It was revealed in the taped testimony on Monday how easy it was for Erin Andrews’ stalker to eventually get close to her, both in her film and as a sportscaster.
Barrett David Michael, the former disgraced executive insurance journalist, described how he requested the next room to the TV journalist easily by using her phone to film her in the video peephole of her hotel room at a Nashville hotel.
Until he attempted to market the video, everything actually proceeded smoothly, but Barrett referred to his actions as “a rather poorly thought-out scheme” in his December 2013 testimony shown in her $75 million lawsuit.
Andrews seemed visibly distressed as she exited the courtroom prior to the commencement of the 2.5-hour testimony.
Andrews watched at least a dozen times on TV, and he recalled how Barrett came up with the idea to sell her nude video. He saw her trending on Yahoo after seeing it.
“I am an avid sports viewer,” he stated. “That’s how I recognized her.”
At the time, Barrett was in a “financial bind,” he said, adding, “It was a mistake in judgement that I regret deeply.”.
He stated that Barrett asked for a room right beside the ex-ESPN journalist, once he made sure that Andrews had made a reservation at the Nashville Marriott.
When the hotel employee showed him to his room, he was informed that the requested room was unavailable and they were going to place him in a different area.
The attendant phoned and Barrett discovered a landline in the hotel dining area that exhibits room numbers, where he claimed to have visited while awaiting his accommodation.
“May I occupy Erin Andrews’ room?” He remembered inquiring.
“They connected me,” Barrett continued. “On the house phone it shows a room number, so I knew what room she was in.”.
He then asked if he could stay there after noticing a maid tidying up the adjacent room, prompting Barrett to head to the room on the 10th floor.
“It was prepared, and they registered me into that chamber,” he clarified. “They returned and confirmed for me that I returned to the reception and informed them about the chamber.”
Barrett mentioned that their accommodations were situated within a recess, concealed from sight by any individual positioned in the corridor. He affirmed that he was aware of being assigned adjacent to Andrews since he was able to perceive her conversing on the telephone during his arrival.
After hearing Andrews leave, he went back to his own room where he used a hacksaw to attach the off cut to threads and removed the peephole from her door.
He said, “I could put it back and basically it was a plug, so I cut off the threads.” He said, “I removed the altered peephole.”
Later in the day, Barrett went back to his room and heard the shower running in Andrews’ room.
He mentioned, “as I passed by, I could perceive that the shower was running in her chamber, and regrettably for both of us, I returned to the chamber.”
“I waited until the shower ceased. Then I removed the plug and waited for the chance.”
Barrett spent a few minutes pushing his camera phone against the peephole before deciding “that was sufficient.”.
“I’m not pleased with my actions,” he insisted. “I didn’t appreciate what I did.”
After taking the video in Nashville, Barrett tried to sell it to TMZ, but was unsuccessful. Later, he uploaded it to his computer.
Barrett was permitted to request a room adjacent to hers at the Nashville Marriott without any inquiries, despite the hotel’s negligence. Andrews, the owner and manager of the hotel, is being sued by her lawyers.