1 00:00:06,043 --> 00:00:08,043 [birdsong] 2 00:00:15,163 --> 00:00:17,243 [man] I don't consider myself a stalker. 3 00:00:20,683 --> 00:00:26,163 I thought stalking was more watching somebody, like a Peeping Tom. 4 00:00:28,923 --> 00:00:31,283 Ashley and I, we were like brother and sister. 5 00:00:31,803 --> 00:00:33,603 Just a great friendship. 6 00:00:50,963 --> 00:00:53,083 [woman] I thought, "Anything could happen now." 7 00:00:53,643 --> 00:00:55,403 "I don't know what to expect." 8 00:00:56,843 --> 00:00:59,363 "This person that I clearly don't know at all, 9 00:01:01,363 --> 00:01:05,643 the damage he caused, I will carry it my entire life." 10 00:01:15,443 --> 00:01:17,763 [man] I didn't think there was any harm in it. 11 00:01:20,763 --> 00:01:22,723 I didn't want to cause no harm to her. 12 00:01:25,603 --> 00:01:26,563 I would never even… 13 00:01:27,603 --> 00:01:29,123 even touch a hair on her. 14 00:01:38,803 --> 00:01:41,363 [man] I'd rather be considered a murderer than a stalker, 15 00:01:41,443 --> 00:01:42,523 you know what I mean? 16 00:01:46,603 --> 00:01:52,003 [woman] I wanted the intensity of, like, of her feeling watched. 17 00:01:53,483 --> 00:01:56,123 [man 2] Anybody can be a stalker. 18 00:01:56,683 --> 00:01:58,603 [man 3] It's all boogeyman talk. 19 00:02:00,443 --> 00:02:02,563 [man 4] I'm not still that crazy. Like-- [chuckles] 20 00:02:13,643 --> 00:02:15,643 [birdsong] 21 00:02:46,363 --> 00:02:47,843 [man] You look straight into the lens. 22 00:02:47,923 --> 00:02:48,923 -Just there. -There. 23 00:02:49,003 --> 00:02:51,603 -Okay. Right there. -If you look through, can you see me? 24 00:02:51,683 --> 00:02:53,163 [Corpus] I'm looking straight at you. 25 00:02:53,243 --> 00:02:54,803 -[man] Looking at me. -[Corpus] Okay. 26 00:02:58,003 --> 00:02:59,563 -Try it again? -[man] Yes, please. 27 00:02:59,643 --> 00:03:02,963 My name is James Corpus. I'm in prison for stalking. 28 00:03:09,203 --> 00:03:10,763 [birdsong] 29 00:03:19,963 --> 00:03:23,243 [Corpus] I grew up in St. John, Indiana. 30 00:03:24,923 --> 00:03:28,203 I had a great childhood. I had parents that never broke up. 31 00:03:30,123 --> 00:03:34,243 But I grew up basically kind of a nerd, 32 00:03:35,043 --> 00:03:38,763 and I have always been… pretty much on my own. 33 00:03:39,283 --> 00:03:45,763 I never depended on anyone, or never had a kind of a backbone to… 34 00:03:45,843 --> 00:03:47,283 or someone to lean on. 35 00:03:57,003 --> 00:03:58,523 [Corpus] It was pretty bad. 36 00:03:59,043 --> 00:04:01,763 I didn't wake up in the hospital for a few days. 37 00:04:03,803 --> 00:04:06,243 My jaw was broken in three different areas. 38 00:04:06,323 --> 00:04:11,523 My nose was pushed in, which crushed my nose cavities in. 39 00:04:11,603 --> 00:04:14,803 My eye sockets were crushed. 40 00:04:17,443 --> 00:04:20,523 The accident did have an effect on not just my looks. 41 00:04:20,603 --> 00:04:24,203 I mean, just… people treated me differently. 42 00:04:25,283 --> 00:04:27,203 They just felt pity on me. 43 00:04:46,923 --> 00:04:50,403 [Corpus] I was working for a friend of mine that owned a restaurant. 44 00:04:51,323 --> 00:04:55,843 She came in to help him out, to manage it. 45 00:04:59,043 --> 00:05:02,363 In the beginning, Ashley and I did not exactly get along, 46 00:05:02,443 --> 00:05:06,403 because we were both managers, we were both leaders. 47 00:05:06,483 --> 00:05:10,603 But then I sat back and realized that she knew what she was talking about. 48 00:05:12,323 --> 00:05:13,483 And I listened to her. 49 00:05:16,323 --> 00:05:18,243 Ashley was very good to me. 50 00:05:18,323 --> 00:05:22,803 We got really close, as I-- extreme, like, best friends. 51 00:05:32,723 --> 00:05:35,563 [birds calling] 52 00:05:46,363 --> 00:05:47,963 My name is Ashley Manfre… 53 00:05:50,403 --> 00:05:52,083 and I'm a stalking survivor. 54 00:05:57,563 --> 00:06:00,203 I met James at a restaurant where we worked together. 55 00:06:03,123 --> 00:06:05,723 He was my line cook, 56 00:06:07,043 --> 00:06:09,843 and we became very good friends very quickly. 57 00:06:11,803 --> 00:06:15,483 We spent a lot of time in the kitchen, just being silly and having fun. 58 00:06:18,683 --> 00:06:23,923 James was in an accident when he was a teenager, I believe. 59 00:06:24,003 --> 00:06:29,243 And he was not initially liked 60 00:06:29,843 --> 00:06:31,283 by many people. 61 00:06:31,363 --> 00:06:35,243 I took that very personally, when somebody was set back by him, 62 00:06:35,323 --> 00:06:37,963 because the way he looks or talks or walks. 63 00:06:39,523 --> 00:06:41,283 That made me uncomfortable. 64 00:06:42,163 --> 00:06:46,083 And if that was me, I would want somebody next to me to stand up for me. 65 00:06:46,683 --> 00:06:50,003 I had developed this sense of protection, 66 00:06:50,083 --> 00:06:54,043 that I needed to protect him from the people that… 67 00:06:54,963 --> 00:06:56,003 could hurt him. 68 00:07:09,763 --> 00:07:11,763 [birdsong] 69 00:07:26,323 --> 00:07:29,643 [Ashley] Years had passed. I had my party rental company, 70 00:07:29,723 --> 00:07:35,043 and he reached out to me asking if I had any work for him. 71 00:07:35,963 --> 00:07:40,243 Apparently he had just got out of jail from some DUIs. 72 00:07:42,523 --> 00:07:47,043 So I brought him into this new company, and he would do odd jobs for me. 73 00:07:47,123 --> 00:07:51,723 He would set up equipment and help me in the office. 74 00:07:54,083 --> 00:07:55,563 He was here all the time. 75 00:07:56,323 --> 00:08:00,483 He saw wherever I was stressed and just picked those stressors out, 76 00:08:00,643 --> 00:08:02,603 and took some of that on. 77 00:08:03,323 --> 00:08:06,643 That just always made me feel that I could trust him. 78 00:08:08,323 --> 00:08:13,083 So James had become very integrated into my life, into my family life, 79 00:08:13,163 --> 00:08:14,003 into my business. 80 00:08:14,083 --> 00:08:18,643 My family accepted him as part of our family. 81 00:08:19,803 --> 00:08:22,083 [Ashley] So, buddy, what do you wanna be when you grow up? 82 00:08:22,163 --> 00:08:24,203 -James. -[Ashley] You want to be James? 83 00:08:24,283 --> 00:08:25,803 -Yep. -[Ashley] Why? 84 00:08:26,323 --> 00:08:28,003 I can play video games. 85 00:08:28,083 --> 00:08:30,123 [laughter] 86 00:08:33,083 --> 00:08:35,083 [birdsong] 87 00:08:40,603 --> 00:08:43,883 [Corpus] Being close to her family was extremely, like… 88 00:08:43,963 --> 00:08:45,363 To me, it was awesome. 89 00:08:45,443 --> 00:08:48,083 It was like being accepted by someone else's family. 90 00:08:48,163 --> 00:08:49,723 Just be social with them… 91 00:08:49,803 --> 00:08:53,603 It was like-- I've never really did that with anyone else's family. 92 00:08:53,683 --> 00:08:55,803 It was always-- I've always been on my own. 93 00:08:55,883 --> 00:08:57,243 I've never… 94 00:08:59,723 --> 00:09:02,203 been actually accepted with anyone. 95 00:09:02,763 --> 00:09:04,363 This was actually my first time. 96 00:09:06,363 --> 00:09:09,003 And… and it was actually pretty cool. 97 00:09:32,563 --> 00:09:34,203 [Corpus] I had started drinking more. 98 00:09:35,323 --> 00:09:38,403 I just felt stuck in this small town. 99 00:09:41,323 --> 00:09:44,163 During one night, I was drinkin' a little too much, 100 00:09:44,243 --> 00:09:48,603 and I just wanted to go up to Chicago. 101 00:09:53,203 --> 00:09:56,163 I knew she had a van she wasn't using in her backyard. 102 00:09:56,243 --> 00:10:00,243 So I decided to go in it and start it up and take off. 103 00:10:02,843 --> 00:10:05,923 I was so intoxicated, I got the van stuck on the side of the road. 104 00:10:09,363 --> 00:10:11,283 My aim was never to steal the van. 105 00:10:12,363 --> 00:10:13,803 It just popped in my head. 106 00:10:17,163 --> 00:10:21,163 After the issue with the van, the trust started fallin' apart. 107 00:10:21,243 --> 00:10:22,963 That was-- that was the issue. 108 00:10:23,043 --> 00:10:25,043 [cicadas chirping] 109 00:10:35,843 --> 00:10:40,163 [Ashley] The police informed me that night that the van was stolen, 110 00:10:40,243 --> 00:10:42,883 and that James's phone was in the car. 111 00:10:44,963 --> 00:10:47,323 The police told me, "Well, obviously he did it." 112 00:10:48,683 --> 00:10:51,603 I didn't think that this could be possible. 113 00:10:51,683 --> 00:10:55,083 I didn't think that he would steal from me, ever. 114 00:10:55,603 --> 00:10:59,283 I just felt that there could be another… option, 115 00:10:59,363 --> 00:11:02,683 or another-- another reason, or another way… 116 00:11:03,723 --> 00:11:05,603 than "James did this." 117 00:11:14,523 --> 00:11:17,043 [Ashley] We were with the police for hours that night, 118 00:11:17,123 --> 00:11:20,003 and when we got back to the home… 119 00:11:20,923 --> 00:11:22,563 [sighs] …my door was open. 120 00:11:23,523 --> 00:11:25,323 I-- I just kind of brushed it off. 121 00:11:25,403 --> 00:11:27,483 Things just didn't make sense at that point. 122 00:11:28,003 --> 00:11:29,483 So we decided we were gonna go to bed. 123 00:11:29,563 --> 00:11:33,283 I went upstairs to tuck my son in and make sure he was okay. 124 00:11:36,323 --> 00:11:41,323 And there James was in my son's room, on his couch in his bedroom. 125 00:11:44,243 --> 00:11:46,283 I shook him. He had fallen asleep. 126 00:11:46,803 --> 00:11:48,363 I think he was on something. 127 00:11:48,443 --> 00:11:51,483 I don't know if it was… if he was drunk or it was drugs. 128 00:11:51,563 --> 00:11:55,603 I have no idea. Um… He just wasn't right. I'd never seen him in this way. 129 00:11:59,923 --> 00:12:03,123 I was just so confused, and still trying so hard 130 00:12:03,203 --> 00:12:04,963 to give him the benefit of the doubt. 131 00:12:06,803 --> 00:12:09,203 But he couldn't answer me why he was there. 132 00:12:09,283 --> 00:12:12,923 I questioned him about… about the car, and why his phone was in there, 133 00:12:13,003 --> 00:12:16,243 and he… he just gave me all kinds of excuses 134 00:12:16,323 --> 00:12:18,283 that made me feel uncomfortable. 135 00:12:19,643 --> 00:12:23,243 And I didn't want him, in the state that he was in, in my house at all. 136 00:12:37,763 --> 00:12:41,163 [Ashley] James was arrested after he admitted to stealing the van. 137 00:12:41,243 --> 00:12:42,763 [water running] 138 00:12:44,123 --> 00:12:45,483 I felt guilty. 139 00:12:47,683 --> 00:12:50,523 I didn't mean for that. I didn't want for him to be in trouble. 140 00:12:53,283 --> 00:12:55,403 But I felt very betrayed by him, 141 00:12:55,483 --> 00:13:00,163 and I was very confused of why he did what he did, 142 00:13:00,243 --> 00:13:01,323 and what just happened, 143 00:13:01,403 --> 00:13:03,763 and still trying to put the pieces back together. 144 00:13:17,003 --> 00:13:20,883 I can't explain how suddenly our friendship started separating, 145 00:13:20,963 --> 00:13:23,083 but I think it mostly had to do with, uh… 146 00:13:24,043 --> 00:13:26,483 just me taking things that doesn't belong to me. 147 00:13:27,203 --> 00:13:29,363 Well, I mean, for instance, the van. 148 00:13:30,643 --> 00:13:32,083 For taking that. 149 00:13:32,163 --> 00:13:34,083 She trusted me, she knew… 150 00:13:35,843 --> 00:13:39,163 she knew that I knew where all the stuff, everything was. 151 00:13:39,763 --> 00:13:41,603 [man] Did you take any other things? 152 00:13:42,483 --> 00:13:44,243 From her? Um… 153 00:13:44,763 --> 00:13:46,483 I took some money from her, 154 00:13:46,563 --> 00:13:49,243 out of the business account, to pay off a phone bill. 155 00:13:50,603 --> 00:13:54,363 And due to that transaction, I kind of emptied out her account, 156 00:13:55,203 --> 00:13:57,723 because I didn't know how that-- how that worked. 157 00:13:58,603 --> 00:14:01,163 So I hurried up and put it back into her account. 158 00:14:03,643 --> 00:14:05,163 And she… 159 00:14:07,003 --> 00:14:12,323 that really stopped all the trust, between her and I. 160 00:14:23,683 --> 00:14:27,563 Um… I think it's the second one. No, it's the brand-new one. In the pink. 161 00:14:29,563 --> 00:14:34,563 Whatever had happened with James, I just was continuing to… to live my life. 162 00:14:37,443 --> 00:14:41,003 But soon after James was released, 163 00:14:41,523 --> 00:14:45,643 I had a phone call from my school, 'cause I was still in college, 164 00:14:45,723 --> 00:14:50,363 and my school needed a payment, and my card was declined. 165 00:14:50,443 --> 00:14:51,963 [notification chime] 166 00:14:54,443 --> 00:14:56,523 I thought that was very strange. 167 00:14:57,163 --> 00:14:59,883 And I had to give them another card. Declined. 168 00:14:59,963 --> 00:15:01,483 [notifications chime] 169 00:15:01,563 --> 00:15:04,283 I've never had any of my cards ever declined for anything, 170 00:15:04,363 --> 00:15:07,323 so I was very… confused. 171 00:15:09,443 --> 00:15:11,163 I logged into my bank account, 172 00:15:12,163 --> 00:15:13,523 and everything said zero. 173 00:15:14,123 --> 00:15:15,443 [notification chimes] 174 00:15:16,123 --> 00:15:17,563 And my heart just dropped. 175 00:15:19,883 --> 00:15:22,883 I was so overwhelmed and in a panic, 176 00:15:23,483 --> 00:15:25,643 and in that moment, I just flashed that, 177 00:15:25,723 --> 00:15:29,363 "Oh my gosh, my whole business can be stolen from me right now, 178 00:15:29,443 --> 00:15:30,763 and how will I pay my bills?" 179 00:15:45,883 --> 00:15:50,883 [Ashley] James had transferred money from my account directly into his. 180 00:15:51,923 --> 00:15:55,643 All the money that I had worked so hard for, 181 00:15:56,403 --> 00:15:59,563 all of those sacrifices we made were just gone, just like that. 182 00:15:59,643 --> 00:16:02,883 And the more I uncovered, I found more and more things 183 00:16:02,963 --> 00:16:05,323 that I didn't know I needed to look for. 184 00:16:08,403 --> 00:16:10,963 He had found the credit cards 185 00:16:11,483 --> 00:16:15,523 that I had thought were locked in my office in a drawer. 186 00:16:16,443 --> 00:16:19,083 He was using those credit cards and charging them up. 187 00:16:19,603 --> 00:16:20,923 The statements were coming in. 188 00:16:21,003 --> 00:16:23,843 He would get the mail, he would throw them in the garbage, 189 00:16:23,923 --> 00:16:25,003 and I never saw them. 190 00:16:27,443 --> 00:16:32,203 Altogether, I lost over $120,000 191 00:16:32,723 --> 00:16:35,963 from the fraud that James did. 192 00:16:36,043 --> 00:16:38,043 [birds calling] 193 00:16:44,883 --> 00:16:46,563 I felt very betrayed by him. 194 00:16:49,603 --> 00:16:51,563 I thought, "Anything could happen now." 195 00:16:53,603 --> 00:16:57,563 "This person that I clearly don't know at all, somebody who, uh…" 196 00:16:58,243 --> 00:17:00,483 What, 12-plus years of friendship? 197 00:17:00,563 --> 00:17:05,003 And knowing them, I didn't think that this could be possible. 198 00:17:29,843 --> 00:17:32,763 [Corpus] I spoke to Ashley right after I got out of jail, 199 00:17:32,843 --> 00:17:37,083 because I wanted to reconcile our friendship. 200 00:17:39,523 --> 00:17:42,843 I didn't know how to get back to be friends with her again. 201 00:17:42,923 --> 00:17:46,603 How did I do this? Why did I screw this friendship up? 202 00:17:46,683 --> 00:17:48,323 Someone that actually wanted to… 203 00:17:50,163 --> 00:17:53,123 uh… help me out and make me-- make my-- 204 00:17:53,923 --> 00:17:55,163 have me achieve my goal. 205 00:17:57,603 --> 00:18:00,603 I wanted to resolve the issue, 206 00:18:01,163 --> 00:18:03,363 pay off whatever dues I owed them, 207 00:18:04,243 --> 00:18:07,443 and see if they could-- we could resolve it outside of court. 208 00:18:08,083 --> 00:18:10,003 I was not threatening. 209 00:18:10,083 --> 00:18:12,803 I was just more apologetic than anything. 210 00:18:19,723 --> 00:18:21,683 [Ashley] So, I had asked him for space, 211 00:18:21,763 --> 00:18:24,443 and I had asked him to please just leave me alone. 212 00:18:31,003 --> 00:18:34,163 But he didn't respect that wish of mine. 213 00:18:36,523 --> 00:18:42,363 And he kept calling on different platforms and calling and texting, 214 00:18:43,323 --> 00:18:46,723 calling from his cell phone, his home number, 215 00:18:46,803 --> 00:18:49,723 Messenger calls, Snapchat. 216 00:18:49,803 --> 00:18:52,523 There was all these different ways he was communicating with me. 217 00:18:53,323 --> 00:18:56,083 He said he wanted to talk about what happened, 218 00:18:56,163 --> 00:18:59,003 and that he loves me, 219 00:18:59,083 --> 00:19:03,963 and he doesn't want to do anything to hurt me. 220 00:19:06,923 --> 00:19:09,363 I just was feeling overwhelmed. 221 00:19:10,363 --> 00:19:12,403 So the police said that they thought 222 00:19:12,483 --> 00:19:16,563 it was in my best interest to issue a restraining order 223 00:19:17,363 --> 00:19:22,323 to just get him to stop. 224 00:19:35,563 --> 00:19:39,123 [Ashley] He was served the papers for the order of protection, and afterwards, 225 00:19:39,203 --> 00:19:42,003 I think a day or so later, he was contacting me again. 226 00:19:42,083 --> 00:19:44,083 [notifications bleeping] 227 00:19:46,043 --> 00:19:48,923 He texted me and called me from his cell phone, 228 00:19:49,003 --> 00:19:52,043 his mom's cell phone, his sister's cell phone, Facebook. 229 00:19:52,843 --> 00:19:55,523 I needed to feel safe again, 230 00:19:56,803 --> 00:19:59,563 because I was starting to feel scared at that point. 231 00:20:22,803 --> 00:20:26,363 [man] What we see when we deal with stalking behavior, 232 00:20:26,843 --> 00:20:29,963 we see that that stalking behavior escalates. 233 00:20:31,363 --> 00:20:33,963 It could start off as text messages, 234 00:20:35,203 --> 00:20:37,643 then it goes to repeated phone calls, 235 00:20:38,883 --> 00:20:41,163 then it's social media postings, 236 00:20:41,243 --> 00:20:43,603 and then come specific threats. 237 00:20:46,843 --> 00:20:48,443 My name's Mark Kurkowski. 238 00:20:48,523 --> 00:20:51,123 I'm a former law enforcement officer. 239 00:20:52,083 --> 00:20:58,163 And one of my focus areas is training law enforcement prosecutors 240 00:20:58,243 --> 00:21:00,483 and other practitioners in the field, 241 00:21:00,563 --> 00:21:04,843 looking at how stalking can co-occur with other crimes. 242 00:21:17,163 --> 00:21:21,083 [Kurkowski] So, I think with James, and the behaviors he was showing, 243 00:21:21,163 --> 00:21:24,603 we see that it's about possession, 244 00:21:25,123 --> 00:21:28,323 and it's about a relationship that he did not want to end. 245 00:21:31,483 --> 00:21:34,283 He started off by texting Ashley, 246 00:21:34,363 --> 00:21:35,763 and then calling her, 247 00:21:35,843 --> 00:21:37,883 and then calling her repeatedly. 248 00:21:37,963 --> 00:21:43,483 When she tried to stop that behavior, he resorted to other means, 249 00:21:44,363 --> 00:21:47,883 contacting her sister and other family members, 250 00:21:47,963 --> 00:21:53,483 trying to persistently get to Ashley, whatever means possible. 251 00:21:56,363 --> 00:21:59,723 It continued even after getting orders of protection, 252 00:21:59,803 --> 00:22:06,043 even after multiple arrests and judges telling James not to contact Ashley, 253 00:22:06,123 --> 00:22:07,763 he continued to do so. 254 00:22:10,363 --> 00:22:13,483 When we look at escalation in stalking cases, 255 00:22:13,563 --> 00:22:16,643 we want to look at what is called DIF patterns, 256 00:22:16,723 --> 00:22:21,843 duration, intensity, and frequency of that stalking behavior. 257 00:22:21,923 --> 00:22:26,683 That's a big concern, when we see both the DIF patterns 258 00:22:26,763 --> 00:22:28,803 and those threats escalate. 259 00:22:28,883 --> 00:22:31,883 That's when we really need to step in and make sure 260 00:22:31,963 --> 00:22:33,963 that there's a safety plan enacted. 261 00:22:35,923 --> 00:22:37,923 [birdsong] 262 00:22:44,963 --> 00:22:46,603 [Ashley] I think once he reached out again, 263 00:22:46,683 --> 00:22:48,723 after the order of protection was in place, 264 00:22:49,403 --> 00:22:50,563 I got scared. 265 00:22:53,243 --> 00:22:56,043 James had known the code to get into my front door, 266 00:22:56,843 --> 00:22:58,843 the key code inside of my car. 267 00:22:59,643 --> 00:23:02,523 And I just felt increasingly nervous. 268 00:23:07,363 --> 00:23:11,203 I needed to take action and precautions to make sure my family was safe. 269 00:23:14,323 --> 00:23:16,843 We had to change all the locks on my house. 270 00:23:16,923 --> 00:23:19,043 I didn't drive anywhere by myself. 271 00:23:20,203 --> 00:23:24,363 Every single place and thing I did, I did with somebody else. 272 00:23:24,443 --> 00:23:26,683 I was terrified to be alone. 273 00:23:28,883 --> 00:23:32,883 I went through and just adjusted my life very dramatically, 274 00:23:32,963 --> 00:23:36,083 because "If this has happened, what could be in front of me?" 275 00:23:36,163 --> 00:23:37,283 "Anything is possible." 276 00:23:38,323 --> 00:23:39,843 And that was terrifying to me. 277 00:23:40,363 --> 00:23:44,563 There was no line that he wasn't going to cross at this point. 278 00:24:28,923 --> 00:24:31,203 [man] The term "stalking" means 279 00:24:31,283 --> 00:24:33,803 "a knowing or intentional course of conduct 280 00:24:33,883 --> 00:24:38,403 involving repeated or continuing harassment of another person, 281 00:24:38,483 --> 00:24:41,883 that would cause a reasonable person to feel terrorized, 282 00:24:41,963 --> 00:24:44,203 frightened, intimidated, or threatened." 283 00:24:47,523 --> 00:24:49,963 My name's Tim Brown. I'm a supervising attorney 284 00:24:50,043 --> 00:24:52,523 with the Lake County, Indiana Prosecutor's Office. 285 00:24:53,283 --> 00:24:58,403 And I was assigned Mr. Corpus's case after he was charged with stalking. 286 00:25:08,443 --> 00:25:11,083 [Corpus] What I thought stalking was, was more… 287 00:25:11,163 --> 00:25:12,203 more, um… 288 00:25:12,283 --> 00:25:15,643 watching somebody, like a Peeping Tom. 289 00:25:16,563 --> 00:25:19,163 Uh, someone that-- that's into voyeurism. 290 00:25:20,803 --> 00:25:25,003 But I didn't believe "stalking" meant more of like, uh… 291 00:25:26,123 --> 00:25:28,923 "Okay, you broke a no-contact order." 292 00:25:30,003 --> 00:25:31,603 That's-- that's a stalking? 293 00:25:31,683 --> 00:25:33,443 I didn't realize that would-- 294 00:25:33,523 --> 00:25:36,523 How is that? It-- it's confusing to me. 295 00:25:37,363 --> 00:25:40,003 If someone's out there to apologize to someone, 296 00:25:41,003 --> 00:25:44,203 to make amends, does that make me a stalker? 297 00:25:45,603 --> 00:25:46,723 It just-- 298 00:25:46,803 --> 00:25:48,323 It's crazy. 299 00:25:48,883 --> 00:25:53,803 I-- I didn't see myself as a stalker just because I'm-- 300 00:25:54,403 --> 00:25:59,083 I want to persist, uh… being friends with this person. 301 00:26:04,283 --> 00:26:06,603 [Brown] So it's apparent that Mr. Corpus 302 00:26:06,683 --> 00:26:09,363 doesn't personally feel that he's a stalker. 303 00:26:09,883 --> 00:26:13,643 We don't go off how someone personally feels in the state of Indiana. 304 00:26:13,723 --> 00:26:17,323 We go off the definition of what stalking means. 305 00:26:18,403 --> 00:26:23,763 So, if you look at the stalking charge that was filed against Mr. Corpus, 306 00:26:24,683 --> 00:26:28,643 that case involved repeated phone calls to Miss Manfre. 307 00:26:30,243 --> 00:26:33,603 Repeatedly attempting to apologize to someone 308 00:26:34,323 --> 00:26:36,763 in violation of a no-contact order 309 00:26:36,843 --> 00:26:39,603 can be considered a form of stalking 310 00:26:39,683 --> 00:26:42,483 if it intimidates or places fear in the victim. 311 00:26:42,563 --> 00:26:47,283 And we believe that Ashley had every reason to be scared of Mr. Corpus. 312 00:26:48,603 --> 00:26:52,643 So his claim, he merely wanted to apologize to her? 313 00:26:52,723 --> 00:26:53,723 Okay, that's fine. 314 00:26:53,803 --> 00:26:56,963 But that does not mean that that behavior does not amount to stalking. 315 00:26:57,043 --> 00:26:59,323 And, in fact, it did. 316 00:27:17,523 --> 00:27:18,923 [birdsong] 317 00:27:19,843 --> 00:27:22,123 [Ashley] There was a-- a huge sense of relief. 318 00:27:23,763 --> 00:27:28,043 I remember just a huge… [exhales] …breath come out of me 319 00:27:28,643 --> 00:27:31,643 that I didn't realize I was holding back for so long. 320 00:27:34,123 --> 00:27:37,963 I think I was more relieved that… 321 00:27:39,883 --> 00:27:42,163 he couldn't keep hurting me 322 00:27:42,243 --> 00:27:43,923 or finding ways to… 323 00:27:45,723 --> 00:27:48,763 disrupt my life if he was put behind bars. 324 00:28:06,603 --> 00:28:09,363 [Ashley] I was doing something at home, and the doorbell rang. 325 00:28:10,483 --> 00:28:12,723 It was the sheriff's department for Lake County 326 00:28:13,243 --> 00:28:19,523 telling me that they needed me to come in to the courthouse for questioning. 327 00:28:25,003 --> 00:28:29,883 I remember driving there not knowing why we were going there, what it was about. 328 00:28:31,323 --> 00:28:32,843 I was kind of confused. 329 00:28:33,723 --> 00:28:38,203 "Why? Because I feel like I've already said everything multiple times." 330 00:28:43,763 --> 00:28:48,083 I remember sitting there in the detectives' conference room. 331 00:28:51,123 --> 00:28:55,603 And they asked me to sit down and draw a map of my house. 332 00:28:56,603 --> 00:28:59,843 And I thought that was so bizarre, because they gave me no context. 333 00:28:59,923 --> 00:29:03,123 Why would I possibly need to draw a map? I just did not understand. 334 00:29:03,643 --> 00:29:06,923 So I drew the map for them and I handed it over to them. 335 00:29:07,003 --> 00:29:10,563 And I remember watching their eyes just get very large, 336 00:29:11,083 --> 00:29:14,963 and they both looked at each other, completely in awe. 337 00:29:25,923 --> 00:29:28,043 [man 1] Okay, now you said his name was James Corpus? 338 00:29:28,123 --> 00:29:29,443 -[man 2] Yeah. -[man 1] Okay. 339 00:29:29,523 --> 00:29:31,763 Uh… what did he contact you for? 340 00:29:31,843 --> 00:29:34,203 -[man 2] Um… I mean I got the plan. -[man 1] What-- 341 00:29:34,283 --> 00:29:36,523 [man 2] He drew the plans, everything out in my pocket. 342 00:29:36,603 --> 00:29:38,003 [man 1] He-- he drew the plans out? 343 00:29:38,083 --> 00:29:39,843 [man 2] He drew the whole layout of the house, 344 00:29:39,923 --> 00:29:42,523 camera systems, alarm systems, codes for everything… 345 00:29:43,243 --> 00:29:45,203 [man 1] Codes for the systems. Okay. 346 00:29:49,563 --> 00:29:52,803 [man] It was November 30th of 2018. 347 00:29:52,883 --> 00:29:57,763 I was alerted to a jail tip that we received on our Telmate system. 348 00:29:58,403 --> 00:30:02,603 After reviewing the jail tip, we were able to pull up a, uh, individual 349 00:30:02,683 --> 00:30:06,043 who had, uh, information against Mr. Corpus. 350 00:30:12,923 --> 00:30:14,163 My name is Christopher Adams. 351 00:30:14,243 --> 00:30:17,283 I'm a sergeant with the Lake County Metro Homicide Task Force. 352 00:30:23,923 --> 00:30:27,323 This inmate was provided a map by James Corpus. 353 00:30:28,003 --> 00:30:31,043 Also included with the map was an additional piece of paper 354 00:30:31,123 --> 00:30:33,043 with the potential victim's name, 355 00:30:33,123 --> 00:30:36,083 and passwords to various items within her residence, 356 00:30:36,163 --> 00:30:38,843 such as her, uh… security system, 357 00:30:38,923 --> 00:30:42,763 uh, passcodes to a vehicle that was located in her residence. 358 00:30:43,763 --> 00:30:47,203 The drawing also had areas where there may be cameras. 359 00:30:47,683 --> 00:30:52,443 So all these things added up, uh… to, you know, a conspiracy. 360 00:30:53,163 --> 00:30:56,363 And he said, "If I could-- if this bitch either shut up or disappear." 361 00:30:56,883 --> 00:30:57,963 "You know what I mean?" 362 00:30:58,043 --> 00:31:00,163 "Man, the house is loaded with stuff," and everything. 363 00:31:00,243 --> 00:31:02,723 Like, "You could pay me." He's like, "And I get money to you." 364 00:31:03,803 --> 00:31:05,763 "If I can get you a gun, you go do the job." 365 00:31:05,843 --> 00:31:11,563 [man 1] He asked you to either shut her up or make her go away? 366 00:31:11,643 --> 00:31:14,363 [man 2] He said, "I want her silenced, I don't care how it happens." 367 00:31:14,443 --> 00:31:16,683 [man 1] "I want her silenced, I don't care how it happens." 368 00:31:16,763 --> 00:31:18,763 [keys jingling] 369 00:31:21,323 --> 00:31:25,763 The inmate stated that James Corpus wanted him to, uh… silence a witness. 370 00:31:27,123 --> 00:31:29,163 James said that he didn't want this witness 371 00:31:29,243 --> 00:31:31,323 to come forward against him in his trials. 372 00:31:32,683 --> 00:31:34,883 That inmate understood that "silenced" 373 00:31:34,963 --> 00:31:37,843 uh, meant that he had to kill someone for James. 374 00:31:37,923 --> 00:31:41,243 Uh… He-- he explained that to James, 375 00:31:41,323 --> 00:31:43,283 and James just said he wanted her silenced. 376 00:31:44,683 --> 00:31:46,683 [man 1] What's, uh… what's the lady's name? 377 00:31:47,203 --> 00:31:49,043 [man 2] Ashley Manfre. 378 00:31:51,363 --> 00:31:54,723 [Adams] An individual who commits these types of actions, 379 00:31:55,523 --> 00:31:59,403 and who is determined to commit these types of actions 380 00:31:59,483 --> 00:32:01,603 to the point where you don't end your criminality 381 00:32:01,683 --> 00:32:04,883 even after you've been, uh… taken into custody, 382 00:32:06,323 --> 00:32:08,603 that type of person is willing to do anything. 383 00:32:25,083 --> 00:32:28,083 I believe I was wrongfully accused of… 384 00:32:29,763 --> 00:32:31,563 being a part of conspiracy and murder. 385 00:32:31,643 --> 00:32:34,603 I've had no intentions to hurt her or hurt her family. 386 00:32:36,883 --> 00:32:39,563 I was socializing with someone that I shouldn't have. 387 00:32:40,323 --> 00:32:42,323 He took advantage of my kindness 388 00:32:43,563 --> 00:32:45,563 and he… 389 00:32:46,843 --> 00:32:49,243 said I hired him to kill Ashley. 390 00:32:51,363 --> 00:32:52,403 Which I never did. 391 00:32:53,243 --> 00:32:56,963 I had some personal stuff I'd written down from Ashley's home, 392 00:32:58,203 --> 00:33:02,003 like her house plans and her-- 393 00:33:02,883 --> 00:33:06,643 Just, I jotted certain things down, uh… 394 00:33:08,003 --> 00:33:11,603 like… like what her house looked like and stuff, 395 00:33:12,323 --> 00:33:16,163 and I put it in my room, and put it in my cell. 396 00:33:17,323 --> 00:33:19,963 What this guy did, he came in and… 397 00:33:20,883 --> 00:33:23,523 he went into my cell and grabbed all my paperwork 398 00:33:24,283 --> 00:33:26,523 and took it straight to the sheriff's office. 399 00:33:26,603 --> 00:33:28,843 Said I hired him to kill her. 400 00:33:34,843 --> 00:33:39,163 His words were to "take her out." 401 00:33:40,563 --> 00:33:43,443 I don't even know if I heard anything after that. [sighs] 402 00:33:44,323 --> 00:33:47,483 I just-- The world just kind of stopped in that moment, and… 403 00:33:50,723 --> 00:33:54,923 someone who says that they love me and they would never hurt me 404 00:33:55,603 --> 00:33:56,683 now wants me dead. 405 00:33:57,763 --> 00:34:01,243 And it was just this nightmare that I was living. 406 00:34:03,563 --> 00:34:05,563 [birdsong] 407 00:34:26,683 --> 00:34:28,683 [birdsong] 408 00:34:30,963 --> 00:34:35,683 [Ashley] The police made me feel that… they had everything under control, 409 00:34:35,763 --> 00:34:38,723 and they caught the gentleman, and that I shouldn't have to worry. 410 00:34:42,203 --> 00:34:45,963 But… I feel like James is very smart. 411 00:34:46,603 --> 00:34:49,163 So when they tell me I'm safe and I shouldn't worry, 412 00:34:49,243 --> 00:34:51,043 I literally did the opposite. 413 00:35:07,683 --> 00:35:09,643 [Ashley] The day after he was released, 414 00:35:09,723 --> 00:35:13,083 I started feeling like I was being watched. 415 00:35:15,923 --> 00:35:19,763 Maybe it was just weird coincidence, or timing was strange, 416 00:35:19,843 --> 00:35:21,763 but different places I went, I felt-- 417 00:35:21,843 --> 00:35:23,283 Even the grocery store, I just… 418 00:35:23,363 --> 00:35:25,843 I felt like I was being watched everywhere I went. 419 00:35:27,563 --> 00:35:29,203 [cicadas chirping] 420 00:35:30,123 --> 00:35:32,843 About two days after this gentleman was released, 421 00:35:33,363 --> 00:35:34,843 I was standing in my kitchen. 422 00:35:37,363 --> 00:35:40,363 It was, I don't know, maybe 11 p.m. or something. 423 00:35:43,483 --> 00:35:47,363 I saw two flashlights kind of walking towards me, 424 00:35:47,443 --> 00:35:50,883 and they were moving… as if someone was walking. 425 00:35:56,563 --> 00:35:59,603 My motion detector light went on, 426 00:36:00,123 --> 00:36:04,443 and I could see that there were two people walking up to me. 427 00:36:07,003 --> 00:36:12,523 They were wearing all black, with black hoods over their heads. 428 00:36:13,843 --> 00:36:19,723 Behind me, there's 56 acres of fields and forest, 429 00:36:20,243 --> 00:36:22,123 so there shouldn't be anyone there. 430 00:36:23,683 --> 00:36:26,083 I'm just watching these people get closer and closer. 431 00:36:26,603 --> 00:36:30,203 I ran and grabbed my phone, and then I went and grabbed my gun. 432 00:36:31,523 --> 00:36:34,963 And I made sure every single door and window was locked. 433 00:36:36,323 --> 00:36:37,483 I had called 9-1-1. 434 00:36:38,883 --> 00:36:44,203 I was standing there shaking and crying, and just so scared. 435 00:36:45,483 --> 00:36:47,483 [cicadas chirping] 436 00:36:51,203 --> 00:36:55,603 Never in my wildest nightmares would I have imagined 437 00:36:55,683 --> 00:36:59,283 sitting in the position I was sitting in, fearing for my life. 438 00:36:59,363 --> 00:37:01,363 [siren approaching] 439 00:37:10,883 --> 00:37:14,363 [Ashley] They arrived, but the police did not find anything. 440 00:37:16,323 --> 00:37:22,883 I spent, I don't know, six hours or so watching, all night, in different windows, 441 00:37:23,603 --> 00:37:26,563 trying to see if someone was gonna come back up to my house. 442 00:37:28,323 --> 00:37:29,523 That was terrifying. 443 00:37:38,763 --> 00:37:40,763 [birdsong] 444 00:38:18,443 --> 00:38:19,963 [Ashley] Now, no one will know… 445 00:38:20,043 --> 00:38:22,683 [scoffs] …that he hired someone to kill me. 446 00:38:23,363 --> 00:38:24,363 No one will know. 447 00:38:26,083 --> 00:38:27,283 It's not on his record. 448 00:38:28,003 --> 00:38:30,643 So anywhere he goes, anyone he becomes friends with, 449 00:38:30,723 --> 00:38:31,803 anywhere he works 450 00:38:31,883 --> 00:38:34,243 has no idea what he's capable of. 451 00:38:34,803 --> 00:38:35,803 They have no idea. 452 00:38:39,883 --> 00:38:42,243 James took a lot from me. 453 00:38:46,603 --> 00:38:50,243 The thing that he took that I can never get back 454 00:38:51,043 --> 00:38:53,363 is my sense of security. 455 00:38:55,243 --> 00:38:57,523 That hole will always be in my life. 456 00:39:20,723 --> 00:39:23,123 [Corpus] I am very remorseful for what I've done. 457 00:39:24,403 --> 00:39:26,763 I feel extremely terrible. 458 00:39:30,883 --> 00:39:36,043 I didn't realize that I was such a bad person. 459 00:39:42,363 --> 00:39:48,123 Today, I probably consider myself as harming her emotionally. 460 00:39:49,363 --> 00:39:51,283 But back then, I didn't think that. 461 00:39:51,363 --> 00:39:53,363 I was not thinking that at all. 462 00:40:09,283 --> 00:40:12,523 [Corpus] Did I conspire to… to murder Ashley? No. 463 00:40:15,163 --> 00:40:17,083 I didn't want to cause no harm to her. 464 00:40:18,923 --> 00:40:19,803 It was… 465 00:40:20,843 --> 00:40:23,043 It was all false. It was all made up. 466 00:40:24,283 --> 00:40:25,923 [man] So why did you draw the map? 467 00:40:29,763 --> 00:40:32,883 I was probably just bored, and I just drew it up-- drew it out. 468 00:40:32,963 --> 00:40:37,323 I just… I take notes and I draw a lot of times. 469 00:40:38,643 --> 00:40:40,603 But it was nothin' to… 470 00:40:43,003 --> 00:40:48,283 nothin' to go with, uh… any kind of conspiracy or any of that. 471 00:40:48,363 --> 00:40:50,723 It was not even supposed to be seen by anybody. 472 00:41:03,123 --> 00:41:06,123 Did I know about any intruders appear on Ashley's property? 473 00:41:06,203 --> 00:41:07,203 No, I have not. 474 00:41:08,043 --> 00:41:09,083 I never knew. 475 00:41:10,603 --> 00:41:12,083 [man] When did you find out? 476 00:41:12,163 --> 00:41:13,403 I never found out. 477 00:41:15,083 --> 00:41:16,043 I don't know. 478 00:41:16,923 --> 00:41:18,723 That's the first time I'm hearing that. 479 00:41:24,643 --> 00:41:28,963 I never, never, ever would ever hire him to do a… 480 00:41:29,483 --> 00:41:31,283 uh, have another person hurt her. 481 00:41:31,843 --> 00:41:32,763 I would… 482 00:41:33,483 --> 00:41:35,243 That's just ridiculous. 483 00:41:45,043 --> 00:41:46,803 Do I believe I'm a stalker? 484 00:41:49,683 --> 00:41:51,563 Actually, I don't. I mean… 485 00:41:53,843 --> 00:41:56,763 the way I behaved with Ashley, I have never done that before. 486 00:41:58,243 --> 00:41:59,083 I… 487 00:42:00,203 --> 00:42:01,283 It's not like me. 488 00:42:03,123 --> 00:42:06,043 It's just… I wanted to be like her. 489 00:42:06,923 --> 00:42:09,883 I… wanted to be… 490 00:42:10,763 --> 00:42:11,843 what she had. 491 00:42:12,643 --> 00:42:15,763 She had a great home, great family, 492 00:42:17,243 --> 00:42:20,123 and I just felt like I… 493 00:42:25,723 --> 00:42:29,083 I felt like I had sort of the rights to… 494 00:42:31,323 --> 00:42:32,923 I don't know, get, uh… 495 00:42:34,723 --> 00:42:35,723 Uh… 496 00:42:36,843 --> 00:42:38,083 I… [murmurs] 497 00:42:40,043 --> 00:42:44,683 I wanna resolve it, I wanna fix it, but it's too late. 498 00:42:45,203 --> 00:42:47,523 I've-- It might be too late. It might not be. 499 00:42:57,483 --> 00:42:59,483 [birdsong] 500 00:43:12,123 --> 00:43:13,363 [bleeping] 501 00:43:17,483 --> 00:43:20,363 -I like that she's got face paint on. -Mm-hm. 502 00:43:20,883 --> 00:43:21,923 I don't like-- 503 00:43:22,003 --> 00:43:24,243 [Ashley] After all this happened with James, 504 00:43:24,323 --> 00:43:26,163 it completely tore my world apart. 505 00:43:26,243 --> 00:43:28,643 …thing, you can enter another one up there… 506 00:43:28,723 --> 00:43:30,923 [Ashley] But I realized one day… 507 00:43:32,963 --> 00:43:38,603 that I had been giving him so much control over my life for far too long… 508 00:43:40,163 --> 00:43:42,883 that in some weird way, he was still winning. 509 00:43:42,963 --> 00:43:46,363 He still had some sort of handle on me, or he had some sort of… 510 00:43:51,003 --> 00:43:52,643 hand around my neck. 511 00:43:52,723 --> 00:43:54,723 [birdsong] 512 00:43:58,603 --> 00:44:02,083 Getting over what James has done has been a decision to just… 513 00:44:03,203 --> 00:44:05,883 put him in my past and move forward, and not let him… 514 00:44:08,443 --> 00:44:10,603 take over any more of my life. 515 00:44:14,083 --> 00:44:16,443 I decided not to be the victim anymore.