Original subtitles

Hello?

I know a good way to kill you both.

It was very scary.

Hollan: I don't know when the man found time to sleep or work.

He was constantly thinking up new ways to come at them,

to hurt them.

What a stalker will do to his victims

is only limited by their imagination.

He was so cruel in his ways trying to kill me.

It's such a mistake.

I'm sure they'll figure out.

I'm sure that is not true, but nobody listened to me.

When desire overtakes reason,

the human mind can unleash deadly obsession.

These are true stories told by the victims.

brunot: I was born in Siberia, the middle part of Russia.

My mother was a beautiful artist,

but I grew up basically being in a theater

because she was an artist,

and she created the costumes for the stage,

so my childhood was rather fairy-tale-ish, I think.

I watched so many productions

of the "swan lake" and "the nutcracker."

It was the happiest moments in my life

where I actually saw all the creativity around me.

But, outside of the theater and outside of that kind of life,

I also was growing up during the Soviet union's time,

so that was very difficult, the harsh winters,

and we learned to be happy and survive for the most part.

My mom was very protective person,

so she would try to protect me from outside world.

That made me very shy and introverted.

I felt like men in Siberia, they were drinking quite a lot.

They behave very badly.

They would become abusive.

They would scare me a little bit because I've seen it all.

I've seen all sorts of drunken people.

My childhood impacted me so greatly.

I wanted to have a different life.

There was stronger desire to experience new things.

I would not say that I wanted to escape.

I just want to have a better life.

I decided to...To find that one special man.

My friends would introduce me to dating magazines.

My friends said, "well, why don't you write

to one of those men?"

So I, of course, you know, wrote bunch of letters.

I had very many responses from the man

from a different country.

I had hoped that it would eventually happen

that I find someone special.

And in spring 2000, I got a letter from frank.

I liked his picture, so I responded back.

Very quickly he would wrote me another letter,

and then we will talk on the phone.

Frank was older than me.

I was 22 years old, and he was 45,

so we had quite a age difference.

I thought he looked very good for being 45 years old,

so I don't think I thought it would be a problem.

He wanted a nice woman to build a life with,

so I really liked that.

Every time frank would call me,

I'd have the butterflies in my stomach.

He was very charming.

He would call me siberian Princess.

I could have imagined loving him.

Of course, I wasn't sure because I didn't meet him yet.

I felt like if he wants to be my prince charming,

then he should come all the way to Siberia to meet me.

The first moment when you meet somebody,

and you just look at this person in the eyes,

and I think I got a little disappointed at that moment

because he looked older, grumpier, not as excited.

Jet lag is always brutal when you travel east.

I'll warm up. I promise.

Little by little, actually,

he came back to being very nice and smiley.

He stayed about 10 days.

He proposed.

I couldn't believe what I saw.

It struck me just because it was too fast,

but on the other hand, it's something that I wanted.

The next day, he had to return,

so I was saying that it's a little too fast for me,

thank you very much, but if you would return,

I'll give you an answer.

After that, he would call me every single day.

Even though he was so far away, he became my life.

Frank came back in beginning of January.

He brought the ring back, and of course, I said yes,

so that was... It was a happy moment.

I landed in Atlanta.

That was my first look at United States.

It was beautiful.

I was sad leaving home,

but I think I was very excited to see that new life.

His house was clean.

It was very neat.

It was a little empty.

I just was hoping that his charm

and then liking him would continue.

I got to go out.

Make yourself at home.

His work, he was a plumber.

Perhaps he's busy or thinking about his work.

I thought that we would be...

He would show me around and have a little bit sight-seeing

and stuff like that,

but frank didn't have anything romantic prepared

for my arrival.

You can put your bag upstairs.

We should be a little more into each other,

and it should be even better than it was before,

but yet it became a lot colder.

I thought, "well, perhaps I'm doing something wrong."

I was very excited to get prepared for the wedding.

I had a beautiful dress.

I couldn't wait until it was all finally going to happen.

We got married on July 21st.

I was very happy,

but still I always felt like something missing.

It's probably me.

It's probably because the fact that I'm in different country.

Maybe perhaps I'm asking too much attention from him.

When we got married, he told me that now since I'm his wife now,

he said that I have to cook and clean,

and I was expected to do all those chores on time.

Frank held all my documents.

He said that would be safer.

You're running behind schedule.

You been out?

Not today.

How was work?

I could walk around the neighborhood,

but then he would time me.

I was cooking and cleaning,

and I pretty much did nothing but that.

But then, in the back of my mind,

I thought, "well, that's my wife duty to do so."

You want it done again?

It's really not that hard.

He wanted to have things done at certain time.

Do it again.

Increasingly, he would get very upset.

I couldn't understand why he would be so mad.

Maybe next time I'll do better job.

I'll be back in an hour to check.

I really didn't talk about it with anybody.

I was almost be ashamed of it,

but I didn't see me leaving the relationship.

In October, he went to blockbuster,

and he borrowed a movie for US to watch.

Then he discovered that I unplugged the TV.

Why?

He gets mad or angry.

I was doing some cleaning.

I see it in his face that something was about to happen.

You shouldn't have done that.

You shouldn't have done that.

I don't believe that's what happening.

Frank?

I decided to find that one special man.

He gets mad or angry, and that almost was every day.

He discovered that I unplugged the TV.

Frank?

He repeatedly hit me, and I was screaming so hard.

But you definitely don't feel your body when it's happening.

You really don't, and you really don't know what to do.

I'm so sorry.

If you'd done what you're supposed to do,

this would not have happened.

He said that he was willing to try US to be together

if I would continue working on being a good wife.

I felt like I had no choice but go back with him.

I had nobody to advise me any different.

I didn't know what to do in this particular situation.

I would never tell anything to my mom to upset her

because I know she was so far away.

Again.

He told me to remop the floor three times

while he was standing there watching.

That was very upsetting moment

I will never, ever forget in my life.

I start getting mad.

I thought, "this is absolutely not right for him to do that,"

so I made the decision to leave him.

I want to go back to Russia.

What did you say?

I want to go back to Russia.

What are you doing? Frank?

And he start cutting his veins right in front of me.

He's probably so upset that I'm decided to end the marriage,

and he's probably trying to commit the suicide

right in front of me.

And then before I knew,

he reached out to phone and called 911.

Operator: 9-1-1, what's the nature of your emergency?

Help me. Please help me.

My wife, she stabbed me.

Please someone help me.

Why are you doing this?

I couldn't believe what I hear.

I was arrested for aggravated assault and battery.

It was absolute unfair accusations.

It never happened.

That was the scariest moment of my life.

They were treating me like a criminal.

They really did.

I thought that, "well, it's such a mistake.

I'm sure they'll figure out.

I'll show that it's not true," but nobody listened to me.

They pressed the charges.

The bond was $15,000,

but I don't have anybody to bond me out.

There's got to be a way that the truth come out.

While I was in jail, frank visited me.

I was very mad at that time even to see him.

He came with his bandages around his arm.

It doesn't have to be like this.

I will drop the charges if you come back to me.

No.

No.

I will prove what you did.

He was surprised, but he actually laughed at me.

I'm not going to go back with him.

I asked for help.

I had one friend, and she was from Ukraine.

While I was in jail, she got in touch

with women's battered shelter, and she told my story.

Luckily enough, people believed what was going on,

so they were willing to help.

My bond is set at $15,000.

But of course nobody had so much money to bond me out,

so I spoke on the phone with one of the ladies from the shelter,

and she explained perhaps I can call to frank

and tell him that I will agree to go back with him,

that that way he can bond me out.

Woman: Once you're out, we'll get you somewhere safe

before frank even knows what's happened.

Okay.

I'll call him.

I know that was the best way out.

Frank, it's me.

About time.

Will you forgive me?

I will be a good wife. He liked it.

He really did.

I knew exactly the words he was looking for,

but it really turned myself absolutely upside down

that I'm actually saying it.

Um...

Good girl.

Right after I talked to him,

somebody came in and said, "well, you're bonded out.

You're going to be out this evening."

People from the shelter, they said,

"you will be in safe place,"

but I didn't know where I was going.

I was in jail for 18 days.

I had no belongings with me whatsoever.

It was just me.

It was very scary.

I knew frank was probably going to be waiting for me.

Brunot: I was arrested for aggravated assault and battery.

I didn't do anything.

It's not true.

People from the shelter believed what was going on,

so they were willing to help.

When I got out, I knew frank was probably

going to be waiting for me.

She was so adamant about her story,

and she was so scared, that it's real easy for somebody

that knows what's going on with those type of cases

to figure out who the bad guy really was in this case.

I was contacted by family violence center,

and they knew of my expertise in the area of stalking

and domestic violence situations.

When you work with these kind of victims,

you have to be imaginative.

You have to think outside the box.

As soon as the bail was posted,

the deputies at cherokee county spirited her out the back door

and directly to the woman's shelter,

so there she was safe.

There will be a special place in heaven for them.

That moment when you had nothing,

but you have your freedom, your life,

I felt like I've been saved.

I was able to escape frank.

Hollan: But frank was not a happy camper.

Sure enough, I arrive to the shelter.

They're warm people.

I felt lucky.

What they're trying to do is try to get you back on your feet

and to be independent.

The district attorney dismissed my charges,

and I was jumping up and down.

For me, that was actually very important

that the charges were dropped.

That was my first victory

where I think everybody in the shelter celebrated.

Frank started a procedure to divorce me.

Hollan: Frank Sheridan was totally obsessed with her.

Frank was sending a message to her

that no matter how safe you feel, you're really not,

and when a stalker loses control,

that's when they become really the most dangerous.

The domestic violence shelter

is supposed to only be known to the victims,

the people that work there and to law enforcement.

But frank hired a private investigator

to locate her in the shelter.

He was close by, and he was making sure

that I will not forget that either.

He was simply will not leave me alone.

It was just amazing the lengths

that this man was going to to try and destroy her life.

Frank was seen at the shelter at least 20 times.

I didn't know what to do.

I really was scared.

I tried to change my appearance several times,

so I would dye my hair an opposite color.

I would be long-haired.

Then I'll cut it short.

One time, it really worked. He passed by.

He didn't even look at my way.

I think it worked.

The protective order was the first step

in keeping frank away from katerina.

It's a very important step, but I will say this,

protective orders are just a piece of paper.

They're not going to stop a knife.

They're not going to stop a bullet.

I knew that was time to move on.

I was trying to develop some friendship, which I did.

I actually did.

I had a few friends outside of the shelter.

I met Jeff through the dating sites.

We would go out on dates,

but I would never tell him what's happening.

He never knew where I live because the shelter's address

is a hidden address.

In order to avoid all this big story why I'm here,

I just simply said that I'm a secret agent.

I'm kgb here.

I really like him.

He was an opposite of frank.

He was very relaxed, and he was very easygoing.

I knew at that time it was probably impossible for me

to hide any sort of relationship from frank.

I knew that frank would probably start intimidating people.

When Jeff found out that I was stalked,

it didn't seem to scare Jeff whatsoever.

When we got married,

I moved in with Jeff and in December 2002...

Hello?

So you're home then.

...frank did find me.

Yeah, unfortunately did, and it took him only a couple days.

We are ready to go to Colorado

and to meet his family for Christmas.

Right before we went to airport, Jeff said,

"well, why won't we move our car in the backyard,

get it out of the way? Perhaps frank wouldn't see it."

Stalking is kind of sometimes a hard nut to crack.

What a stalker will do to his victims

is only limited by their imagination.

Brunot: I moved in with Jeff.

We are ready to go to Colorado

to meet his family for Christmas.

Frank did find me.

It took him only a couple days.

Jeff came up. He was so scared.

What happened?

He said, "well, the brakes didn't work."

He said he pressed on the brakes,

and the car wouldn't stop,

so he just crashed into the neighbor's garden.

We found out that the brakes were cut.

We called the police, and we made a police report.

Okay.

Thank you.

I will go to my grave believing that he was the one that did it,

but we had no actual proof.

I was helpless.

Unless I can prove the charge, I can't make a charge.

This case had the potential to turn out really bad.

I didn't want to see her end up a statistic

with the toe tag in the morgue.

Right after those cut brakes, he got quiet for about a month.

We didn't hear anything from him.

And then right after Valentine's day...

Anytime I want, all this ends.

Just leave US alone.

I know a good way to kill you both.

Brunot: When I heard frank saying that,

I actually thought he would probably do it.

I got in some sort of panic.

I can't take this.

"We got to do something. We got to file a police report."

All these calls, we found out,

were being made from telephone booths.

We were able to subpoena the records for these phones

and get the locations, and they were all very near

where katerina and Jeff were living.

Yes.

Of course, we couldn't prove that it was him again,

so there was absolutely nothing I could do

except just, you know, caution her to be vigilant.

We got into a waiting game, as it were,

waiting for him to screw up.

And that's a horrible way to have to live for a victim.

We should be moving away.

We should just escape where we perhaps hide somewhere

where he cannot find US,

put our house on the market right away

thinking that if we move to a different state,

we would be safer.

I cautioned her that that could be a mistake.

He would find her.

There was not a doubt in my mind

he would find where she had gone.

We left that idea of selling the house,

but you waiting for something to happen.

You feel like an open target.

So 6 months later, Jeff received a e-mail.

It was linked to a porn site with my picture in there.

I know it wasn't me.

I didn't want to be part of it even though it's all made up.

We were sure that it comes from frank.

I definitely felt violation of privacy.

I was quite ashamed, too.

I don't know when the man found time to sleep or work,

because it was like he was constantly

thinking up new things,

new ways to come at them to hurt them emotionally.

Frank was really trying to stand in between our relationship.

I realized that that man will never stop.

Frank would always find a new way to be in my life.

He would always be there.

Let me see the e-mail.

Hollan: I received a call from katerina

that they had gotten this e-mail.

I contacted a detective in cherokee county, Bert love,

he was specialized in computer crimes.

And we got enough evidence to point

that the e-mails originated from frank's house,

so we were able to secure a search warrant

based on that information.

The house was...

I can only describe it as almost plastic.

There was no personality in it.

There were no personal pictures on the wall.

There was nothing to indicate

that somebody of the human race actually lived in that house.

In the cabinets in the kitchen, the spices were all alphabetical

and spaced same distance apart facing forward.

The cans, vegetable cans, soup cans,

they were all alphabetized and faced forward.

It was almost regimental.

It was just unnatural.

Then in the nightstand, we found several weapons.

We found rifles.

We found handguns.

Detective love took his computer.

We traced almost everything that had happened.

I was so happy to hear that finally somebody

actually has physical evidence of frank stalking US.

We found out from doing the forensics

on the computer that frank was in Russia.

My fear was that he's going to try to get another girl.

We found his itinerary, so we knew when he was coming back.

We knew what day, what time, what flight.

It was a glorious day when we went to pick

frank up at the airport.

When frank finally got arrested for aggravated stalking,

we could actually be free from being scared.

He was in jail for several months in cherokee county.

He eventually pled to the charge,

and the judge there gave him probation.

His guns ended up in frank's possession.

Debbie hollan, she told me that be careful.

Now he's probably very mad and watch out.

In June 2004,

Jeff actually he went to look at his bank statements,

and he discovered that he missed a large amount of money,

about $6,000.

Frank was able to get into our mailbox

and find one of those bank checks

and forged the check signature.

He brought the check into the bank

and was able to actually cash it.

We are hurting emotionally but then financially as well.

We had warrants out for him,

but he disappeared off the face of the earth.

I cautioned katerina and Jeff both.

I said, "we're entering an extremely dangerous phase

of this case."

She has, in frank's mind, robbed him of his livelihood,

taken away his home because he can't go back to his home.

She's effectively destroying his life.

Obviously we all know it was his fault

that all these things were happened but not in his mind.

In his mind, it was all down to her.

I just knew that I was going to get a phone call

that she had been killed.

I was so afraid for her.

Brunot: Jeff and I, we found out

that I was pregnant with our first child.

I remember I was jumping up and down

because we were first-time parents.

It's very exciting.

The more and more I thought about it,

it brought absolutely huge fear

knowing that somebody constantly chasing

and obviously wanted to hurt you.

The worst thing for any parent to think

that your child would get hurt as well.

We had her house on what we call zone patrol with police officers

going by and checking the area, checking for him.

We made sure they had his picture,

knew what he looked like.

Detective love got a call

saying that frank was in his house in a moving truck.

The truck was backed into the driveway of the home,

and frank was loading stuff into the back of the truck.

The deputy went to serve the warrant.

And frank came out shooting.

The deputy was hit five times.

The first shot hit his shoulder.

I believe a couple of those actually hit his vest.

Even through all that,

the deputy managed to get off numerous round.

Matter of fact, he was able to clear his magazine and reload,

and he was able to shoot frank and kill him.

Frank was shot 17 times.

Brunot: He was so cruel in his ways trying to kill me,

but I never, ever wanted him to be dead,

so I sat there, and I cried for his life

because I felt like he wasted his life on chasing after me.

Life is valuable thing,

and he... He didn't do it right.

We found katerina's wedding dress

that he was taking with him.

It was a box, and it said, "katerina's wedding dress."

I believe it shows his obsession over me.

That is so scary, and it's very creepy

that he kept that dress for such a long time.

He never got rid of it. He...

It's scary.

They also found a international driver's license

and passports in different people's names.

We found out he got these names from missing persons reports.

He was just loading stuff up in the truck

because he was planning on disappearing,

and my professional belief is that had that not happened

the way it did on that day

that the last thing frank would have done

before he left the Metro Atlanta area

would have been to kill katerina and, if he could, Jeff as well.

I think that's why he had the gun.

Life has gone very well for me.

I'm a teacher.

I teach young kids,

and I also have two kids of my own, two beautiful girls.

I still do quite a bit of my paintings,

and I illustrated two children's books.

It is important for people to hear that there is help.

There is hope.

You must stay strong, and eventually the truth

will come out just like in my story.