Viswa Vanapalli
By October 2018, Ashley Manfre had been trying to keep James Corpus from contacting her continuously. By then, James’ behavior marked the end of a years-long friendship. Netflix’s ‘I Am a Stalker: Extreme Best Friends’ delves into what James did in the time leading up to his arrest and how the authorities later learned of a stunning conspiracy to have Ashley killed. So, let’s find out more about what happened then, shall we?
Who is James Corpus?
James Corpus grew up in St. John, Indiana, and enjoyed a good childhood. In 2009, he met Ashley at a restaurant. As per the show, James was a line cook, and she had come in to help a friend out as the manager. Over time, they became good friends, and he became close to Ashley’s family as well. But once that restaurant closed, James moved away, and the friends lost touch. In 2014, he contacted Ashley again, looking for a potential job.
As per the show, Ashley had been running her own party rental business, and James had recently gotten out of jail after being arrested for a DUI. The first few years went by without any issues, but in 2018, James began struggling with alcohol, marking the beginning of their problems. He was accused of stealing Ashley’s van and crashing it, and in September 2018, he admitted to it, being detained for vehicular theft.
By October 2018, Ashley learned that James had stolen several hundred dollars from her business. He was charged with fraud and tried to contact Ashley in the following days. As per the show, James attempted to get a hold of her on different platforms, leading her to get a restraining order against him in the same month. But on October 27, the authorities caught James calling Ashley from an unknown number, leading to a stalking charge against him.
Then, in November 2018, the police heard from a fellow inmate who had contact with James. He told the police that James had approached him about wanting Ashley “silenced.” When the inmate told James “that the only way to silence someone was to have them killed,” he wanted it to happen. Then, the inmate stated that James had drawn up a map of Ashley’s house and provided him with her security codes. He also told the inmate that someone would pay him and give him a gun and a vehicle if needed.
James Corpus Remains in Prison
On the show, James claims that he will never harm Ashley. According to him, the prison inmate who went to the police came to his cell and took all the personal stuff that he had written down, including the map of Ashley’s home. After negotiating a plea deal, James, then 46, pleaded guilty to burglary, fraud, and stalking in June 2019. While the fraud and stalking charge was about Ashley’s case, the burglary charge was regarding him breaking into a neighbor’s property in September 2018.
As part of the deal, the prosecution dismissed the conspiracy to commit murder charge. In July 2019, James was sentenced to serve 13 years in prison. After that, he was to serve one year in the Lake County Community Corrections program in Indiana and another year on probation. Prison records indicate that James remains incarcerated at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City, LaPorte County. The earliest he can be released is in November 2027.
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