Gilbert woman accused of sending threatening letters to couple

A Gilbert woman was arrested on felony stalking charges after authorities said she sent threatening letters to a couple containing intimate details about their house and home life.

Court documents say a man and woman contacted Gilbert police on March 10 about a threatening letter they received warning them to leave the house or face grave consequences.

“We see your pretty wife coming and going from the house and we see there’s going to be a baby here soon,” part of the letter said, according to court documents. “That baby will be ours soon. Every time the train passes behind you won’t be able to hear us arrive. If your baby cries at night you won’t be able to hear it over the train tracks. Every creak and shuttle in the house should be a warning of what is to come.”

Documents said the couple told police they had no idea who sent them the letter, which was typed in black ink, and couldn’t think of anyone who would have wished them harm. The man confirmed to police that his girlfriend was expecting and was scheduled to have labor induced for an early delivery later that week.

The couple contacted police again on March 18 to report they received another letter with more threatening messages and the word “Redrum” — the backward spelling of “Murder” that was popularized in the Stephen King novel and its movie adaptation “The Shining” — repeated over 20 times.

The couple told investigators that they had been at a hospital since March 13 for their baby’s delivery and had returned home that day when they saw the second letter containing a message insinuating someone had visited their home while they were gone.

Court documents said both letters were sent from a U.S. Post Office within two miles of the couple’s home.

Documents say a Gilbert detective worked a parallel investigation with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service which found the stamps used for both letters were from a roll of stamps purchased by a woman at a nearby post office that matched the ZIP code from where both letters were sent.

When the couple were shown surveillance footage of the woman purchasing the stamps, the female victim identified her as 33-year-old Shelby Trischler — a woman she was best friends with for over a decade and was romantically involved with during the first year of friendship, documents say. Trischler lived four miles away from the couple.

The woman told authorities she cut ties with Trischler and blocked her number on Feb. 18 after the two had an “unusual and uncomfortable” conversation about the couple’s newly purchased home being under only her boyfriend’s name despite the woman not telling Trischler her new address.

The woman said Trischler told her at the time that the information was publicly available on the internet.

Documents say the woman hadn’t communicated with Trischler until March 18 — the day the couple returned home and found the second letter — when the woman texted Trischler a picture of her new baby.

Documents say the woman told police Trischler texted back immediately to congratulate the woman before asking why she opted for a C-section delivery. The woman told police she was shocked Trischler knew she had a C-section, as she hadn’t shared that information online or with anyone else who would have spoken with her.

When the woman asked Trischler how she knew she had a C-section, Trischler said her mother told her. The woman told police she hadn’t spoken with Trischler’s mother, documents said.

Documents say police arrested Trischler after a Mesa police crime lab matched a fingerprint on one of the letters to her.

Documents say officers arrested Trischler and booked her on multiple felony and misdemeanor charges including five counts each of stalking, disorderly conduct and making threats.

Trischler is being held on a $50,000 secured-appearance bond and would be required to have electronic monitoring installed before being released. Her next scheduled court appearance is on March 27 in Maricopa County Superior Court.

Reach the reporter Perry Vandell at perry.vandell@gannett.com or 602-444-2474.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Shelby Trischler accused of sending threatening letters to couple