The Watcher House. Who was watching 369 Boulevard?

The Broaddus family was looking forward to starting the next chapter of their lives in the exquisite old mansion they had just purchased. An anonymous stalker had other ideas and would target the family relentlessly until they fled 657 Boulevard, in fear for their lives.

657 Boulevard was situated on a quiet leafy street in Westfield, New Jersey. The house was built in 1905 and was modelled on the traditional English Manor house grand style. It was every inch the million-dollar home with 6 bedrooms, spacious reception rooms, ornate fireplaces, and gleaming hardwood floors. The property had seen many families come and go over the years and in the summer of 2014 was about to change hands once again, as it had been sold for $1.35 million.

The Timeline

May 2014: The Woods get a letter

Retired scientists John and Andrea Woods had lived at 657 Boulevard for 23 years. They decided to downsize when their kids left home and were just making final preparations to move to Massachusetts when they received an odd letter. The contents made little sense and made mention of a ‘Watcher’ who claimed to have been keeping a close eye on the house since the 1960s. The Woodses had lived in their home without ever running into trouble, so they attributed the letter to a teenage hoax. Thus they made the fateful decision not to inform the new owners, the Broadduses, who were due to move into the home within weeks.

The Broadduses

Derek and Maria Broaddus were the proud new owners of 657 Boulevard. They had been keen to live in this area as it seemed like an ideal place to raise their 3 young children. Maria herself had grown up in a home just a few blocks away so when the house came on the market the couple jumped at the chance to buy it. It felt like the beginning of an exciting new journey.

June 2014: A formal welcome to the neighbourhood.

One warm night in early June, Derek was getting some last-minute jobs finished at the house in preparation for the family moving in. He finished up for the night around ten and decided to take a cursory look in the mailbox expecting to find nothing of significance. Instead, there was a crisp white envelope scrawled with the words “To the New Neighbours”. Somewhat curious Derek tore it open. Inside, was a typed letter. It started out with a friendly “Welcome to the neighbourhood” but as Derek read on, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. The letter writer identified themselves as The Watcher. The letter read:

“My grandfather watched the house in the 1920s and my father watched in the 1960s.“Do you know what lies within the walls of 657 Boulevard”…Do you need to fill the house with the young blood I requested. Better for me. “Once I know their names I will draw them to me. Welcome my friends. Let the party begin”.

The tone of the letter was equal parts menacing and mocking. The writer seemed to know a lot about Derek and his family already and was aware of the renovations they were carrying out.

Maria emailed the Woodses the next day in the hopes they might be able to shed light on the letters. Andrea Woods admitted to getting a similar letter just after the sale had taken place, but they had enjoyed a trouble-free life at the Boulevard so didn’t think it significant enough to warn the Broadduses about. The Woodses did agree to go to the police with Maria. On hearing their story, Detective Leonard Lugo of the Westfield PD told them to keep the news about the letters quiet, especially from the neighbours, while he looked into the matter.

Derek and Maria did what he said, while also continuing renovations on the house. They brought their children to the boulevard but kept a close eye on them as they played, all the while scanning the neighbourhood for anyone who might be a candidate for The Watcher.

The Broaddus family attended a barbecue in the street which was being thrown to introduce themselves and another new family to the neighbourhood. There, Derek spoke to a neighbour John Schmidt who told them about their closest neighbours across the street, the Langfords. He discussed Michael Langford who he described as being odd but harmless but warned Derek he was known to wander through neighbours’ properties and even look through windows occasionally. This sparked suspicion in Derek and he began to think Michael Langford may be behind the letters. He mentioned this to Detective Ludo who confirmed That Michael was also on his radar.

June 18th: A 2nd letter arrives in the mail

Just when they hoped things might settle down, another letter arrived. Same white envelope with scrawled handwriting on the front. Maria found it this time, and it was more menacing and direct in its threats. The Watcher asked:

“Will the young blood play in the basement or are they too afraid to go down there alone? I would be very afraid if I were them. It is far away from the rest of the house. If you were upstairs you would never hear them scream. All of the windows allow me to watch you and track you as you move through the house.”

The Watcher had referenced one of the children painting on an easel on the porch asking “Is she the artist in the family”. Maria and Derek felt like the implied threats within the letter were too serious to ignore so they stopped bringing the children over to the house. When their previous house sold they moved in with Maria’s parents.

July 18th: 3rd letter

This time the letter focused on trying to get the Broaddus family to come back to live in the house. As usual, the letter mentioned the young blood and with a flourish of nostalgia talked about when The Watcher ran the halls of 675 Boulevard.

I will be patient and wait for this to pass and for you to bring the young blood back to me. Come back. Let the young blood play again like I once did. Let the young blood sleep in 657 Boulevard. Stop changing it and let it alone.

Derek and Maria continued to reach out to the police but the investigation was going nowhere. Eventually, they hired two retired FBI officers and a handwriting expert in the hopes of uncovering some evidence themselves.

The renovations to the house were finally finished almost 6 months after the first letter but the Broaddus family had decided not to risk moving in. With the Watcher still at large, the threat was too high. They decided to sell the house and hoped to finally put the nightmare behind them.

This wasn’t to be however as once potential buyers were informed about the watcher they would always withdraw interest in the house. Derek and Maria were adamant however that anyone taking on the house should be told about the letters.

They applied for planning permission to split the property into two lots for sale but were refused by the planning committee.

Eventually, Derek and Maria rented the house to a family on the condition that if a letter arrived threatening that family they would have the right to quit the rental agreement. A letter did show up but it was addressed to the Brodduses.

Feb 13th 2015: Final letter and the most threatening

“To the vile and spiteful Derek and his wench of a wife Maria. You wonder who the watcher is? Turn around idiots. 657 Boulevard survived your attempted assault and stood strong with its army of supporters barricading its gates.

The letter went on to suggest what might happen to the family.

Maybe a car accident. Maybe a fire. Maybe something as simple as a mild illness that never seems to go away but makes you feel sick day after day after day after day.

This letter seemed to be the most unhinged and spiteful but it would be the last letter to the Broadduses although the damage The Watcher had caused would not simply end because the letters did. Both Derek and Maria had suffered psychological issues due to the letters and Maria had been diagnosed with PTSD. 657 Boulevard had become the stuff of nightmares.

The Evidence

There was not a lot of evidence to go on in this case. There were the letters but the writer had been careful to avoid leaving prints. They had been processed through a local mail centre at Kearny, New Jersey so were not hand-delivered.

Derek and Maria had set up surveillance cameras in the house and Derek would often sleep over with the lights off hoping to catch someone snooping, but he was unsuccessful. It was as if The Watcher was always one step ahead. Derek and Maria sought the help of various experts who examined the letters. They concluded that the letter writer was older and probably well read due to the style of language used. They thought the writer was probably a low-level threat but there was evidence of erratic thought processes within the writing.

The Westfield police put a long-serving officer, Detective Chambliss, on the case. He looked through the files and noticed they had found a partial DNA sample which was determined to be a female. Chambliss decided to try to obtain Abbey Langford’s DNA, so went to her place of work and with direct help from a security guard, he was able to get his hands on a water bottle she had used. Hopes were high, but after analysis, it was ruled as not being a match.

Popular Theories

One of the Langford family was the writer:

Initially, the police suspected Michael Langford. He lived next door, was known to trespass, and in his 60s he was the right age. Also, his family had lived in the boulevard since the 1960’s so it seemed to fit with The Watchers narrative. He had a bird’s eye view of 657 Boulevard and being such a close neighbour could easily have observed Maria and Derek calling to the children. The police interviewed him twice but in the end, they ruled him out as they did not believe him intellectually capable of orchestrating the letters.

The rest of the Langford family, including the matriarch Peggy and her real estate agent daughter Abbey, were looked at by Detective Ludo, but there was no real evidence to suggest their involvement. The family themselves claimed they were being harassed by the Westfield police department.

The couple directly behind 567 Boulevard:

One of Derek’s contractors Jim felt uneasy about the neighbours directly behind the house. Their lawn chairs were unusually close to 657, and one day he saw a man sitting on the chair staring directly at the Broadduses instead of his own house. It didn’t sit right with him, and he reported it to Derek. The home belonged to an older couple who had lived there for over 45 years and their daughter was married to a man who had previously lived at 657 Boulevard.

Census Buero Map : Public domain

Someone from the Wider Neighbourhood:

It was revealed that 2 sex offenders lived just a block away from the boulevard. They were looked into by the police as there had been a particular focus on the Broaddus children within the letters, but with the DNA evidence, they were ruled out.

Detective Chambliss was staking out 657 Boulevard late one night when he saw a woman pull up in a car. She seemed to be watching the house. When Chambliss questioned her, she admitted to having a boyfriend who obsessively played an intense video game called ‘the Watcher’. It turned out he lived on the boulevard too. The police asked to interview him twice, and although he agreed to come in, he failed to turn up both times.

It was a hoax:

Once the story of the Watcher started to travel around Westfield, many residents refused to believe it was true. They began to discuss the possibility that it was just a hoax orchestrated by the Broaddus family to try to profit from selling the rights to the story they had fabricated. This belief was mirrored in local online forums and Facebook groups. It turned out Derek had posted some angry anonymous letters himself, which were critical of some of his detractors within the community. When news of this got out it solidified Derek’s guilt for many. Derek admitted he sent the letters out of pure frustration at the lack of empathy within Westfield for all his family had gone through.

The Case as it stands

The Westfield police told the Broadduses that there was nothing more they could do and the case has now gone cold. The people of Westfield mostly wanted to move on from The Watcher saga and many believe it a calculated hoax. Derek and Maria finally managed to sell the house at a loss in 2019 but their experiences with ‘the Watcher’ still haunt them and have made them more fearful parents. They attempted to sue the Woods family for not letting them know about the Watcher but the case was thrown out of court for lack of evidence. The film rights for the story have been sold to Netflix, and a limited series is coming out this fall. Maybe the heightened attention this will stir up will prompt somebody with information to speak out and the malevolent Watcher will be brought to justice.