Who was stalking 657 Boulevard and what did they want?

“to the vile and spiteful Derek and his wench of a wife Maria. You wonder who the watcher is? Turn around idiots”

Situated on a quiet, leafy street in Westfield, New Jersey, 657 Boulevard is a spectacular home. Built in 1905, and modelled on the Dutch colonial style, it’s the picture of opulence with spacious rooms, ornate fireplaces, and gleaming hardwood floors.

Over the years the house had witnessed many families come and go, and in the summer of 2014, was about to change hands once again, for the sum of $1.35 million.

The Timeline of the Letters

May 2014

The Woods get a letter

Retired scientists John and Andrea Woods had lived at 657 Boulevard for 23 years but 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. Thinking it was a teenage hoax, they tossed the letter away.

The Broadduses

Derek and Maria Broaddus were the new owners of 657 Boulevard. They had been keen to live in this area as it seemed like an ideal place to raise their three young children, and they couldn’t wait to move in.

Vintage typewriter: Wallpaper flare

June 2014: A formal welcome to the neighborhood.

One warm night in early June, Derek was checking the mail after finishing up work on the house, when he noticed a crisp white handwritten envelope with “To the New Neighbours” scrawled on it. Inside, was a typed letter. It started with a friendly ‘Welcome to the neighborhood’, but as Derek read on, it became apparent the contents were far from friendly. The letter writer identified themselves as The Watcher. The letter said:

“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 knew a lot about Derek and his family 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 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 neighbors, while he looked into the matter.

Derek and Maria complied, while also continuing renovations on the house. They reluctantly brought their children to the Boulevard but kept a close eye on them as they played, always mindful of The Watcher.

A few weeks later, the Broaddus family attended a welcome barbecue in the street. There, Derek spoke to a neighbor, John Schmidt, who told them about their closest neighbors across the street, the Langfords. In hushed tones, he brought up Michael Langford who he described as ‘odd but harmless’, but warned Derek he was known to wander through neighbor’s properties and, on occasion, peer through windows. Instantly, this sparked suspicion in Derek, and Michael Langford became his prime suspect. He mentioned this to Detective Ludo, who confirmed That Langford was also on his radar.

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

Just when life seemed to be settling down, another letter arrived. 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 using an easel to paint while 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.

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, as a child, they ran in 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 had stalled. 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 that 657 Boulevard was no longer their dream home. With The Watcher still an omnipotent presence, the threat was too high, so with considerable regret, they decided to sell up.

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.

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. However, 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.

The Evidence

Evidence was scant in this case. There were the letters, of course, but the writer had been careful to avoid leaving prints. They had been processed through a local mail center at Kearny, New Jersey, so were not hand-delivered.

Derek set up surveillance cameras in the house and would often sleep over with the lights off, hoping to catch someone snooping, but to no avail. 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 set out 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.

Downtown Westfield Don Siano at English Wikipedia

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 profile. 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.

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, seemingly 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 reached out to interview him twice, but he failed to turn up both times.

It was a hoax

Once the story of the Watcher started to travel around Westfield, many residents 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, targeting some of the neighbors. Derek admitted he sent the letters out of pure frustration, at the distinct 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 believed it to be a calculated hoax. Derek and Maria finally managed to sell the house at a loss in 2019. 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.

In October 2022 ‘The Watcher’ was made into a Netflix series.

What do you think about the watcher? Was it a hoax? Feel free to leave any comments below.

Sources: https://www.thecut.com/article/the-haunting-of-657-boulevard-in-westfield-new-jersey.html