Viswa Vanapalli
In September 2019, James and Brittany Campbell returned home from vacation to find someone else living at their home. In the days that followed, the couple found several disturbing things in their house and began to think the stranger, Ezequiel Zayas, had been living there for a long time. The first episode of Lifetime’s ‘Phrogging: Hider in My House’ features the Campbells’ story as one of the two cases featured. So, if you’re wondering what happened to Ezequiel, here’s what we know.
Who is Ezequiel Zayas?
After a weeklong vacation, all the Campbells wanted to do was to return to the comfort of their home. But to their horror, they saw someone else living in their house in Honolulu, Hawaii. James said, “There is a man peeking through the door. He’s trying to hold it shut, and the man says, ‘this is not your house,’ just very calmly. I am just floored.” The authorities arrived soon after and arrested the man, Ezequiel Zayas, who had been wearing James’ clothes.
However, it didn’t stop there. Their house was in complete disarray, and notes found on their computers were weird and unsettling. According to their lawyer, “There are stuff that he was putting on the computer – different things that he was writing about that make you think, did he do anything to our food in the refrigerator? Was he planning on doing things to our home?”
The Campbells also noticed diary entries for each one in the family and felt he had been watching them for a long time. The notes also talked about converting the family from omnivores to “ezequiels.” Furthermore, there were references to conducting surgery on the Campbells. In another video, Ezequiel was seen sitting naked in Brittany’s chair. Eventually, the couple got a restraining order against him. While Ezequiel was arrested, his troubles didn’t end there.
Where is Ezequiel Zayas Today?
After being taken into custody at the Campbells’ home, Ezequiel was out on supervised release when he was arrested again for an incident at a Buddhist Study Center in Manoa, Hawaii. Then, at around 9 PM on August 31, 2020, a prison guard at the Oahu Community Correctional Center in Hawaii checked on an inmate-on-inmate assault. The corrections officer reported seeing Ezequiel punch a fellow inmate, Vance Grace, in the head multiple times.
After Vance dropped to the ground, Ezequiel allegedly stomped his head and refused to comply with orders to stand down. Eventually, additional officers were able to restrain him, but Vance was pronounced dead at a hospital later; he suffered a hematoma. Then 27 years old, Ezequiel was charged with first and second-degree murder.
The investigation also revealed that he was reported missing in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in August 2019, before his mother spoke to the authorities a few weeks later; she learned that her son was being treated in Honolulu and wanted to return to Connecticut. Ezequiel pleaded not guilty to the murder charges and was declared “unfit to proceed.” For now, he remains at the Hawaii State Hospital until the trial begins.
Read More: Where Are Madisyn Gidrey and Brittany Campbell Now?
