Cindy James - Schizophrenic Whose Stalker Was Herself?

* Dissociative disorder

I lived very close to where her body was found.

Over the years I read whatever I could find about this case. My opinion is that she did all of the attacks on herself and also any threat, she orchestrated. Cindy was an extremely attractive woman who radiated vulnerability but she was quite needy about attention. There were police officers and a detective who sincerely believed in her. That made it difficult to say what was really happening to her. It just seemed so bizarre that she would do it to herself. I believe she wanted to die and hated herself for some reason and this is how she punished herself but maybe her psychiatrist husband had more educated insight.

It was the ex husband. The attacks started when Cindy began dating another man.

Very weird case. I remember it from Unsolved Mysteries but I’ve listened to some podcasts about it as well. I think she did most of it to herself but I do wonder about her ultimate death. How did she hogtie herself up the way she was found?

Watching the Unsolved Mysteries episode now

Very tragic. I believe she suffered from extremely severe mental illness and no one else was involved other than Cindy.

Multiple personality disorder!

Psychiatrist husband

What a bizarre story.

It’s pretty amazing to see someone’s mental illness play out in such a way - her enemy was herself.

The phone call sounds exactly like Cindy disguising her voice.

"Cindy dead meat"

MARY!!!!!!!!!

I haven't heard the expression "dead meat" in forever.

BTK used to bind and hang himself from tree while dressed as a woman

Why did I click r13?

Don’t worry, it’s not a victim. It’s BTK himself. He used to dress like that and take photos with a timer.

I know, but still extremely creepy r15

I wonder if her habit of creating elaborate threats against herself (if it were her) lured a real killer--someone who realized they could get away with murdering her because no one would suspect a real murderer after she had created a fake stalker. Maybe it was someone trying to do her a favor by attempting to make her fantasy a reality.

A crazy frau wasted million of dollar of public money on her craziness. And fat schizos around here believe her shitty story too.

OP doesn't know what "schizophrenic" means.

I sometimes wonder if her husband did originally stalk her for awhile, and she kept it up herself when she saw the attention it got her.

She likely did do it do it all to herself though. She's an extreme case, but people faking stalkers isn't anything new (The Watcher, the old couple who claimed to be harassed for years - I'm blanking on their names - spring to mind). One thing I always wanted to know was how she got hold of morphine. Yes, I realise "drug dealer" is the likely answer, but I'm curious what made her pick that rather than heroin?

There is also the teacher who stalked herself and pinned it on a colleague, r20 -- Joanne Chambers

Many years ago, I posted on a mental health forum. One of the members was a troubled young man who would create sock puppets to stalk himself on the board. He did this in real life, too, and eventually had a felony stalking charge brought against him for impersonating a colleague and sending threatening emails to himself, which led to a lengthy police investigation. The whole thing was very weird and unsettling.

R20 wasn't she a nurse? I'm sure she could easily get morphine in the 80s. Yeah she did it to herself.

Occam's Razor

Cindy James segment on "Unsolved Mysteries"