“Our deputies are discovering the suspect’s disturbing obsession with this homeowner he has never met but stalked on social media for years,” Chronister said.
Thomas parked his car at a nearby church and walk to Deville’s home in Lutz, a suburb of Tampa; he then cut a hole in the patio screen, and watched and listened through the window for up to four hours, the sheriff’s office said.
When Deville went to bed, detectives said, Thomas entered through the back-sliding glass door at 2:45 a.m. Sunday, activating the house alarm, prompting Deville to look out the window and see someone on her property. Deville and a guest quickly left the house and called 911, the sheriff’s office said.
Thomas is charged with aggravated stalking, armed burglary, attempted armed abduction, and criminal offenses, according to the sheriff’s department. He remains in jail with no restraint, according to the arrest data on the Sheriff’s Office website; a lawyer was not named for Thomas.
“It’s horrible to think of all the ways this incident could have played out if the home alarm did not go off and alert the homeowner of a burglar,” Chronister said.
Deville took to Twitter under her account “Daddy Deville” to express gratitude to the sheriff’s office.
“Thank you so much everyone for your love and care. A very horrible experience, but fortunately everyone is safe. A special thank you to the Sheriff’s Office of Hillsborough County for their response and assistance,” Deville tweeted.
Deville describes herself as the ‘first ever openly gay woman in the WWE’, and describes herself as ‘The Pride Fighter’. She also dies in the E! Entertainment reality series “Total Divas.”
CNN’s Alta Spells and Jennifer Selva contributed to this report.
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