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If you’re familiar with the true story behind The Watcher, you may be wondering where Maria and Derek Broaddus are now and what happened to them after they moved out of the house from hell.
Maria and Derek Broaddus are the inspiration for Netflix’s The Watcher, a true-crime miniseries that follows Nora and Dean Braddock, a married couple who move into their dream home in Westfield, New Jersey, only to find themselves stalked by a mysterious letter writer who went by the pseudonym “The Watcher.” In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in October 2022, Naomi Watts and Bobby Cannavale, who play Nora and Dean Braddock respectively, revealed that they didn’t reach out to Maria and Derek Broaddus before filming The Watcher. “I worked very closely with Ryan [Murphy] in coming up with this guy,” Cannavale said. “It’s a portrait of the American dream … The kind of themes Ryan [Murphy] is trying to explore go beyond the actual story of what happened at that house.”
Watts also told Variety in October 2022 about why she was drawn to The Watcher‘s true story. “I think there’s a real appetite for it right now,” she said. “I’m trying to figure out what it is, but I can theorize. But these are really dark, chaotic things going on in the world right now. I think you want to understand why these things happen and who would you be and how would you cope.” She continued, “You trust [Murphy] because he has done so much great work before. He creates such an exquisite world. His aesthetics are so powerful. And you know, I love how there’s an archness sometimes. There is humor, as well as jam-packed fantastic characters as well.”
So…where are Maria and Derek Broaddus now and what is the true story about The Watcher house? Read on for what we know about where Maria and Derek Broaddus are now and what happened to them since they moved out of 657 Boulevard.
What is The Watcher true story?
Image: Eric Liebowitz/Netflix.
What is The Watcher true story? Maria and Derek Broaddus were the inspirations for Nora and Dean Braddock in Netflix’s 2022 miniseries, The Watcher, which is based on a 2018 New York Magazine article of the same title. In June 2014, Maria and Derek were preparing to move into their “dream home” on 657 Boulevard in Westfield, New Jersey with their three children when they received a letter in their mailbox. The Broaddus family bought the house, a six-bedroom Dutch colonial home, for $1.3 million with plans to renovate it even more. The letter, which was typed and came three days after the Broaddus family completed the sale on the house, was addressed to “The New Owner” of the home in thick, clunky letters.
The letter read: “Dearest new neighbor of 657 Boulevard, allow me to welcome you to the neighborhood. How did you end up here? Did 657 Boulevard call to you with its force within? 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.
Who am I?… There are hundreds and hundreds of cars that drive by 657 Boulevard each day. Maybe I am in one. Look at all the windows you can see from 657 Boulevard. Maybe I am in one. Look out any of the many windows in 657 Boulevard at all the people who stroll by each day. Maybe I am one. … You have children. I have seen them. So far I think there are three that I have counted. … Do you need to fill the house with the young blood I requested? Better for me. Was your old house too small for the growing family? Or was it greed to bring me your children? Once I know their names I will call to them and draw them too [sic] me.” The sender also signed the letter with “The Watcher” in a cursive font.
After they received the letter, the Broaddus family contacted the previous owners of the home, John and Andrea Woods, who told them they had only received one letter from “The Watcher” in the 23 years they lived at the house but threw it away because it was sent days before they moved out. When the Woods and Broaddus families told the police about the letters, the officers instructed them to keep quiet as all of their neighbors were now suspects. The Broaddus family, who had still not moved into 657 Boulevard, received a second letter two weeks later. The letter contained personal information about the family, including their surname, their children’s birth order and their children’s nicknames. The letter also noted how The Watcher saw the Broaddus family’s daughter painting in an enclosed porch space. “Is she the artist in the family?” The Watcher wrote.
The letter continued: “It has been years and years since the young blood ruled the hallways of the house. Have you found all of the secrets it holds yet? Will the young blood play in the basement? Or are they too afraid to go down there alone. I would [be] very afraid if I were them. It is far away from the rest of the house. If you were upstairs you would never hear them scream. Will they sleep in the attic? Or will you all sleep on the second floor? Who has the bedrooms facing the street? I’ll know as soon as you move in. It will help me to know who is in which bedroom. Then I can plan better.” After receiving this letter, Maria and Derek stopped bringing their children to the house, halting their plans to move in, causing a third letter to read “Where have you gone to? 657 Boulevard is missing you.”
Having sold their previous home, Broaddus family went on to move in with Maria’s parents as they continued to pay mortgage and property taxes on 657 Boulevard. Six months after the arrival of the letters, still with no leads from the police, the Broaddus family decided to sell the house but couldn’t because of the rumors about The Watcher. The Broaddus family also tried to sue the Woods family for not disclosing the letter from The Watcher they received, however, a judge threw out the case as there was no evidence the letter had been intentionally hid or was considered a genuine threat. The Broaddus family also tried to sell the house to a developer who would tear down the home and split it into two plots. The plots, however, would be three feet too small for the mandated size requirement of the neighborhood, so the planning board rejected the idea. Though the Broaddus family tried to appeal the decision, their appeal was denied. (Families who rejected the Broaddus family’s idea to split the lot received threatening letters signed with “Friends of the Broaddus Family,” which were suspected to come from the Broaddus family themselves.)
In the spring of 2016, the Broaddus family found a family willing to rent the house from them on the condition they could move out if another letter arrived. Two weeks after the renters moved in, the house received another letter from The Watcher addressed to “The vile and spiteful Derek and his wench of a wife Maria.” Letter continued, “657 Boulevard survived your attempted assault and stood strong with its army of supporters barricading its gates… My soldiers of the Boulevard followed my orders to a T. They carried out their mission and saved the soul of 657 Boulevard with my orders. All hail The Watcher!!! … Maybe a car accident. Maybe a fire. Maybe something as simple as a mild illness that never seems to go away but makes you fell sick day after day after day after day after day. Maybe the mysterious death of a pet. Loved ones suddenly die. Planes and cars and bicycles crash. Bones break. You are despised by the house… and The Watcher won.”
The renters agreed to stay, as long as more cameras were installed. The police also investigated the letter and found no finger prints, no digital trail and no evidence to place a suspect at the scene of the crime. Still, officials had three suspects: a man nicknamed “The Gamer” who was known for playing violent video games as a character called “The Watcher”; the Broaddus family’s neighbor Michael Langford who was known in the neighborhood for literally “watching” other houses; and the Broaddus family themselves on the suspicion they had buyer’s remorse over the purchase of the home and wanted a way out.
Where are Derek and Maria Broaddus now?
Image: Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection
Where are Derek and Maria Broaddus now? The Broaddus family sold the house on 657 Boulevard in Westfield, New Jersey, in July 2019 for around $959,000, about $400,000 less than what the Broaddus family bought the home for, according to Zillow. Since then, there have been no reports of the new owners receiving letters from The Watcher. The Union County Prosecutor’s Office also confirmed to TODAY that the investigation into The Watcher’s identity isn’t currently active, though the case remains open.
So…where are Derek and Maria Broaddus now? According to New York Magazine, the Broaddus family decided to stay in Westfield, New Jersey, after they sold The Watcher house and bought a second home in the city using an LLC to keep the location private. Derek is also active on Twitter under the handle @deebroadd, where he tweets updates on The Watcher case.”@LeaderTimes hey Horace how’s the hoax theory you started about my family holding up? I’m still waiting for my apology. #gutless @WestfieldTAP,” he tweeted a Westfield journalist in 2019 about the rumor the Broaddus family were behind The Watcher letters.
In October 2015, Lifetime also released a movie based on the Broaddus family’s experienced title The Watcher. Though the Broaddus family sent a cease-and-desist order to Lifetime to prevent the release of the movie, the film was able to air because of how much artistic license was taken with the plot. “The Broadduses had little interest in giving someone the right to make a piece of entertainment out of the worst years of their life,” New York Magazine reported. Despite this, the Broaddus family later came to an agreement with Netflix in 2018. Deadline reported at the time that streaming service acquired the rights to the Broaddus family’s story in a deal worth “seven figures.” Though there have been rumors that the Broaddus family was paid $10 million by Netflix for the rights to their story, New York Magazine reported that the money from the deal “didn’t even cover their losses on the house.” The magazine also reported that the Broaddus family “wanted little involvement” but had two requests. The first was “that the show not use their names.” (In The Watcher, their characters are Dean and Nora Braddock.) The second was that “the onscreen family look as little like theirs as possible.” New York Magazine also reported that the Broaddus family “wouldn’t mind it if the fictional house burned to the ground.” As for if they’ve seen The Watcher, New York Magazine also reported that the Broaddus family haven’t seen the show and “don’t plan to watch it.” The magazine added that “seeing the trailer was stressful enough” for the family.
ABC News and Good Morning America correspondent Eva Pilgrim also reported that she contacted the Broaddus family in October 2022 but they declined to speak to her. “We reached out to the Broaddus family. They declined to comment, but they do still live here in the Westfield area. And we’ve been told they have no plans to watch the show; the trailer was traumatizing enough,” she said in a broadcast of ABC7 New York at the time.
The Watcher is available to stream on Netflix.
