The Mystery of the Nasty Emails

Today I would like to share a story with you that is so psychotic, you won’t believe it’s based on actual events. As you read along, the nasty replies are the actual messages received from the perpetrator. The original emails have been slightly changed to protect the innocent; punctuation and spelling have been left alone so you could compare writing styles of the responses.

This is an email mystery dealing with identity theft, snooping and pranksters...or is it?


Our story begins one morning when Cheryl came into work and checked her email. She was excited to see that her niece Sadie had written back to her. They had been exchanging emails about Sadie's new school year as a sophomore in high school. Boys, PSATs and school trips were the main topics as usual. To her surprise, Cheryl opened her email to find a response so nasty, she knew it couldn't come from Sadie. The response read:

"What do you know stupid...................."

Confused by this response, Cheryl replied with a simple "What?" thinking she had missed a joke someplace. She then went on to her next email from Sadie, thinking this would explain the last. She was sorely mistaken. It read:

"you are not a good influence don't e-mail sadie anymore.....look at your life ........................
we are her parents and you have not right influence her........don't email her again/."

Cheryl was furious. She knew it wasn't Sadie, she would never speak to her Aunt that way. The way it was written, it sounded as if one of Sadie's parents had written the email reply. How could this be? Her brother would not speak to her this way either. Then it hit her. Her Sister-in-law had had a history of sending nasty emails (though usually from her own account). Cheryl began to piece together the puzzle, noticing similarities in the writing style and punctuation. She looked back at another nasty reply sent to her sister Glenda a few weeks back, originating form her brother's home email account. An account he never uses. That message read:

"STUPID...don't yopu have better things to forward"

Was this a coincidence? Was Sharon, the sister-in-law, sending nasty emails from her family’s accounts?

Later in the day, still perplexed by the mystery that had taken hold of her, Cheryl received a new email from Sharon. Sharon's email read:

" I didn't send the e-mail. If you look at the time, it was sent at 5:59, and Sadie was home on the computer and she hadn't left for her friend's house yet. Sadie said that when she got home from her friend's house at 9:30, someone took her password off and deleted a bunch of e-mails from her inbox. She is very upset, and this was not me or Tim. I was gone after 6:15pm and i didn't return until after midnight. This wasn't me...someone could have gotten into our computer."


Sadie's had also sent an email to her Aunt Cheryl. The email was one of confusion as well. Sadie couldn't understand how this could happen. Her email said:

"I don't know who sent those e-mails but it wasnt me and it wasnt my mom. I was home at 5:59 when the e-mails were sent, and i was online on aim talking to ppl. I don't know who it was and it wasn't me, my mom, or my dad. im very upset, and i still want to e-mail you b/c you're my aunt and i love you. it's very possible that someone got into our computer b/c it's happened before. i got home and my password was off and my e-mails were deleted. ppl who i dont know send me crap all the time. i just wanted u to hear it from me, b/c i didnt do it, neither did my mom or dad and im very upset about this."

Cheryl began to feel bad for jumping to conclusions that Sadie's mother had written the offensive material. Perhaps it was possible for someone to steal passwords and send nasty emails...but why to just Aunt Cheryl? Who would want to just send mean emails? It was all very perplexing. Just then she received another email from Sadie's mother Sharon. Cheryl began to doubt herself again and return to her initial theory of Sharon being the culprit. Her reply read:


"After reading this again I think it is sad you assume this was me. If you knew what went on Here on fir night...I didn't get home until 1:30 in the morning then you would not have sent this to me. I have a full life and I am smart and intelligent and you assume that I need to look at my life with the reference of Funny is really inappropriate.

You had your chance Cheryl last March to respond to a e-mail about Judging and then you Judged/Jury me with Ike and Claire and
your whole family....I know what was said.

I don't care if you E-mail Sadie . I have never told her that I thought it was wrong.

Your life is yours...work very hard just so you know and you are too young to even know how hard I work and the sacrifices I have made over the last 15yrs."


What was this? Sharon was bringing up old arguments that didn't even involve Cheryl. Spewing about her life and her sacrifices (She is a stay at home mother who doesn't work and her husband just built a new $300,000 house for her, lots of sacrifices there). Had Sharon gone mental...again?

Cheryl's mind raced as she thought of other nasty emails that Sharon had sent to other members of the family throughout the years. Did Sharon get caught spying on her daughter's emails and try to hide it with a "Identity Theft" scheme. Like the Grinch, had she thought up a lie and thought it up quick? Had the fib fooled the child?

Cheryl decided to be helpful and tell Sharon that other emails had been sent from her account recently and she should check in to that as well. She was not expecting to get a reply like she did the next day.

On Tueday, Cheryl came to work and checked her email as usual. There she found the proof she was after. Sharon had indeed slit her own throat handing over the evidence Cheryl needed. "How could it be so easy" Cheryl thought. "She has handed everything to me on a silver platter, is this too good to be true?"

Below is the email Sharon sent that seemed to seal the case shut for good.

"I don't have time for your nonsense. Don't e-mail or my family. You are sad with a response like that."


Cheryl's previous response was only to help. How could that be viewed as sad if Sharon was not riddled with guilt? How ironic was it that Sharon used the same threat the "Thief" had? Was this really a case of identity theft or had Sharon gotten caught with her hand in the cookie jar?

You be the judge in this case of "The Mystery of the Nasty Emails"