‘The Watcher’: Did They Ever Catch the Watcher? Details Behind the Real Life Watcher Are Sparse
Netflix dropped another true crime series, The Watcher, and now viewers can’t stop talking about whether the police caught the person who sent the strange letters. An unsuspecting family moved into 657 Boulevard in Westfield, New Jersey, and quickly began receiving threatening letters about their new dream home. For viewers looking for The Watcher spoilers, there’s a reason you haven’t found any yet. The Netflix series might imply that one character is the watcher, but they never caught the culprit in real life.
‘The Watcher’ is based on a true story, but the real family is very different than in the Netflix series
Naomi Watts and Bobby Cannavale become Nora and Dean Brannock in The Watcher on Netflix. They put every last penny into purchasing their dream home at 657 Boulevard. However, the neighbors get a little too close after they move in. Mitch (Richard Kind) and Mo (Margo Martindale) sunbathe while they watch the house. Meanwhile, Jasper (Terry Kinney) sneaks inside the house and hides in their dumbwaiter. In addition to the creepy neighbors, the Brannocks receive threatening letters from the watcher.
The Watcher true story of the real family is similar, but Netflix adds an enormous amount of dramatization for TV. The real family — Derek and Maria Broaddus — had three children (not two), and they never moved into 657 Boulevard. According to The Cut, they bought the home for $1.3 million in June 2014. However, when the renovations began, so did the letters.
“657 Boulevard has been the subject of my family for decades now and as it approaches its 110th birthday, I have been put in charge of watching and waiting for its second coming. My grandfather watched the house in the 1920s and my father watched in the 1960s. It is now my time. Do you know the history of the house? Do you know what lies within the walls of 657 Boulevard? Why are you here? I will find out,” began the first letter.
Like in the Netflix series, the Broadduses contacted the previous owners. However, in their 23 years of living in the house, the Woods family only received one strange letter before they moved out. Other than that odd instance, they never had a problem with threatening letters. So, the fictional Andrew in The Watcher Episode 2 is wholly fabricated.
Was the watcher ever caught?
In real life, the family never caught the watcher of 657 Boulevard. Since the first letter, the police and private investigators sifted through various suspects. However, they never apprehended the watcher. For a time, the Broadduses felt that the most plausible suspect was a neighbor, Michael Langford. This is probably Jasper Winslow (Terry Kinney) in the Netflix series. Their home was within earshot of the house, and their family had lived next to 657 since the 1960s. However, police questioning and investigating the Langfords turned up nothing, and two more letters came later.
Who was the watcher in real life?
The real-life watcher probably lived near 657 Boulevard in Westfield, New Jersey. Professionals also agree that they were older — based on their writing style. The initial investigation centered around two families who lived near the house and fit the profile. However, the DNA samples from several suspects did not match the saliva on the envelopes. (via The Cut).
At this point, there’s not much hope for an answer unless someone comes forward and confesses. The Netflix drama, The Watcher points to one suspect with the ending; however, in real life, that is not the case. Many of the original suspects died in recent years. This one may have to remain an unsolved mystery.
All seven episodes of The Watcher are available for streaming on Netflix.
