Who is Christopher Thomas, where is Samantha Stites kidnapper now? Latest update as Stalking Samantha returns on ABC

CHristopher seth thomas stalked Samantha Stites for o'er a decennary before snatch her in 2022. The ii had met in 2011, when they were students at the Grand Valley State University in Michigan.Stites described knowing Thomas in passing. She described in an ABC interview that they were part of the same student group but only conversed casually. As per Stites, Thomas had seemed a little awkward, so she decided to help by making small talk.However, Thomas began to stalk her and eventually kidnapped Stites as well. Her harrowing experience comes to light in Stalking Samantha: 13 Years of Terror, which returned to ABC's 20/20 on June 12, sparking fresh interest in the case.Also Read | Rachel Nickell murder: The Witness creator reveals the shocking detail he couldn't ignore; 'no one knew…'Here's all you need to know about Christopher Thomas and where he is now.Who is Christopher Thomas?Christopher Blaine Thomas was Stites' senior. While she viewed her interaction with him as casual, it was anything but for Thomas. He reportedly sent her numerous messages despite her asking him to leave her alone. Thomas also began to follow Stites, as per reports, and even showed up at her workplace when her grandmother had passed away.In 2022, he kidnapped Stites from her home in Elk Rapids, Michigan. Thomas then raped her in a soundproof bunker. Stites was essentially set free only in exchange of sex with Thomas. He was later arrested for kidnapping, torture, and aggravated stalking and stood trial in 2024.Recalling her experience with Thomas, Stites said in the docuseries “It was the first real experience where someone knows what my wishes are very clearly and doesn't care.”Where is Christopher Thomas now?Thomas was being held at Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility in Ionia, Michigan. Latest reports indicated he was being held in a security level II area. Thomas got over 40 years jail in 2024 for charges of aggravated stalking, torture, and kidnapping. As per the Michigan Department of Corrections, he's now at Muskegon Correctional Facility.He had also been charged with criminal sexual misconduct, but this was later dropped as part of a plea deal, ABC News had reported. Thomas' earliest release date is October 7, 2062. His maximum release date is October 7, 2082. Chilling details of Samantha Stites' kidnappingOn October 7, 2022, Thomas entered Stites' home while she was asleep. Though she heard a noise which could have alerted her to the presence of an intruder, Thomas was on top of her before Stites could react. He was strangling her at this time. Then, Thomas forced her out of the house and used her car to head to this storage unit, where he'd created a bunker with soundproof walls.Notably, Thomas had gotten the idea of the bunker from Netflix series You, which stars Penn Badgley as Joe Goldberg, a killer who often traps people in a glass room. Stites revealed the same in a 2025 Good Morning America interview where she noted that her kidnapper had told her the glass room was not ‘logistically possible’ and that he'd ‘looked into it’.Stites was held in Thomas' bunker for about 14 hours with nothing but a hot plate and some canned goods. Allegedly, Thomas' plan was to keep her there and fake her death. Stites struck a deal where she'd be released if she had sex with Thomas.Later, she told ABC News “I shook and sobbed after he raped me. I wasn't sure he would stop.” Stites shared the harrowing victim's statement on Instagram.