Watcher in the Wall

She had custody of her daughter, and after months of escalating harassment, had just gotten a Temporary Restraining Order against her controlling, soon-to-be-ex-husband. That should have made her feel safer, but how could it when she returned home from work to find unfamiliar energy drinks and flavored waters neatly arranged in the refrigerator? Seconds later her ex-husband texted, “Left those for you and our girl. Figured you could use them.” He denied entering the apartment, claiming the drinks had been left by a mutual friend, and laughing off her concerns as “typical ex-wife drama.” She spent the night terrified, startling at every creak and bump. The next day, she called Blackfish.

The standard police response to an “I think someone is watching me” complaint is often polite skepticism, but when a protective order is already in place, and other unexplained things are happening, it needs to be taken seriously.

We launched a full Technical Surveillance Countermeasure (TSCM) sweep using industry-leading equipment and certified operators – spectrum analyzers, nonlinear junction detectors, thermal imaging and frequency scanner capable of finding even the most sophisticated covert devices.

We conducted an exhaustive search; every light fixture, smoke detector, mirror, picture frame and electrical outlet was examined - And there it was – in an outlet in the master bedroom, a remote-controlled recording device. It was a high-resolution camera and microphone hard-wired directly into the apartment’s electrical system. It also broadcast its own hidden SSID wireless network, which allowed the operator to remotely activate the feed, stream live audio/video. They had been free to see and hear everything that happened in her bedroom.

We photographed, documented and bagged the device under proper chain-of-custody protocols then immediately got law enforcement involved. Our detailed forensic report, complete with spectrum logs, photographs, wiring analysis and timeline reconstruction, gave detectives all the probable cause they needed.

After law enforcement completed their investigation, her ex-husband was charged with Invasive Visual Recording (Texas Penal Code 21.15), Stalking (Texas Penal Code 42.072), Harassment, and Violation of the Protective Order. Blackfish testified as expert witnesses at trial, and he was sentenced to 4 years in prison.