"20/20" Examines Samantha Stites' 13-Year Stalking Nightmare and Escape from a Soundproof Bunker

Tonight on an all-new 20/20, a college freshman becomes the target of a relentless stalker whose dangerous obsession escalates into a terrifying ordeal, forcing her into a desperate struggle for survival and freedom.

What's Happening:

• After meeting Christopher Thomas in 2011, Samantha Stites became the target of a years-long stalking campaign that followed her to restaurants, grocery stores, sporting events and other locations.
• The situation escalated dramatically in 2022 when Thomas allegedly broke into Samantha's home, kidnapped her and transported her to a soundproof bunker he had built inside a storage unit near her Michigan home.
• Trapped and isolated from the outside world, Samantha was forced to rely on her determination and resourcefulness to survive and ultimately escape.
• The new 20/20 special features Samantha's firsthand account of more than a decade of stalking, fear and resilience.
• Viewers will also see police interview footage, storage unit surveillance video and evidence recovered from Thomas' phone.
• Stalking Samantha: 13 Years of Terror airs Friday, June 12 from 9:00–11:00 p.m. ET on ABC and streams the next day on Disney+ and Hulu.
• Samantha's story was previously chronicled in the Hulu docuseries, also titled Stalking Samantha: 13 Years of Terror, which you can read our review of.

More Disney TV News:

• This week, IMPACT x Nightline investigates the shocking case of a former member of a popular boy band who became the target of an alleged murder-for-hire plot.
• FX's Adults is heading back to the beginning with a special prequel episode next month, revealing how the group's story first began.
• Several Disney television projects have scored nominations at this year's Television Critics Association Awards.
• Hulu has acquired a new comedy series called Music Theories from writers Michael Vlamis and Kyle Anderson.