Sounak Sengupta
Investigation Discovery’s ‘Who the (Bleep) Did I Marry? The Truth Will Make You Flee’ narrates how Bruce Stimon cheated on his former wife, stalked his ex-girlfriend without telling her he was married, and tried to destroy the lives of both women after being caught. He stalked the women, committed horrendous crimes, and forced one of them to change her name and location and start afresh.
Who Is Bruce Stimon?
In the summer of 1989, Kathleen Clarke was busy climbing the corporate ladder as a stockbroker in Portsmouth in Rockingham County, New Hampshire. She said, “I was just 22, and the world was my oyster. I was not really looking to get married or even be in a relationship or something like that.” But all that changed when she met a handsome new co-worker, Bruce Stimon. She recalled, “Bruce was shy and quiet — just a polite, kind, easy-going person.” He had written her a note, asking her out on a lunch date.
As the two chatted over lunch, Kathleen found herself intrigued by Bruce. She explained, “He had an air about him that was different than other guys. It felt like he really wanted to woo and impress me. We started doing everything together.” It was a whirlwind romance, and after six months of dating, Kathleen had no doubts when Bruce proposed. They married two years later on a gorgeous beach in Maine on April 27, 1991. Her friend, Loretta Asselin, reminisced, “I could see how happy she was. They looked great together.”
The new couple settled in a tiny New Hampshire town just 40 miles outside Boston. Bruce worked as a computer technology salesman while Kathleen decorated their new house. The two were overjoyed when they welcomed their son into the world five years later. Kathleen stated, “We were overly happy, and Bruce was an awesome dad. He loved having a son and was very helpful.” Over the following decade, Kathleen kept the home fire burning while Bruce’s job required him to travel a lot.
Kathleen recalled, “Bruce was gone more than he was home. But it was okay and didn’t bother me. You get used to it.” But by the summer of 2011, Kathleen felt that something had changed — even when Bruce was around, she found it harder and harder to keep his attention. He became obsessed with his cell phone and was always busy, isolating himself from social gatherings and functions as he sat in a corner and twiddled with his mobile. After Bruce took on a new job with government sales, he was required to go to Washington, D.C., twice a month.
It was around that time Kathleen started noticing a change in Bruce’s behavior, as he started picking fights with her over trivial issues. She recalled how it came to the point where she began avoiding him, fearing another round of domestic clash. When one of her friends alleged he might be having an affair, Kathleen dismissed the idea until she came across a text on her husband’s phone from a strange woman in Christmas 2011. While Bruce tried to offer excuses, she found it hard to believe him.
Bruce Stimon Was Sentenced to Seven Years of Prison Time
However, Bruce’s demeanor changed, and he seemed to return to his old self again as he became more accommodating and started spending time with his family. On June 15, 2012, Bruce made plans to visit his mother in Massachusetts for the day, and Kathleen trusted him. However, she felt a bit uneasy as she waited for him to return and eventually woke up the following morning to find he had not returned home. She kept calling him to no avail until her brother-in-law phoned and informed her Bruce had been arrested in Arlington, Virginia.
Over the next few days, Bruce allegedly harassed Kathleen from prison, blaming her for everything and ordering her to post his bail. When she refused to do so and demanded a divorce, the vengeful man used his jail phone calls to transfer all his savings to another account, leaving her penniless. He even disconnected her internet and cable lines and stole her laptop after he managed to bail himself out of prison. Kathleen said, “He shut off the utilities going in our house … my house, and our child’s house.”
She added, “He took over anything he could online … my Facebook, eBay, PayPal. I thought I was safe because he was in prison. I didn’t think he was capable of doing anything during that time.” She also received another shock when she found out she was required to pay around $50,000 in bills for charges, including Bruce’s travel costs to see Soraida Hicks, the woman he was having an affair with, and the lavish gifts he gave Soraida. After Bruce posted bail, Kathleen was granted a temporary restraining order.
She also learned about her former husband’s crimes, including how he had stalked Soraida after she wanted to break off the relationship and posted a sex tape of her advertising her as an escort. Bruce had made various websites where he posted the videos, even mentioning Soraida’s address, contact number, office contact, and her daughter’s name. According to the show, he even allegedly left a poisonous snake in her mailbox. Bruce was arrested on November 9, 2012, while slashing Soraida’s car tires outside her apartment.
Bruce pled guilty to attempted extortion, two counts of stalking, and felony identity theft in December 2012. He was sentenced to seven years in jail. Kathleen said, “He’d been weaving quite a web of lies and deceit with me for many months. That was the betrayal and was the thing that hurt the most.” Soraida tried to have the sex tape taken off the Internet but failed. She had since changed her name, shifted to a new city, and started working in a new job.
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