All language subtitles for Obsession Dark Desires S05E01 The Good Neighbor

I remember
he just kept bashing me

As hard as he could
in the head.

"you f'ing bitch.
You f'ing b-I-t-c-h."

I can feel him chasing me.

I feel him coming behind me,
and I am just running.

Aah!

He says,
"you're not going anywhere."

Aah!

I remember just thinking
about my son.

Aah!

"you're gonna die.

You're gonna die."

Narrator:
When desire overtakes reason,

The human mind
can unleash deadly obsession.

These are true stories
told by the victims.

Captions by vitac --
www.Vitac.Com

Captions paid for by
discovery communications

So I am from roy, utah.

I have three brothers
and my mother and my father.

And it was just fun.

I had lots of childhood friends,

Many that I am still close with,
still my best friends.

I was always interested
in fashion and hair and makeup

And all of that fun stuff.

I was about 19 years old.

I was living
in boston, massachusetts,

And I didn't know what I was
going to do with my life.

And I saw all of the girls
at the clubs.

They were fashionable.

Their haircuts were so cute.

They were just so beautiful,

And I just wanted
to be like them.

So I would ask my friends,

"I wonder what they do
for a living?"

And I had heard that
they were hairdressers.

I thought, "well, maybe I should
become a hairdresser."

So I went on to hair school.

I loved hair school.

I really enjoyed hair coloring
and all of that,

But my favorite was
hair cutting.

And I graduated
in about two years.

So I was actually
working at a salon,

And I took a little walk
in the mall on a break...

...And I met my boyfriend.

We fell in love,
and we decided to get married.

I was really excited
that I was pregnant,

Just an exciting adventure.

It was just an amazing feeling
having my baby, daniel david.

He was beautiful --
7 pounds, 12 ounces,

Beautiful big blue eyes.

I loved being married,

But the financial issues
were really, really hard for us.

We decided that
we would divorce

And remain friends,

And it was just
the best situation for us.

Hi,

I got a phone call one day

From one of
my really good friends.

She told me
that they were opening

A brand new hair school --
very high end, very classy.

And she said, "savannah,
I am going to be a director

At the brand new school,

And I would like
to hire you on."

And it just felt right.

It clicked,
it felt like I should be there.

I was actually
living in downtown,

And I was commuting
all of the way to ogden,

Which was about 35 miles.

So that added a lot of time
to my morning commute,

And it was really stressful
with picking up daniel.

I actually took a drive up
around north ogden

After work one day.

And as I was driving,

I saw this townhome
with a sign in the front yard

And it said, "for rent."

I quickly called the landlady,

She told me that the previous
girl had just quickly left,

Completely left her
high and dry,

And she was looking
to rent it out.

She told me that the girl that
had left was a single mother,

And I thought, "my goodness,
that's so strange."

But I did notice
that that community

Was predominantly mormon,

And me and my son were not.

Hey, buddy,
what's your name?

I did notice that there was
a man that lived next door to me

On the left side,

And he seemed to be a bit older.
Maybe almost 60 years old,

His name was todd.

He seemed like
he was kind of lonely.

Let me know
if you need a hand.

I got this, thanks.
I pack light.

I told him that we had moved
from the city.

He was very friendly,
very nice.

He just seemed like a --

Kind of a grandfather-type
really.

In a way,
it was reassuring feeling, yes.

As we moved to our new location
in north ogden,

I enrolled daniel
at the best school,

Which we were referred to.

Long: I was a principal,

I was in charge of just
running the school,

Hiring teachers,

And just making the school
really a warm place

For just all of our families,
especially new families.

And savannah was
one of those new families.

I remember she came in,

And she's so personable,
and she's so friendly,

And so upbeat, and outgoing,

And she was excited
to put her son into our school.

Fuchs:
I had been living in north ogden
for about six months,

And I came across my tire
being flat one morning.

And it was
really frustrating,

Because I had to get to work.

And I didn't know
what I was going to do.

And, so,
the neighbor was outside.

Hey.

He was really nice,
and he said,

"looks like
you have a flat tire."

And I said, "yeah,
I've got to get to work.

I'm in a rush."

Where's your dad?
Can he help?

I just thought
that was kind of strange.

I mentioned to him --

I said,
"well, my father passed away.

I do most of the stuff
on my own.

I don't really have
a lot of help.

My mother lives
about 20 minutes away,

But I'm really independent."

Well if you're in a hurry,
I could give you a ride.

It's early morning hours,
I don't want to bug my mom.

That'd be great.

But it's so reassuring to know
that in the community,

That there are going to be
neighbors that will help you

And go out of their way to help
if needed.

That made me feel extra safe.

So how long
you lived here?

About seven years now.

He said
that he had a daughter.

I believe he told me
that he had grandchildren.

I remember being
extra thankful in the car.

I just said, "thank you so much
for going out of your way,

I appreciate it."

I said, "is it okay,
since you dropped me off,

Can you pick me up after
and take me home?"

And he said,
"sure, not a problem."

And he says,
"here's my number just in case."

And he picked me up
and took me home after work.

After he helped me
with that ride,

I noticed him popping up
more and more.

I was coming home one day,
and he was outside,

And I had some blinds.

You need any help
hanging those?

I should be fine.

You got a drill?

No. Do you?

So I let him help me
hang the blinds.

It was really nice
having that extra help.

It's because
I really missed my dad.

It was so nice of todd.

He was a very kind neighbor,

So I thought I would
offer him a free haircut.

I'm inspecting
all the cutting and color,

And I take a peek over
and I just say,

"hey, you know,
how's your service going?"

And he literally turns
all the way around,

And he just locks eyes on me.

It was just
the most awkward feeling.

It was such a strange feeling.

Almost like --
he didn't smile,

But he wasn't angry.

It was just like a dead stare,

And it really made me
feel uncomfortable.

It's easter morning,

And there's a card
attached to my door.

And it says,
"thank you for being my friend,

God bless you.

Best friends forever."

And I'm thinking to myself,
"best friends forever?"

I'm your neighbor.

Like, this is so strange.

So I kind of thought
this was really weird,

So I called my landlady
and I said to her --

I said, "I just got a card
from the next door neighbor

And he says,

'best friends
forever' on the card."

And she began to laugh.

She said, "don't worry about it.

You're a really cute girl,
you dress nice,

You're fashionable,

And he probably
just thinks your cute.

Don't worry," she said.

"he's been there
for seven years.

That's my best tenant."

It's 11:00 at night,
and I'm fast asleep.

I heard a knock downstairs.

I thought, "I'm just going
to let that person knock...

Keep knocking."

Because I'm not going
to go down there

And open to a complete stranger.

I didn't feel so good about it,

Because it was later at night,
and I just --

It felt odd to me.

As the knocking continued,
I thought in my mind,

"I need to call the police."

Who is it?

It's todd.

I have a package
for you.

I'll get it
in the morning.

I don't know what is going on.

It's just me and my son.

I don't know what to do.

I actually took a drive,

And I saw this townhome
with a sign in the front yard,

And it said, "for rent."

It just felt like
I should be there.

And I came across my tire
being flat one morning.

Well, if you're in a hurry,
I can give you a ride.

It's 11:00 at night.

Who is it?

This is getting so scary.

I don't know what to do.

I called the police,

And I let them know
that I felt uncomfortable,

Because the next door neighbor
was knocking at 11:00 at night

And kept knocking.

They actually
did talk with todd,

And he said, "I'm just trying
to be a good neighbor.

I am not trying to date her."

I'm thinking to myself,
"what is going on?

This is so weird."

I've never had a neighbor
like this before.

What steps do I take?

I reached out to the police,
"what do I do?"

So in my mind, I'm thinking,
"I have to take care of my son.

He's number one."

So as I get out to my car,
I notice another flat tire,

And I'm thinking, "my gosh.

I'm going to be
so late for work."

I hadn't experienced
so many flat tires

Until I moved to this townhome.

And I was very frustrated,

Because I truly believe
todd was flattening my tires.

There was no way
that I would knock on his door

And ask for another ride --
absolutely not.

I'm just going to call
my friend dennis,

And we're going to be fine.

He's been such
a great family friend,

And he has just
really been a rock for us.

Long: Over the course of,
you know,

Several weeks and several months
and so forth,

We struck up a friendship.

This is the second time
she's had a flat tire,

That's kind of weird.

And, so, I picked her up,

And there's nothing wrong
with your tire.

It looks in good shape.

There's no nail.

Started thinking,
"something doesn't add up here.

Something just
this isn't right.

During the summer,

Todd would leave a gift,
like once a month.

I would go to work
every morning,

We would have
a morning meeting,

And once in a while
one of my coworkers would ask,

"how is that neighbor
of yours doing?

What's the latest stuff that's
appearing on the front step?"

It'd be kind of a topic
of conversation in the morning.

It was just very,
very, very awkward.

Long: I first thought, "well,
he's a little dirty old man

Who's just attracted
or infatuated with savannah

Because she's young."

And I just thought, "okay,
well, he's harmless.

And he's probably lonely and
he's trying to just be friends.

Fuchs:
So after a long day of work,

I picked up my son
from his preschool,

And we drove home.

And as I'm pulling in,
I'm kind of tired.

It's been a long day at work.

I noticed there's pink chalk
that my son has used,

Because my son loves
to draw with chalk.

A message
in big capital letters,

And it says
"pray for forgiveness"

In big capital letters.

And I lived on the end unit.

I was kind of isolated,
and I was alone.

I know it's todd.
I know it's todd.

And I have his phone number,
so I texted him.

And I said,
"did you write that?"

And he texted back
and he said, "no."

He was deliberately trying
to make me feel uncomfortable.

Long: Savannah called me,

And she was pretty concerned
over this,

And that was, again --

That just kind of
upped in my mind

The bizarre nature of this guy.

Like, okay, this guy
is getting further beyond

Just being
a lonely old guy next door

Who just wants
some attention.

They pulled him
onto the front step,

And they confronted him
in front of me,

And they said,
"did you write this?"

No, sir,
I didn't write that.

I'm a good guy,

And I'm just trying to be
a good neighbor.

I know you wrote that.

And he could see
the fear in my eyes

When I talked to the police.

And how he almost
laughed it off,

And said
that he was a good man.

Look, if I see anything,

I'll reach out to you officers,
okay?

And I just thought,
"my gosh,

Can't they see, like,
that he did this?

Am I going crazy?"

It was just kind of
a helpless feeling.

I thought, "this is crazy."

They couldn't do anything

Because he hadn't
committed a crime.

At this point, I just said,

"okay, well, I'll call you back
if I find anything else."

I just always felt like
he was watching me.

It was just such
an uncomfortable feeling,

Like I, didn't feel like I would
want to live there anymore.

I remember there was a time that
I didn't even want to go home.

Like, I would deliberately
drive around

And kind of make sure
that I got home at a later hour.

That way I wouldn't have
to encounter him outside.

My family was very worried.

And my mother,
she would stress her concern.

My renewal of the contract was
actually coming up in the fall.

And I thought to myself,
"there's no way in hell

I'm going to renew
this contract.

And I'm going to let
my landlady know."

I was going to start
looking for a condo.

The holidays were approaching,

And we were invited to spend
the holiday in baltimore.

I thought, "okay, great.

This is a sense of relief
for me.

I can get away.

I don't have to re-sign
that lease."

It was nice because
I could kind of clear my head.

We went to the museums,
we walked around,

And it was just fabulous.

I didn't think about anything.

So as I got back from baltimore,
and it's late at night.

So I opened up the door
and I left the keys in there,

And I went back and forth
to the car.

And I got the luggage,
and I brought it in.

I don't see the keys,
they're not there.

And I've got everything
on those keys.

I've got my car key,
the house key, mailbox key,

Even a work key.

So I opened up the door
and I left the keys in there.

And I went back and forth
to the car.

I don't see the keys.
They're not there.

I'm looking around.

Did I place them while I was
going back and forth?

And I called the landlady
and I said,

"listen, I don't know
what happened,

But I misplaced my set of keys."

After like a week, my mind
honestly forgot about it,

Like I didn't even think
about it,

Like my life went on.

At this point I was still
wanting to move,

Just because of
all of the things

That I had encountered.

I just felt like that would be
the right thing to do.

And so I asked my friend dennis

To help me look
for an apartment.

Long:
She told me that she was not
comfortable living there,

Not with him and some of
the things that he was doing.

She really couldn't avoid him.

Fuchs:
It was thanksgiving week,

And dennis took me and daniel
in his car,

And he took me to look
at some places in south ogden,

Apartments that were
within my budget.

However, the deposit was really,
really pricey,

And I could not come up
with that lump sum.

It's very hard not being able
to make that lump sum

Right up front.

That is very stressful,

And it is a lot of money
to come up with

As a single mother.

And I couldn't afford to leave.

I remember
we were talking in the car,

And he says,
"well, you know, don't worry.

Keep your chin up.
It'll be fine.

We're going to find something.
It'll be fine."

And I remember
just feeling like,

"okay, you know,
I'll be optimistic."

And dennis drove me up
to my townhome,

And as he pulls in,
he says,

"savannah, what the hell
is that on the front step?"

Daniel, wait, there.

It was right before
thanksgiving.

Right when a person would need
to have a turkey

To bake in the oven.

And dennis was quiet.
He was really quiet.

I could tell he was just
a little uncomfortable.

Leave me alone.

It really, really irritated
savannah,

Like, "okay, this guy
is really harassing me.

This guy is really going beyond
just trying to be friendly."

I actually took the turkey,

And I trashed it
out in the dumpster.

Long: But on the way back,
she said,

"I think he's looking out
the window at us right now."

Did I think he was dangerous?

Not yet.

Sometimes I can be kind of vocal
and I can talk kind of loud,

Especially if I get upset.

And I'm sure at some point,

He could hear what I'm saying

To my friends
and to my family,

What I'm talking about,

And I'm sure he's listening
on the other side of the wall.

And it's very uncomfortable.

It's just so unnerving
not knowing what to do.

Christmas rolls around.

We were really excited
because my mom called,

And she said,
"come on over.

We're going to have
a nice lunch.

Let's spend some time together."

I'm literally going out
that front door,

And I'm stopped by this like
presents, and toys,

And there's a microwave.

Wow.

Merry christmas.

I said, "daniel,
we're not taking any of this."

Daniel, leave it.

And daniel said,
"but, mommy, I want the gifts.

I want the gifts."

And I said, "daniel, I'm sorry.
We can't take the gifts.

Leave it, okay?
Come back inside, please.

He didn't quite understand.
He was so little.

Like, this has got to stop.

This is insane.

I trashed those toys.

I tried to keep that separate
from daniel.

I didn't want him to see
that exchange going on

And me trashing everything.

I made this agreement
with my son,

And we set this in stone

That if there was anything
that was on the step, right,

We wouldn't be able to take it.

Because if we were taking it,

Then that would lead him
to believe

That we were, like, somehow
keeping this going, right?

So I told daniel, "no,
we're not keeping anything."

I didn't hear a word.

There was no other gifts
after christmas.

That stopped,

And everything kind of
smoothed on with my life.

He left me alone until about
the middle of January.

I noticed a ladder
on the left side of the house

Right outside the window.

And I thought, "okay,
what is going on?

Is that my landlady doing work
this time of year?"

Hello?

Anyone there?

It clicked in my head,
like, it's him.

It's got to be him.

Fuchs: I noticed the ladder
on the left side of the house

Right outside the window.

It clicked in my head,
like, it's him,

It's got to be him.

It's todd.

I just knew it was him.

So I called the landlady,
she said,

"I'm sorry, I can't help you,
call the police."

So I called the cops
and I told them,

"hey, I found a ladder
out my window.

Is there anything that you guys
are going to do for me

At this point?

What do I have to prove?"

So they said to me

That this is between
you and your landlord.

You signed an agreement
with your landlady.

So I said, "okay."

So I called her back.

I said,
"listen, I called the cops,

And they told me

This is between me and you now
at this point.

I want to move out.

I'm looking as soon as I can.

Please help me out.

I just just can't --
I just can't live here anymore.

I just need to get out.

She said,
"savannah, don't worry.

I'll take care of you."

She said,
"I'm going to evict him.

You've all ready gone through
way too much.

I'm going to evict him
in the spring."

And I said, "okay,
but whatever you do,

Don't say my name,

Because I don't want
any problems with this guy.

I just don't want any issues.
I want to move on with my life."

She said, "don't worry."
so after the ladder,

I started looking
for the protective orders

And I went online.

And I looked
at the different options

And it mentioned,
was it a relative?

Was it an ex-boyfriend,

Was it an ex-husband?

Do you share custody of a child?

And it didn't have a checkbox
for a neighbor

And I just thought,
"none of these qualify for me."

And so it just didn't look like
it would even help.

I come home from work,
and I could see this big shadow.

And I think, "my goodness,
what is on my step now?"

It's a huge rocking chair
with a stuffed animal in it.

It looked like
it was for my son.

At this point,
my blood is boiling.

I am so mad.

And I'm going to
take this big rocking chair

And walk it all the way over
down to the dumpster.

I chuck it in, and I'm so mad.

I just can't take this anymore.

And I walked
back into the house,

And I slammed the door.

I'm wanting to confront him.

I'm wanting to just let him know

That I'm not going to
take this anymore.

I'm going to
stick up for myself.

I really think he was trying
to push me until I snapped.

Leave me alone!

And I was so angry.

And he just looked at me
with this blank stare...

...Like he didn't know
what to say.

I was so mad that I wanted him
to be afraid of me.

After the rocking chair
incident,

I was completely
left alone by todd.

He completely left me alone

For the month
of February and March.

My alarm went off at 5:30.

I wake up really early
in the morning.

I heard some noises
out in the hallway.

Daniel, is that you?

And I'm thinking to myself,

"how am I going
to get out of here?"

At this point I'm thinking,
"my boy --

Like, he's right next door
to the room."

What are you doing here?

Shut up, you bitch!

aah!

And he took the gun,

And he hit me as hard
as he could

On the left side of the head.

And I thought, "my god.
My god. My god.

What is going on?
What is going on?"

Like a wild animal,

I'm fighting and fighting
and fighting.

Get on your knees!

Think of my son.

Think of daniel, please.

You don't have to do this.

You're ruined my life,
you evil bitch!

I remember
he just kept bashing me

As hard as he could
in the head,

"you f'ing bitch,
you f'ing b-I-t-c-h,

You're gonna die,
you're gonna die."

And I just thought,
"I'm going to make it.

I'm just not going to give up.

I'm going to keep fighting."

Aah.

I can feel him chasing me.

I feel him coming behind me,
and I am just running.

Aah!

He says,
"you're not going anywhere.

You're gonna die.

You're going to die."

Fuchs:
I can feel him chasing me.

I feel him coming behind me,
and I am just running.

I was literally holding
onto that front door

Every last minute
that I could have

To get out of the house.

I let go, and I just felt,
like, helpless.

I remember the door slammed
really loud,

And my son woke up

And he says, "mom? Mom?"

And I said,
"daniel, go up to your room.

Todd broke in.

Get to your room."

"please, todd,
let me go please.

Put the gun down.
Let's just talk this through."

Todd takes the gun,
pulls it up at me,

Aims it at my face,

Pulls his finger
onto the trigger.

And it jams.

If the gun hadn't jammed
I would be dead.

Then todd takes the gun...

...Puts his finger
on the trigger,

And aims it to the floor,
and the gun works.

I was thinking about my son

And just
what would happen to him.

I wasn't able to fight.

I was feeling like
I'm going to die.

I just looked up at the ceiling
and I just said,

"god, just save me please.

Save me. Save me god."

The gun, like, dropped.

Like it was on the ground.

I'm sorry.

And he calls for an ambulance.

He called --
I think he called 911.

Man: Police. Open up.

Fuchs: And then I remember him
asking who was at the door

Man: Police. Open up.

Fuchs: And then there was
a police officer

On the other side of the door.

And then when he heard
the police officer,

He ran off up the stairs.

But I heard a gun go off,

And it's like I knew
that he killed himself.

I must have gone out
a few times.

I was probably unconscious
a few times, actually.

I look up, and it's dark,

And I can see daniel's
little face looking over at me,

And I feel like
there's this light.

And he says, "hi, mom."

And then the police said,
"come on, let's go."

And they ushered him.

They took him out
to the police car

And got him some help,
made sure that he was okay.

You know what?
Savannah is extremely lucky.

Extremely lucky.

She probably should've
died that night.

You know, he shot that gun
several times

Hoping to kill her.

He brought twist ties
and body bags in.

He had every intention
of killing her.

Fuchs: I believe in miracles,

And I believe that miracles
happen every day.

And I survived something
that should have killed me.

I don't think it was a mere
coincidence that she survived.

I think someone
was watching over her.

Fuchs:
As I found out later

That the gun had jammed
numerous times,

I believe that I was protected
by an angel.

And when I was laying
in the hospital,

The policeman came to the bed
and he said,

"is there any way that he
could've got into the house?"

And my mind
automatically jumped

To the set of keys
I left in the door.

Todd's dangerous obsession
with me was so severe

That it nearly
cost me my life.

The obsession
that todd had with me

Had escalated and escalated
and kept escalating,

And it was just getting more
and more dramatic

And more and more scary.

And it escalated to the point

Where I almost lost my life
on April 1st.

And it was
the most horrific event

That has ever happened
in my life,

And I survived.

And I am so blessed
to tell this story.