Sometimes, being openly proud of your “Home Town” can put you in danger. Erin Napier shared on Instagram the terrifying moment she found out a potentially dangerous stranger had turned up in Laurel, Mississippi, with the intent of “protecting” her young daughter. Erin recalled how she was in the midst of shooting when her husband, Ben Napier, began getting messages from people all over town, warning him “about a 54-year-old California man dressed like a ‘Star Wars’ storm trooper, wearing an ankle monitor bracelet, who had come to town and was saying some very strange things.”
Laurel has, naturally, become a tourist hotspot thanks to the success of “Home Town,” but this stranger wasn’t there to sample the local delicacies. Rather, he believed, “God sent me here to protect the women of Laurel, specifically little Helen.” Alongside a chilling shot of some scattered toys, Erin revealed the man purchased a house just one block away from their family home, furnishing it with nothing but a single suitcase and the pictured playthings, for whenever Helen came over.
The couple was understandably unnerved. Complicating matters, as Erin told People, she was also pregnant at the time. The Napiers hired round the clock security and even went to court to get rid of the interloper. However, despite the incident, the HGTV stars remain steadfast in their decision to stay in Laurel, reasoning it’ll always be home and this was hopefully an isolated incident.
