The two girls had fears for their safety after receiving the fake note. Photo / Facebook
The two girls had fears for their safety after receiving the fake note. Photo / Facebook
When two Christchurch students received an anonymous letter warning them of a "male predator" in their neighbourhood, they immediately feared for their safety.
However, the note wasn't the helpful warning Selina Hager and Serena Percy thought it was – later discovering it was in fact sent by a "jealous wife" who was upset by her husband's flirting.
The typed-out letter addressed to "all female residents" was found on Tuesday when Hager, a 22-year-old international student living in Upper Riccarton, Christchurch, opened her letterbox.
In it was a warning that she and flatmate Percy should move out as there was a predator living in the area who had developed a soft spot for the two women, Stuff reported.
He has shown particular interest in you ladies and so I would strongly advise that you keep all your curtains closed at all times and find another flat to live and that you move out of your current flat as soon as possible," the chilling note read.
Hager, who was also living with her boyfriend, said they hadn't experienced any trouble since they moved into the flat in January.
However, the letter explained they should not only move out but advised them they should tell their landlord of the situation and have the flat only leased to only men in the future.
Hager, who originates from Austria and studies at the University of Canterbury, said she was terrified after reading the letter.
"I closed the curtains because I was just overwhelmed with everything," she explained.
The note warning of a predator turned out to be from their neighbour's wife. Photo / Facebook
"We thought we had a stalker; you feel really insecure and not safe in your own home and that's probably the worst feeling someone can have."
After trying to call her flatmate to no avail, she instead called the police and explained she felt scared and unsafe.
Just a few weeks earlier, the student had underwear stolen from her washing outside, so when she received the letter she explained she was "freaked out".
But it was when Hager had her suspicions about a woman down the street, that the truth unfolded.
Earlier this year when the trio moved in, a couple introduced themselves and at the time Hager offered them a table that the landlord left behind and said they could give away.
But the following day the flatmates received a letter from the wife asking for "proof" the landlord gave permission for her to have the desk.
They responded with confirmation, and the woman then delivered cookies – again through the mailbox – and accepted the offer.
What the two flatmates didn't realise that during their brief interactions, the neighbour believed her husband was flirting with them.
In the hopes of confronting the neighbour about their suspicions, the two women decided to go to her house, knocking on the door – but she refused to open the door for them.
Instead, she sent them a text message.
It read: "Please leave me alone and move out of the neighbourhood. I would if I could. Now just leave us alone."
The neighbour initially said she knew of the letter, but later admitted in text messages to Hager that she was the one who wrote it and that the girls were never in danger.
She said the "only reason" she wrote it was because she felt "hurt" when her husband "flirted" in front of her on the day they had picked up the table, adding that he "fancied you and thought you fancied him".
"I was insecure ... It's hard for me not to be a jealous wife as my husband often flirts with other women who are far more attractive than me."
The neighbour later said she was "deeply sorry" for her actions and hoped they could "move on".
Hager described the whole ordeal as being "messed up" saying that it "angered" her that a woman would go as far as scaring other women.
"I said to her that if the jealousy is that bad you need to get help because you can't just tell people to move out of the neighbourhood and invent this whole story," Hager told Stuff.
The matter is being investigated by police.
While the flatmates no longer feel comfortable or welcome, they will not be moving out of the unit as they could not afford to break their lease.
