The Watcher

My cousin and his family (wife and infant son) had lived in their house for about 5 years. His wife left home to drop the baby off at daycare before work but realized she had left her phone at home. Entering the house, she turned the corner to the hallway and nearly ran into the drop-down attic ladder which was fully extended. They never used the attic as it was filled with loose insulation and my cousin had left for work hours earlier.

She quietly left the house, drove around the corner and called the police.

When the police investigated, they found a short-range transmitter connected to several cameras hidden throughout their home. The light fixture in the shower, the ceiling fan above their bed, even a pinhole in the nursery were sending videos to a nearby location.

Their neighbor a few houses away had been given a key by the prior owners and installed surveillance equipment once he knew their schedule. My cousin’s wife walked in on him updating his equipment but he forgot something at his house and left to get it when she walked in.

He had been watching them for years.