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The Jordan Harbinger Show

1283: Eva LaRue & Kaya McKenna Callahan | 12 Years Hunted by a Stalker

The Jordan Harbinger Show

Jordan Harbinger

Business, Education, Science

4.8 • 12.3K Ratings

🗓️ 10 February 2026

⏱️ 87 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

She played a DNA expert on TV, but real forensics took 12 years to catch her stalker. Eva LaRue and daughter Kaya McKenna Callahan share what they endured.

Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1283

What We Discuss with Eva LaRue & Kaya McKenna Callahan:

  • For 12 years, Eva LaRue and her daughter Kaya were stalked by a man who sent graphic letters detailing plans to rape, torture, and murder them, signed "Freddy Krueger." The FBI profiler noted his clear, coherent writing made him especially dangerous.
  • The stalker eventually called Kaya's high school pretending to be her father, leaving 19 voicemails overnight threatening to kill any teacher, student, or administrator who got in his way, proving his threats were escalating from paper to real-world action.
  • Traditional law enforcement couldn't help because stalking laws require physical contact or break-in before police can act. The case was only solved when FBI agents used forensic genealogy — the same technology that caught the Golden State Killer (as discussed with investigator Paul Holes on episode 725) — matching DNA from the stalker's discarded Arby's cup.
  • The psychological toll rewires how victims move through the world permanently. Kaya never posts locations in real time, always makes four left turns to verify she's not being followed, and grew up not knowing what life felt like "before" fear — because the stalking began when she was five.
  • Speaking up and documenting everything matters. Eva's decision to report the letters to the FBI (through a CSI Miami advisor's connection) kept the case alive for 12 years until technology caught up. If you're being stalked, trust your instincts, preserve evidence, and know that persistence can eventually lead to justice.
  • And much more...

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Coming up next on the Jordan Harbinger Show.

0:21.2

The day after filming for that year, we jumped on a plane and we went to, and we were not there 36 hours in Italy. Then we wake up in the middle of the night. You know, you've got jet lag. You're exhausted. It was like 3 o'clock in the morning. Our bedroom door opens up. And you know how when there's a light behind somebody, you can't see their face because they're in shadow. I couldn't see who it was, but it was obviously a man.

0:25.4

He didn't answer. And he stood there for a few seconds, and then he closed the door. In that moment,

0:31.1

it was God's answer to me, saying, if I want you dead, I will get you in any country, in any city, in any room, anywhere in the

0:42.0

world. So, relax, because this person came within 10 feet of me and my daughter while we're

0:48.6

laying in bed.

0:53.2

Welcome to the show. I'm Jordan Harbinger. On the Jordan Harbinger show, we decode the stories,

0:58.0

secrets, and skills of the world's most fascinating people and turn their wisdom into practical

1:01.9

advice that you can use to impact your own life and those around you. Our mission is to help

1:06.1

you become a better informed, more critical thinker through long-form conversations with a variety

1:10.2

of amazing folks,

1:11.3

from spies to CEOs, athletes, authors, thinkers, and performers, even the occasional Hollywood filmmaker,

1:16.6

neuroscientist, or a real-life pirate. If you're new to the show or you want to tell your friends about

1:20.6

the show, I suggest our episode starter packs. These are collections of our favorite episodes on topics

1:25.5

like persuasion and negotiation, psychology, geopolitics, disinformation, China, North Korea, crime and cults, and more. It'll help new listeners get a taste of everything we do here on the show. Just visit jordanharbinger.com slash start or search for us in your Spotify app to get started. Today's episode messed me up a little bit. Not going to lie, when this was first pitched to me, I was like, all right, stocker story. Okay, not exactly rare. But then I watched

1:48.7

part one of the documentary, and I immediately thought, wow, this is not normal stalker scary.

1:54.2

This is next level deeply psychopathic nightmare fuel, a horror movie variety. My guests today

2:00.7

are Ava LaRue, yes from

2:02.1

CSI, Miami, a show that is still syndicated in over 100 countries and her daughter Kaya. And what

2:07.4

they went through is so disturbing that at multiple points, I had to pause a documentary and get

2:12.5

up and like drink a glass of water. This wasn't paparazzi nonsense. This wasn't a creepy fan crossing the line. This is a man

2:18.7

who wrote graphic, detailed rape and murder threats, signed them Freddie Kruger, made it painfully

...

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