What Happened To Jamison Bachman From Worst Roommate Ever? - Grunge (2024)

Crime

Montgomery County, Pennsylvania

ByRemy MilliskyandMatt Reigle/Updated: May 27, 2022 3:31 pm EST

There are many terrible roommates on the Netflix show "Worst Roommate Ever," and one of them, Jamison Bachman, turned a simple living arrangement into a deadly nightmare.

Alex Miller posted an opening to rent her spare bedroom at her Philadelphia apartment in 2017. She ended up renting the room to "Jed Creek," who claimed to be a New York lawyer. He told her he was desperately searching for accommodations near sick family members (via Intelligencer). Miller agreed to rent him the room when he wrote an $800 check, but she realized it didn't include an address or name.

The man showed up with his dog and cat and then argued with Miller over who had to pay utility bills. And things only worsened from there. He stole Miller's lightbulbs and bizarrely transformed six of her dining room chairs into a desk. "Creek," whose real name was Jamison Bachman, began to refuse to pay rent based on insignificant reasons, like dishes being left in the sink, as Metro reports.

Neighbors reported that instead of working as a lawyer as he'd claimed, Bachman was loitering around the neighborhood all day long. After finally Googling Bachman, Miller discovered that he wasn't who he said he was — he'd been a serial squatter since at least 2012.

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Jamison Bachman's pattern was to move in with a person and slowly take over their home. He typically did this by initially presenting himself as someone who would be an ideal roommate. Someone with a solid job who was highly educated — which Bachman actually was; he had degrees from both Georgetown University and the University of Miami— but was also in a bit of a bind as far as his personal life was concerned. For instance, he told Miller that he needed a place to live in Philadelphia because he needed to help care for his mother and brother, who were both sick. While trying to move in with another one of his victims, Bachman claimed to need a place to live after losing his home inHurricane Sandy, the massive storm that struck the northeast in 2012.

As his habits became more and more unusual and, at times, openly antagonistic, it put him at odds with the home's rightful resident. He would then threaten to take them to court and even kick them out of their accommodations. Per Intelligencer, Bachman failed most of the time, but as his many former roommates noted, it wasn't really about the property — he seemed to thrive on the power play of slowly taking over a home.

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One of the most harrowing tales from a former roommate belongs to Arleen Hairabedian. According to Intelligencer, Bachman moved in with Hairabedian in 2006, initially agreeing that his stay wouldn't last more than two months. However, during his four years living with her, Bachman paid only a single month's rent. Hairabedian was losing her patience with him during the fourth year, and they had a physical fight. Afterward, Hairabedian filed a restraining order and eviction notice against Bachman, but he told police that she threatened him with a knife. Hairabedian was arrested, and while she was away, Bachman gave her pets to kill shelters nearby.

At least three other roommates claimed that Bachman had become violent with them, including one person who said Bachman swung at him with the leg of a coffee table. Another former roommate noted that Bachman liked to walk around with a baseball bat on his shoulder to intimidate him.

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As the situation with Jamison Bachman was now completely unlivable, Alex Miller began to interview new roommates and planned a party to kick Bachman out once and for all (via Metro). She intended to humiliate him by holding a loud party with Jameson whisky while he was doing online tutoring to make it clear that the gathering was to get rid of a serial squatter. Miller happened to know that Bachman hated rap music, so she blasted some as loud as possible and plastered the apartment walls with pictures of Bachman's past victims.

According to Intelligencer, the party accomplished its goal of messing with Bachman from a psychological standpoint, but he became unhinged and ended the party by angrily dumping an entire cat litter box into the toilet.While Bachman did leave the apartment that night, he returned the following morning and accosted Miller while she was in the bathroom, choking her and stabbing her in the thigh.

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So what happened to Jamison Bachman? He was arrested for attacking Miller, but his brother Harry bailed him out on two separate occasions, including once for violating the protection order Miller had filed against the increasingly violent serial squatter (via Intelligencer). Harry's wife Caroline didn't want Bachman staying at their place, given his history of property theft, so they kicked him out. It was the final straw for Bachman — he beat Harry to death, stole his credit card, and took Caroline's car.Harry was supposed to meet Caroline in upstate New York, but when he never arrived, she became concerned and called the police. Officers eventually found Harry's body in the Bachmans' basem*nt stairway.

Meanwhile, Jamison fled in the stolen car and holed himself up in a nearby hotel that he paid for with his brother's credit card, per Metro. Police noticed the car in the hotel parking lot and saw almost irrefutable evidence that they were in the right place when they peered inside and saw several bloody towels. They arrested Bachman that night, but the manner in which that happened is up for debate because different accounts paint completely opposite pictures of the arrest. Some reports say that Bachman was arrested without resistance, while another claimed that he greeted the SWAT team that kicked in his hotel door by swinging an ax at them.

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Jamison Bachman was charged with murder in December 2017 (via Philly Voice). However, before he could take the stand, he was discovered dead in his jail cell. Bachman had died by suicide several days before he was due in court for his preliminary hearing. According to Intelligencer, Bachman's deathleft conflicting emotions in some of the victims he had tormented (in some cases, he left their lives completely in shambles). Some, like ArleenHairabedian, were upset that the man who had caused her so much pain wouldn't have to suffer himself. Alex Miller saidthat she felt a sense of guilt concerning the murder of Bachman's brother Harry.

In the end, Bachman's victims can no longer seek justice through the court system, but they can move on with their lives knowing he cannot infiltrate and steal anyone else's home.

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline​ at​ 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.