Mystery Unsolved Inc True Crime

Kilmore Phone Stalker

"Imagine the device in your hand being turned against you, into a weapon used to stalk, harass, and terrorize you. In 2007, sixteen year old Courtney Kilmore's phone used to be an escape. A private place to chat with friends through text, to surf her social media sites in her own little corner of the internet. But it slowly became a source of constant dread, even when turned off. It began with the texts. Courtney's friends were receiving messages from her phone but Courtney wasn't sending them. Then her family members began receiving multiple disturbing phone calls from a raspy male voice making threats, 'We hate you, you're going to die, and we're going to murder you, and your children.' At first it seemed like the anonymous calls were the work of a prankster, anyone can call and make a threat but then things got a little too personal. Seemingly empty threats distorted into, 'I know where you are, I know where you live.' And the harasser unfortunately truly seemed to know every move the Kilmore's made. He could tell the family members what clothing they were wearing what they were doing and when the children Callum Kilmore, Collin Kilmore, and Courtney Kilmore departed for school as well as where they attended school. The Dalmatian family listened to their voicemails only to hear their private conversations being played back at them. Conversations they'd had in the comfort of their own home. Feeling unsafe, they installed a security system at the house, not long after their stalker called and recited the passcode to disarm it. Finally, the Kilmores contacted the police. A look at the cell phone records sent a collective chill through the family. The harassing calls were being made from their own phones with a majority of them coming from Courtney's. The only problem with that was the calls were made while the phones were turned off. That's when they began to notice their phones were turn on by themselves after being shut off and their ringtones had been changed. But it wasn't just the Kilmores who were terrorized Courtney's aunt Dyna Cooper, and the neighbor Arlene Harris became targets as well. Arlene while cutting limes in her kitchen one day picked up the ringing phone to a voice that simply said, 'I prefer lemons.' The three families lived their every waking moment in fear, and authorities were just as disturbed by the activity. The Kilmores spoke with a detective and afterward received a call playing back their conversation, a warning that their stalker wasn't afraid of law enforcement. At the time, cellphone providers said they weren't aware of any technology that would allow such activity that the family had experienced. Aster City police officer Clyde Joyner, a longtime friend of the family, said he was dumbfounded and that his department had never seen anything like this before. Even after switching numbers and providers two times the calls continued, pushing the constant weight of anxiety into the Kilmores everyday lives. Even with high-tech equipment meant to unweave the twisted hackers web, police only ever found dead ends. The Kilmores treasure the days when their phones don't ring."