Man Finds Killer Hiding In His Attic
Quick Read
Summary
Takeaways
- ❖Ellis Jones discovered a man secretly living in his attic after his Air Force buddy traced online death threats to his home IP address.
- ❖The attic squatter had established a 'studio apartment' with stolen items, befriended Ellis's dog, and created drawings of Ellis.
- ❖A stripper, after a violent encounter, stole Ellis's phone, faked his death on Instagram, and sent threatening messages to his contacts.
- ❖The fake death incident led to calls from an Eastern European individual threatening Ellis and his family with violence, demonstrating a severe breach of personal information.
Insights
1Attic Squatter Discovery and Confrontation
After receiving online death threats traced to his home IP address, Ellis discovered a man living in his attic. The squatter had constructed a living space, including plywood flooring and patio furniture, and had been reading Ellis's books and writing poetry about his dog. Upon discovery, the squatter attacked Ellis, leading to a street fight where Ellis had to gag the man to prevent being bitten. The police, misinterpreting the situation, initially treated it as a 'two gay guys fighting' incident and released the squatter due to Ellis's misstatement about the house being a 'summer home,' which reduced the charge from burglary to trespassing.
The last comment that was a death threat came from your IP address. () ...the hatch is fallen and there's two feet coming out. () ...he's got patio furniture that I thought some neighborhood kid stole. He's got that up there. () ...we got a call that two gay guys were fighting. () ...if I had said I live in this house all year round, it's burglary of an occupied dwelling. If I say that this is my summer home, it's trespassing in an unoccupied dwelling. ()
2Psychotic Stripper Incident and Fake Death
Ellis met a stripper through a musician friend. After a night of drinking, she became violent, slapping and choking him, trashing his hotel room, and attempting to force herself on him. The next morning, she stole his phone and posted a fake death announcement on his Instagram, causing his mother and ex-girlfriend to believe he had died. She also deleted Instagram message threads and sent text messages from his phone, creating widespread confusion and distress.
She slaps me across the face. And then she chokes me. () ...she swipes all the beer cans. Like now she's trashing my hotel room. () ...she tries to grape me by shoving my flaccid unit into her. () ...I see a post that says something like, heaven just got a new angel or something. () ...a psychotic stripper stole my phone and is causing chaos. ()
3Eastern European Threats and Personal Data Breach
Following the stripper incident, Ellis received a call from an 'Eastern European dude' threatening him and his family. This was followed by text messages containing Ellis's real name, his recently sold Omaha address, and a list of family members, suggesting the stripper had accessed and shared his personal information. The threats escalated to graphic images of dismembered bodies, indicating a serious and dangerous escalation of the situation.
I got a call from like an Eastern European dude who's like, 'I hear you're messing with my girl. I don't like when men mess with my girl.' () ...the next series of phone calls that come or then I get a series of text messages and the first one is my real name, not Ellis Jones. Then my address to the house in Omaha... And then a list of about half of the list was no one that I knew just with the same last name as me. () ...the next text message that comes in is a picture of like a maybe half black, half white guy standing in a bathtub and the dude's obviously holding the phone and he's got a pistol in his hand and he's shooting this guy in the face. And then the next two text messages that come in are the dude's head decapitated and then like and then like a a a photo inside of a garbage bag with like a leg and a arm that have been dismembered. ()
Key Concepts
Frogging
A phenomenon where individuals secretly live in another person's home, often without the homeowner's knowledge, sometimes for extended periods. This term is used to describe the attic squatter's actions.
Karpman Drama Triangle
A psychological and social model of human interaction in transactional analysis, describing three habitual psychological roles: Victim, Rescuer, and Persecutor. Ellis uses this to analyze his own role in attracting and engaging with volatile relationships, feeling victimized by loneliness and seeking a rescuer, which leads to him being persecuted.
Lessons
- Regularly audit your home for signs of unauthorized entry, especially if you spend time away or have had previous guests/roommates.
- Be extremely cautious with personal devices and information; ensure phones are password-protected and avoid leaving them unattended, particularly around new or unstable acquaintances.
- Understand local laws regarding self-defense and property rights, as misstatements to law enforcement can significantly alter legal outcomes (e.g., burglary vs. trespassing).
Quotes
"The last comment that was a death threat came from your IP address."
"If I had done any one of the things, any one of the things that she did to me that night. Like, I would be so cancelled, I'd probably be in jail."
"You know that guy uh that guy Ellis Jones? And I'm like, 'Yeah, he was they're like totally punchable.' I'm like, I see it. I see it."
Q&A
Recent Questions
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