of your personal belongings.”

“The dumpster is a nice touch. Have they found what is in the walls yet? In time they will. I am pleased to know your names and the names now of the young blood you have brought to me. You certainly say their names often.”

“Will the young bloods play in the basement? Who has the bedrooms facing the street? I’ll know as soon as you move in. It will help me to know who is in which bedroom then I can plan better.”

“All the windows and doors in 657 Boulevard allow me to watch you and track you as you move through the house. I am in charge of 657 Boulevard.” Once again, the letter didn’t reveal any information as to who the Watcher could be.

By July, the Broaddus family hadn’t moved into the house due to the Watcher’s letter. At which point, the Watcher sent a third letter asking “Where have you gone to?” and claiming that “657 Boulevard is missing you.” After receiving this third letter, Derek and Maria decided not to move into the house at all.

However, the couple was unable to sell the property as word of the Watcher had gotten out. Maria and Derek did bring up the idea of tearing down the house but the township planning board forbade it.

In 2017, Derek and Maria managed to rent out 657 Boulevard and made sure to tell their tenant about the Watcher. The two parties agreed on a contract with a clause allowing the tenant to leave if the Watcher were to strike again.

When asked if he was concerned about the house’s stalker, the tenant said, “That is not my issue.” Unfortunately, the tenant changed his tune when, less than two weeks after he moved in, the Watcher sent a fourth letter.

While the previous letters were undeniably creepy, they were written in a professional and almost respectful manner (as respectful as a peeper/stalker can be). The fourth letter, however, had a completely different tone — which was even scarier than its predecessors. It became clear that the Watcher was angry.

This message was addressed to “the vile and spiteful Derek and his wench of a wife Maria.” It went on to say, “You wonder who the Watcher is? Turn around idiots.”

The Watcher continued to taunt Maria and Derek by writing, “Maybe you even spoke to me, one of the so-called neighbors who has no idea who the Watcher could be. Or maybe you do know and are too scared to tell anyone. Good move.”

The letter then referenced “soldiers of the Boulevard” and claimed that they “carried out their mission and saved the soul of 657 Boulevard with my orders.” This message also contained threats, as the Watcher described starting a fire in the house or harming the family pet.

Despite the ominous letter, 657 Boulevard’s tenant didn’t see a reason to move out. However, he did insist that the Broaddus family install security cameras, to which they happily obliged. Derek and Maria were still hoping that the police could help.

But, the authorities warned them that catching the Watcher was like “trying to find a needle in a haystack.” The issue seemed to be that simply everyone around, or even remotely related to, 657 Boulevard was a suspect.

A lot of young families want to live in neighborhoods like Westfield, so many people suspect that the Watcher was someone’s way of getting the house back on the market. Or perhaps, it was someone who the Broaddus outbid for the property and they were upset about it.

Due to the Watcher’s knowledge about the Broaddus family, many people assume one of the neighbors was the culprit. However, there doesn’t appear to be a real motivation for any of them to antagonize the new homeowners.

Michael Langford was one of the neighbors who lived near 657 Boulevard. Michael was in his 60s but still resided with his mother, along with several of his siblings. Langford’s brother stated that Michael was known around the neighborhood for being schizophrenic, and that he would sometimes exhibit unusual behavior.

For example, he’d walk through neighbors’ backyards or peer through their house windows. That being said, the Langford family has always maintained that Michael was harmless. It’s worth mentioning that while neighbors called him “odd,” no one had ever reported him for a crime.

Derek and Maria decided to look into Michael Langford as a suspect. They hired a private investigator and two former FBI agents to do background checks on the entire Langford family and keep an eye on their house. However, they couldn’t find any evidence that Michael was the Watcher.

Sadly, Michael passed away in 2020, after which his family was vocal about the fact that they’d never forgive the Broaddus family for suspecting him. It’s worth noting that the Langfords never received an apology for the accusations.

Several more theories started to pop up about who the Watcher could be. Some people thought the letters were simply a prank while others suspected a real estate agent who was trying to drum up business.

However, there were those who had more dramatic theories about the Watcher’s identity. A lot of people believe that the Watcher is someone who lives in the walls of the house and has occupied the property for years. Others support the theory that Maria and Derek are actually the Watcher.

Many people believe that Derek and Maria wrote the Watcher’s letters and sent them to themselves in an attempt to get out of the sale of the house. The theory is that the couple regretted their purchase and needed a way out of the contract.

That being said, there’s no evidence at all to support this belief. Furthermore, the Broaddus family lost an estimated $400,000 when they finally did manage to sell the house in 2019.

The Watcher sent their letters locally and the first one pre-dated the announcement that the house had been sold — which means that all of the neighbors were suspects.

A lot of the Broaddus’ neighbors volunteered to participate in DNA tests in order to rule themselves out as being the Watcher. However, the general consensus in the community seemed to be that Derek and Maria were overreacting and the letters were nothing to be concerned about.

One of 657 Boulevard’s neighbors said, “I don’t think much of it, I don’t think it was anything scary. I would say the carjackings in this town are much more serious than the Watcher.” Another town resident claimed, “People haven’t heard of it.”

However, there were those who were sympathetic to the Broaddus’ plight and said they “felt bad” for the couple. One neighbor even admitted that they found the letters to be “creepy and spooky at the time.”

After the story of the Watcher was published in The Cut, producers started reaching out to the Broaddus family asking for the rights to tell their story.

However, Derek and Maria just wanted to be left alone and didn’t want their trauma to become a movie or TV show. The offers kept pouring in, though, with one producer even offering to buy the property and use it as an authentic film set.

Despite Maria and Derek’s insistence that they wanted privacy, Lifetime made a movie about their experience anyway. The couple was extremely unhappy with how the network handled their story, which led them to sell the rights to Netflix with two conditions in place.

Netflix was asked to change the family members’ names in their adaptation and to make sure that the fictional children were nothing like their real-life counterparts. The streaming service happily obliged and they paid Derek and Maria an undisclosed amount for their story.

Although Maria and Derek are keeping what they earned from Netflix private, one of their neighbors claims that it was almost $10 million. It seems to have been worth it for the streaming service, as The Watcher became their number-one show in Netflix’s Top 10 list and reached over 125 million hours of viewing in the first five days.

However, it’s worth noting that the platform changed more aspects of the story than just the ones that the Broaddus family requested.

Netflix made up the entire storyline about the tunnels hidden under the house — as those never actually existed. Furthermore, the house didn’t have a dumb waiter, despite that being a large plot point.

The real 657 Boulevard didn’t have rumors of a cult using the house, nor was the family pet actually harmed (although its life was threatened in one of the letters). Interestingly, the show did use the real text from the Watcher’s letters.

657 Boulevard now has new owners but they’re fiercely guarding their privacy and refuse to speak to the press. The house’s new residents are Andrew and Allison Carr but that’s all the public knows about them.

The biggest question of all — whether or not the Carrs received letters from the Watcher — remains unanswered. Unfortunately, now that The Watcher is a famous show, Allison and Andrew must contend with tourists trying to take morbid selfies on their property.

The Broaddus family has physically moved from the house but they’re finding it difficult to move on emotionally. Derek has stated that the experience is something the family thinks about “every day.”

It’s probably pretty hard to forget seeing as it’s now a popular Netflix show. Surprisingly, Maria and Derek don’t have any plans to see their story play out on TV. Apparently, they watched the trailer and found it to be “traumatizing enough.”

Derek and Maria moved their family to a new home that’s also in Westfield but they wisely used an LLC for the purchase so that their new location will remain private. Derek described the whole ordeal that took place at 657 Boulevard as “traumatic” and the worst years of the family’s life.

In terms of the Broaddus’ current emotional state, Derek says that they’re “trying to move on.” There’s only one thing stopping them…

As of November 2022, the Watcher still hasn’t been caught. The police say that they had several persons of interest but never enough information for a concrete suspect. They insist that the case is still open and being actively investigated.

Derek has expressed his concern, stating, “There is a mentally unhinged lunatic in that neighborhood.” Was the Watcher just a joke gone too far? Or did they intend to cause actual harm to the Broaddus family? More importantly, are they finally done with 657 Boulevard? We may never know.