Actress Eva LaRue and Daughter Kaya Callahan Were Stalked for 12 Years: ‘Sickening, Terrifying Threats’

Eva LaRue was living the height of her Hollywood dream. Known for her long-running role on All My Children throughout the 1990s and 2000s, her profile soared even higher when she joined the cast of CSI: Miami in 2006. That year, the hit crime drama ranked among television’s top ten most-watched scripted shows. But while her career reached new heights, a disturbing threat lurked in the shadows — a stalker who would haunt her for more than a decade.

The ordeal began when LaRue started receiving menacing letters through her manager and publicist. The messages were graphically violent, filled with threats of rape, torture and murder, and were signed “Freddie Krueger,” mimicking the infamous villain from the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise.

At first, the actress — then 40 and raising her 5-year-old daughter, Kaya Callahan, in Los Angeles — wondered if it might be a sick joke. But when three more letters arrived within a week, all from the same sender, she realized she was being targeted.

“I am going to instill fear into every part of your life,” one letter warned.

True to the threat, the messages grew increasingly hostile — and ultimately began focusing on her young daughter.

“It was the most heinous, deplorable, sickening, terrifying series of threats,” LaRue recalls. “And then he began directing them at my little girl.”

Determined to protect Kaya, she installed security cameras around their home. Yet despite every precaution, the stalker continued to find them. Over more than ten years, mother and daughter relocated multiple times, only to have their new addresses discovered each time. LaRue avoided reading most of the dozens of letters and shielded Kaya from the truth for years.

Their story is now being revisited in My Nightmare Stalker: The Eva LaRue Story, a new Paramount+ docuseries premiering on Nov. 13.

“Because my mom hid so much from me, I didn’t know the full extent,” says Kaya, now 23. “Filming the docuseries felt like reliving something I never fully understood.”

Before these events unfolded, LaRue was thriving in her career. After working as a model, the California native landed her breakthrough role as Dr. Maria Santos on All My Children in 1993. She later married her costar John Callahan, with whom she welcomed Kaya, though they divorced in 2005.

The “Freddie Krueger” letters began in 2007, initially sent to her professional addresses. But one day she opened her home mailbox and found an envelope in the same handwriting.

“I have finally found you,” the letter read.

The harassment escalated dramatically in 2019. Seventeen-year-old Kaya was called to the school office and told that her father had phoned to pick her up. Suspicious, she texted her mother — who immediately contacted her ex-husband. When he confirmed he was nowhere near Los Angeles, the truth became clear: The stalker had impersonated him and discovered Kaya’s school. LaRue rushed to retrieve her daughter.

“It still feels like a jump scare,” she says.

Later that year, investigators identified Ohio resident James David Rogers, then 61, through DNA recovered from one of the letters. He was arrested, and in 2022 he pleaded guilty to federal stalking charges. He received a 40-month prison sentence.

For Kaya, the arrest brought enormous relief. “It felt freeing,” she says. “Like I could finally live normally again.”

LaRue hopes that sharing their experience will help push for stronger protections for stalking victims.

“It’s not just celebrities — anyone can be targeted through social media,” she says. “We want to help people dealing with this and give them hope.”