By Kalen Johnson
If you’ve ever wished your life was more like a movie, you were probably thinking of an action-adventure flick, or maybe a romantic comedy. Most probably wouldn’t want to have an Unsolved Mystery episode or crime drama about abuse, abduction and attempted murder made about their life, but for Teresa, a long-time resident of Rutherford County, that’s exactly what happened.
A paragon of resilience and survival, Teresa Ringer (formerly Teresa Stamper) has had to overcome the unthinkable since early childhood in order to live her life. I met with Teresa at Overflow Brews and Bakes over a slice of coffee cake to get to know her and hear her story. She brightened the room with her smile and positive energy, and I was struck when she immediately dove into stories of what she’s overcome.
Her story is one that many of us can only imagine.
Teresa claims to be one of the original women living in the woods of Murfreesboro. Having lived here for around 26 years, she feels she has watched the homeless community transform. She spoke very fondly of the early days in the area, with her friends Ponytail and Margarita, when there was some peace to sleeping outside.
As more and more homeless people moved into the area, however, Teresa found herself surrounded by strangers out in the woods and felt less and less safe. As a woman, she had to set booby-traps, often involving barbed-wire, to keep the men away from her tent at night. When potential attackers approached in the night, they would stumble over the booby traps, making sound, and alerting Teresa to be on her guard.
“Everybody knew not to be messing around Mama T’s campsite,” she said.
Teresa comes from a financially comfortable background, but there was nothing comfortable about the way she was raised. From the age of 2, Teresa was sexually abused by an uncle, and later abused by her grandmother. Her father physically abused her and her siblings, causing permanent developmental delays in her brother, with whom she maintained contact until his death.
After a whirlwind romance in her 20s, she married Paul Stamper, and again, life was not the fairy tale she hoped for. Paul began to abuse her soon after they married, but Teresa, then pregnant, found herself unable to divorce him, as Oklahoma law prevented expectant couples from divorcing. When her daughter was less than a year old, Paul’s violence towards them finally drove Teresa to escape, moving back in with her parents, and that’s when the nightmare featured in the Lifetime movie Crimes of Passion: Escape from Terror—The Teresa Stamper Story began.
After Teresa left Paul, she got a restraining order against him, but that did not stop him. He kidnapped her, shot her boyfriend, hired someone to kill her, and was eventually apprehended and sentenced to jail time. Not long after, he escaped and remained at large for years, leading to a feature about these events on an Unsolved Mysteries episode. Shortly after it was aired, however, several people called to turn in her estranged husband, who had been living under an alias. He did not escape prison a second time.
Around the time of these events, Teresa began to use drugs to deal with all the trauma she endured. Though she is clean now, the drugs she began to use at 25 maintained a grip over her life for years, leading her to sell the royalty rights to the movie based on her story.
The senseless death of one of her daughters during a carjacking led her to decide to get clean.
“I got really sad, and decided I was gonna get clean, for her. It don’t matter who you do it for, as long as you do it, and stick to it,” she said.
Her son, living in New York, helped Teresa get into a treatment center, where she got clean. She also received mental health counseling, and she enthusiastically talked about being able to connect to her upbringing as a child, and process now what she couldn’t process then. With gratitude, she talked about finally being able to heal from some of the trauma she’s experienced and credited a lot of her survival to her Christian faith.
“If I didn’t have Jesus I wouldn’t have made it in them woods,” Teresa said.
Douglass Berg, the owner of Overflow Brews and Bakes, has a heart for the homeless in the area, and has built that into how he conducts business with the Pay It Forward campaign. The campaign allows customers to purchase cinnamon rolls that directly go to local people struggling with homelessness. Its location on the Murfreesboro Public Square makes Overflow accessible for many of those struggling to come in and grab a muffin or a cup of coffee. Berg also supports the The Journey Home, a local nonprofit committed to caring for those without homes and helping them get back on their feet.
The Journey Home has worked with Teresa for years, and this year they were able to place her in an apartment. For the first time in a long time, she can sleep without setting booby traps, and she can bathe without fear of strangers watching. She has hope that she will continue to heal and grow in the coming years. She wants people to know that “most all homeless people have been done so wrong that they don’t wanna do nobody wrong.” She is no stranger to need or desperation and seems compassionate to those experiencing it.
She says what she wants next in life is to meet a great guy to do life with, a desire that probably resonates with many single people. Despite all she has endured and overcome, Teresa says she is confident that her next years will be good, and that the best is yet to come.
“I want people to know I’m a survivor!”
I have often wondered about this lady. She probably doesn’t remember me but we were in jail together many years ago. I am so happy to know she is well. She was a very interesting and kind person back then too. So glad to hear this.
Comment April 10, 2023 @ 6:57 pm
I am so proud of her and I was literally just thinking about this sweet lady the other day ❤️ I was incarcerated years ago with this beautiful soul. I too have a similar story and thank God everyday for saving me from those streets 8 years old.
Comment May 1, 2023 @ 9:26 am
I am so happy her life has paid it forward and you both have benefited. Sometimes we struggle to fill the gap for others. I am glad she found Jesus! Her efforts will be greatly rewarded!
Comment July 6, 2023 @ 3:53 pm
I’m just shocked at the similarities in our story for my abusive husband’s name was Paul and I’ve suffered from sexual abuse since I was 3 at the hands of my mother’s boyfriend and my closet brother. My mom was not a stable role model and I got caught up in drugs as an early teen and was severely abused by adult men for years before getting sober thanks to my high school sweetheart Mike and that’s were my karma began for not being fully open to receiving love from him and when we moved north I met my kids dad’s and my world forever changed after I had my first child and realized that I was done with the high life and wanted to be sober and raise my child but his dad wanted to use my past to fuel my addictions so he could use me and then after having my daughter I met Paul and my whole life turned inside out and upside down and I dropped the whole sober mom life to devote myself and my life to him because he was a narcissist and I because God had a plan for me and I lived with a fierceness that cannot be contained so wildly chaotic and passionate that I completely lost every part of myself trying to get out of it and it’s taken me almost 7 years to come to the conclusion that forgiveness is the ultimate act of love and allows God to work miracles in your life for humanity and is filled with moments that will wow you in ways you cannot fathom..I love because I am love being loved for loving .so beautiful
Comment July 9, 2023 @ 3:56 am
I’m very proud of Teresa. A lot of people would have given up after all that she had been through the suffering in the torture and sexual abuse. I’m glad you found Jesus I’m a Christian and people don’t realize how hard this life is and they need Jesus to help them through it. My heart is breaking right now my daughter has a son who’s in Los Angeles he was doing great there for the first 7 years and now this year the last 8 months he’s on the streets he’s homeless and he’s on drugs. He has a beautiful precious boy who will turn 4 years old in January. My daughter will be going to court in October I’ll be going with her to give her support to get custody of her grandchild and bring him back to Jacksonville Florida. I still pray for my grandson every single day and night he is a child of God and I know God is watching over him and protecting him and I’m praying that we can get him in a rehab very soon
Comment September 4, 2023 @ 9:51 pm
She been iny life. Her daughter was a great soul. So was her mother. Who wouldn’t grieve about loosing a child, I would
God bless you.
Comment December 24, 2023 @ 9:37 am
I recently watched the lifetime movie about T. She was so brave and now helping the homeless is so admirable. I live in OKC and my son is homeless. Nowbhe has a deadly inection from shooting drugs with the homeless. Im asking everyone to please pray for my son derek as tomortow he has a procedure on his heart. Im asking here on this site because im sure T. Had alot of ppl pray for her. Thank you
Comment February 13, 2024 @ 11:27 am
It is April 24, 2024. I live in Murfreesboro, TN, and yet again my early story was very similar to hers. Been on my own since I was 14, and let’s just say that was a very long time ago. I have 2 year old grandchild with me to pick up other grandkids. Grabbed a Happy Meal on the way for him, McD’s screwed up and gave me two. Oh, well, someone will eat it. So I parked in downtown Murfreesboro to pick up other two from drama rehearsals. Heard a small voice say excuse me, I missed dinner at the church, and I’m really hungry. I had no cash, but hey, extra Happy Meal. So we had an impromptu picnic on a downtown street corner with Teresa. She said she lives in Sarasota now, but came up for her third daughter’s funeral. She seemed well and happy as possible under the circumstances. God speed to a sweet soul!!!
Comment April 24, 2024 @ 9:06 pm
So brave I admire you and your family I have watched the lifetime movie so many times she is an inspiration a great soul sending love to you Teresa
Comment May 1, 2024 @ 5:10 pm
So nice to get caught up. I hope she knows other women send such nice thanks to her and comradery I guess you call it. It makes me feel less alone when another woman shares her struggle. I don’t say it well, but I mean well & just say thank you, take care!
Comment August 10, 2024 @ 3:41 pm
I just watched the Lifetime movie with my mom and I am so touched by Teresa and her story. She is truly resilient. I am praying that she is doing well and living a happy life.
Comment August 11, 2024 @ 7:17 pm
I knew of Teresa wham I was very young. My dad was a welder in the same shop that her dad worked in. I still remember the old 2 story house where they lived in Hennessey Ok with the old barn behind it. They had a black Shetland pony that I loved. I was never aware of all the evil going on there but I do remember my Mom not letting me out of her sight when we went over there. When her Dad Lee Walden died the old house was torn down and that property has bee developed. The big old elm trees still look the same though! If they could talk!!!!
Comment August 25, 2024 @ 4:47 pm
I’ve watched the lmn teresa stamper movie many times…it’s
a good one…interesting learning about her life…mike e
baltimore md
Comment August 27, 2024 @ 1:08 pm
I have seen Theresa’s story numerous times I pray for her and family the lord has blessed her for survival. She has a lot of strength to survive
Comment November 15, 2024 @ 3:52 pm
Aunt Teresa it’s me lil darl. I would love to hear from u. I live in Lakeland fla. I remember a lot of the Paul deal. But really I have been wanting to get ahold of u and talk and find out what happened to granny and lee. Or hell victor and even Joe my dad
Comment December 20, 2025 @ 6:49 am
I was in the same boat as you for over 15 years if it wasn’t for the officer saving my life I would be dead today long story short my home was burnt down I was beat more times than there are numbers in this world I was left for dead multiple times I was always afraid to press charges I would always call 911 but I was more scared of him than anything in this world I was afraid he was going to kill my mom my brother my sister and me his name was Jeffrey Wayne Barnett he is dead now I’m sorry to say this but I hope and pray he is splitting hell wide open but he probably isn’t because I don’t even think the devil could stand him but I ended up marrying the police officer we were married 27 wonderful years he saved my life that God took him home I’ve been single for 5 years now I met another wonderful man and I’ve been married since June of 2025 there are so many women and men out here that are abused you have to be strong they will always say I’ll never do it again I love you they always say you make me do it if a person ever puts their hands on you the first time that’s when to leave because there’s always going to be a second a third of fourth before you know it you’re in the triple digits of hundreds of times you’re laying there blood coming out of your body you don’t know if you’re going to get another breath I know what he sent my home on fire and burn It to the ground he thought I was there but I had left with a friend to go to the store but he didn’t know that he thought I was asleep in there him and his friend David pour gasoline all the way around the home headed across the roof at least the match there was no way out if I had been there my animals did die in the home I lost everything I had and I was still afraid of him I didn’t even leave him then I tried to stay in multiple shelters but he would always find me so like I say if they hit you once they will always hit you take it from a woman who lived it for over 15 years I was told what to wear how long to be gone so please if you’re a woman or a man and you’re being abused the first time they do it leave then the longer you wait the more control they will have over you and Teresa you’re a role model to so many women you are strong I have seen your story hundreds of times because mine is so much like yourplease I got pregnant he hit me in the stomach so hard that I lost my baby and was never able to get pregnant again again Teresa you are a role model God bless you and your beautiful family
Comment January 27, 2026 @ 6:55 am
I just watched the movie. It was very good. I’m glad Teresa is doing well.
Comment March 28, 2026 @ 10:45 pm