JEFFERSON CO., Pa. (EYT) – A woman who allegedly used an anonymous texting application to send hundreds of disturbing text messages to four victims waived her hearing in court on Thursday.
Court documents indicate the following charges against 25-year-old Miranda Lynn Williams, of Saint Marys, were waived for court on December 17:
– Stalking – Repeatedly Communicate To Cause Fear, Misdemeanor 1
– Harassment – Communicate Repeatedly in Another Manner, Misdemeanor 3
The charges have been transferred to the Jefferson County Court of Common Pleas.
Williams is currently free on a $25,000.00 surety bond posted by a professional bondsman.
The charges stem from an investigation into hundreds of disturbing text messages sent to four victims.
Details of the case:
According to a criminal complaint, Miranda Lynn Williams began texting a known victim on October 21, around 8:51 p.m. regarding an incident between the victim’s husband and another individual.
The complaint states Williams impersonated the other individual to disguise her identity and caused blame to be put on the other individual. She sent the messages through a third-party anonymous text message application.
Williams allegedly sent numerous text messages to the victim as well as three other victims causing them fear and alarm. The victims reportedly received several text messages every day detailing their every move, including when certain patrons would show up to their place of work, while driving home, and even while speaking to police.
Williams also made numerous remarks such as “I see you,” in an effort to terrorize and intimidate the victims, according to the complaint.
The complaint states other messages included:
- “I’m watching you”
- “How many cops today? One gone let’s see if he comes back”
- “Drive safe baby! Don’t want you’re break to go out”
- “I see you’re home alone…you (expletive) put you’re guard down to quick I’m still watching your house”
- “Wrecking you’re car again today hahahaha”
- “Smart takin my eyes away but I still have ears….I will keep hearing everything you say you stupid (expletive)”
- “Sad if something would happen to that new car you’re boy just got I told you this Isn’t a war you’re going to win you brought my kids into it I don’t care who’s kids get hurt now”
- “Heaven forbid you’re boy loses control of his poor truck….You (expletive) with the wrong (expletive) I don’t care who gets hurts now”
- “It’s not going to be funny when I continue to destroy you all!!!!! One by one you all will fall! None of you are perfect! Not a one of you! I can tell you what you all have done”
These are just a few examples of the hundreds of messages sent to the victims, the complaint notes.
On October 30, the numbers used to send the messages to the victims were queried and determined to be registered to the messaging application. A preservation request was then emailed to the application company’s legal department to be preserved.
On November 9, police sent a search warrant to the company that leases numbers to the messaging application. The results of the search warrant with the numbers listed on the anonymous text messages yielded IP addresses, third-party email addresses, and device information for three different accounts. One account using one of the IP addresses from October 21-22 was under the name “Miranda” using an email account that included the name of the third-party that Williams was allegedly attempting to “frame” for the messages. The other accounts used email addresses with no names attached.
On November 11, police sent a search warrant to Verizon Wireless for the IP addresses and subscriber information related to the previous search warrant and received the results on November 12. The IP addresses revealed hundreds of phone number results, and police searched using several of the phone numbers from the case, including those of the third-party and the victims.
The complaint states one of those numbers found ten results having sent text messages through one of the IP addresses on November 6. The number in question was a cell phone number belonging to Williams.
According to the complaint, through interviews with one of the victims, police found that when the incident began, Williams had a different phone number, but said she changed it because she claimed she was also receiving text messages. Police then checked back through the paperwork and found her previous phone number, which was also found several times on the search warrant related to one of the IP addresses in the same time frame of when the victims received their first messages from the anonymous numbers.
Williams was arraigned in front of Magisterial District Judge David B. Inzana at 9:14 p.m. on November 13.
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