A cyberstalker who assumed the identities of two pregnant teenagers has pleaded guilty to cyberstalking after she threatened to kill couples who wanted to adopt her fictional children.
A 29-year-old woman from Nashville, Tennessee, for reasons unknown, assumed the identities of two pregnant teenagers to lure prospective parents into a trap that would later end in “a relentless reign of harassment.”
It started when Gabryele “Gabby” Watson cyberstalked her first married couple. The pair had desperately been trying to adopt a baby for eight years when Watson approached them with a solution to all their problems.
Watson pretended to be a pregnant 16-year-old from Pennsylvania, luring the couple into an evil trap.
Using social media, Watson gained intel about the 16-year-old and her pregnancy, including her full name, nickname, date of birth, and the state where she was born.
Watson did more sleuthing and found the name and nickname of the baby’s father.
Unaware that Watson was using her social media posts to carry out her scheme, the teenager continued to post updates about her pregnancy online.
Watson got her hands on the teen’s “baby bump” photos and videos, sonograms, and content depicting the baby’s development.
Over the weeks, Watson copied the teen’s social media posts to “use in her scheme,” the Department of Justice (DoJ) said.
Posing as the teen, Watson contacted the married couple looking to adopt, sending text messages, voice calls, and emails.
Watson shared the stolen content relating to the teen’s pregnancy with the couple and claimed she was the 16-year-old who wanted to give her unborn child up for adoption.
After sharing personal details about the teenager and eliciting personal information from the couple, Watson’s demands became more extreme.
“Over time, Watson began to demand that (the couple) be available at all hours to respond to her frequent communications and that they purchase baby-related gear and maternity clothing,” the DoJ said.
As they continued their relationship, Watson threatened to cancel the adoption that the couple had waited so long for.
The threats escalated as Watson threatened to abort or cause the baby harm, and she even told the couple that she planned to commit suicide while being pregnant.
Eventually, Watson threatened to kill the married couple.
This wasn’t an isolated incident, as Watson did the same thing to another couple looking to adopt.
Instead of assuming the identity of the 16-year-old, she chose another pregnant teenager who lived in Arkansas, but this time, Watson pretended to be pregnant with high-risk twins.
Unlike the first couple Watson terrorized, this couple already had two young children.
While on the phone with the family, Watson told the two young children to be excited about the adoption.
Like the previous victims, Watson, posing as the 18-year-old from Arkansas, made claims about “her” unborn twin’s health, was verbally abusive, and threatened to kill the couple and their children.
The FBI is calling on anyone who was potentially victimized by Watson. The agency believes that Watson mainly targeted couples seeking adoptions from 2015 to the present.
Watson is scheduled to be sentenced in January 2026 and faces five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.
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