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Who is Daniel Thompson From Netflix's 'I Am A Stalker' And Why Is He Serving A Life Sentence?
Netflix's new true crime docuseries "I Am A Stalker" speaks to victims and perpetrators of intimate partner domestic violence — including convicted murderer Daniel Thompson and one of his victims.
A man convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend is speaking out about his own case in the Netflix series "I Am A Stalker."
Daniel Thompson, 48, is serving a life sentence at the Jefferson City Correctional Center in Missouri following his conviction for the 2010 murder of James Vail.
As Thompson explains in the docuseries, he was angry at an ex-girlfriend — who asked to remain anonymous — after she dumped him following three months of dating. Following their split, he began to show up at her home and threaten her with a knife, despite being reported to the police on multiple occasions.
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Then, on the night of Aug. 2, 2010, Thompson broke into her home again and found her asleep in bed with Vail.
"She was the target. I didn't even know he was going to be there," Thompson told the documentarians. "I didn't know they were seeing each other. I didn't even know his name."
Thompson said that he was shocked to see his ex with another man and he tried to kill her.
However, Thompson said, "Since it was pitch-black in there, I misjudged my distance and I ended up getting him instead."
Vail's mother, Bonnie Vail, made it her mission to see her son's killer behind bars — especially after she discovered that Thompson had previously been charged with several counts of aggravated stalking and harassment.
"I wanted everybody to know that this wasn't a one-time thing and I wasn't going to give up till my voice was heard," Bonnie Vail said. "I couldn't grieve until this man was put in prison."
Bonnie Vail was joined in her mission by Angie, Thompson's ex-wife whom he had also stalked and harassed for many years. Angie said that she approached prosecutors and informed them that Thompson had stalked and threatened her with a knife. She agreed to testify against him in a December 2011 sentencing hearing.
Thompson was subsequently sentenced to life in prison with a maximum term of 30 years. He will be eligible for parole in 2034.
"I do not think it's a fair sentence for what he did," Angie said. "I don't understand how you can possibly commit a crime like that, get life and then be eligible for parole. That's wrong."
She added that she's concerned for her own wellbeing, as well as that of Thompson's other exes.
However, Angie and Bonnie Vail plan to submit evidence when he Thompson is up for parole he is an ongoing danger to society .
Thompson, on the other hand, said that he has a better understanding of himself and that he's changed — though he has negative feelings about Angie to this day.
"Angie, she is my nemesis to the day I die," he said. "I thought I was over with her. I really thought I was. And she reappeared. I don't believe she'll ever leave me alone."
Despite calling her his "nemesis," Thompson said that he doesn't hate Angie and still considers her his first love. "You know, they always say the first marriage is the one you always want back," he said. "And I wish I had that back and I know I'll never get it back."
"But I want people to believe that people can change over time. I don't want people to hate me. I'm a human being, not an animal," he continued.
Angie still doesn't believe that Thompson is capable of changing.
"I absolutely think if he was let out, he would do it again," she said. "There's a pattern and that pattern hasn't been broken, and I think it's important that everybody sees that," she said.
