Jamila
Appearances
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
When the music stopped, the manager asked for her documents. When he saw she didn't have a work visa, he said she couldn't work there. But he told her there was another club down the way that might let her dance. He would tell them about her. The club was in a remote area, near the airport. As soon as Desiree got out of the car, the security guard opened the door and greeted her by name.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
So Desiree walked in. The place had seen better days. It had some old chairs scattered around, there were these posters that read NO GUNS plastered all over, and next to the main stage, there was a big can of Lysol spray, for the dancers to sanitize the pole. I went there for the story, and I gotta say, I've been to some sketchy places in my life, but this one was pretty grim.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
Desiree started working at that club the same day. Desiree still didn't know exactly what she was doing, but whatever she did seemed to be working. In just two weeks, she says she made almost $9,000. When they got back to the house, Jamila would watch Desiree and Kat count the money.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
Jamila wasn't sure how much Zach really knew, but Kat seemed to want to keep him close.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
Meanwhile, Kat was keeping Jamila busy too. Whenever she wasn't ferrying Desiree to the strip joint, there was always something else to do.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
By the time Jamila had been there for a month, she began to worry. Kat hadn't yet paid her a dime.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
Not what she had expected. And Kat's house in Leander wasn't what she expected either.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
After that, the atmosphere in the house became strained. Whenever Jamila was out of her room, Kat put on headphones and just ignored her.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
Eventually, Kat seemed to realize Jamila was not going to back down.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
The next morning, Jamila woke up and saw some cash by her bed.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
Jamila spent 42 days inside Kat's house. By the end of May 2022, she boarded a flight back to Boston. She could see now Kat was anything but her social media image.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
Jamila had escaped, relatively unharmed. But Desiree was on a different path. She was still in the house, still following Kat's every word, working day and night at the strip joint, handing over her earnings. What she didn't know was that Kat had one more test of her loyalty in store.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
Sure, the inside of Kat's house was not as luxurious as what Jamila had seen on Kat's feed when she posed with designer bags and a Ferrari. But what could she do?
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
Kat told Desiree she should be making at least a thousand dollars a day at the strip club. So Desiree kept working as much as she could. As she wrote in her book, she would sometimes go hours without eating or drinking at the strip club because going out to eat could mean the loss of a potential customer. But even then, sometimes it was just impossible to meet Kat's target.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
Another night, Desiree only brought home $100, because a nearby place had a drink special that made all the customers go there. And Kat's response was very much on brand for what we know about Kat and her obsession with money.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
The following day, Desiree did her best to stay quiet. As she iced her feet, swollen from long hours of dancing, Kat came over and said, You know you don't have to keep working at the club if you start going out with the guys instead, right? According to her book, Desiree's reaction was immediate. It was out of the question. This time, Kat didn't push her.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
The suggestion hung in the air between them. As the weeks went by, things got even worse for Desiree. Desiree's legs and feet hurt so much that she had to take painkillers. She also was drinking to get through the long days. Things at the club were pretty rough. There were fights between the strippers, and one night someone even pulled out a gun and shot a customer.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
Soon, Kat told Jamila that someone else was coming to live with them.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
On another night, she wrote that she felt her arms begin to tingle and her vision go blurry. She realized she had been drugged. She was sent home to sleep it off and was back to work shortly after. Then, one morning in June, Desiree downed a shot of tequila and walked toward the stage. At the end of her song, a client flagged her down and they went to the champagne room.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
He asked Desiree how much she would charge to go out with him. Desiree knew he meant sex. She remembered what Kat had said.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
The next morning, on the way to meet this guy, Desiree's mind was bracing. Could she get out if she needed to? What if the condom broke? And what if he was an undercover cop? An hour later, it was over. She stood in the shower and burst into tears. But when Kat found out Desiree had sold sex, Kat's reaction was very different. She promised good times were coming.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
Tessira's life was upside down, but she kept going, imagining the reward Kat had promised her for them to own a business together. And soon, Desiree's escort work started bringing in some serious money. Through the escort site, Desiree had met rich and powerful clients. Bankers, Hollywood producers, athletes, doctors.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
Her goal, as she wrote in her book, was to rip every penny out of their wallets. By the end of July, less than a couple months after she started seeing clients, Desiree said she had made more than $150,000. By October, a million. And just to note, we haven't been able to verify how much money Desiree really made.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
But we do know that Kat was spending cash lavishly on trips with Zach to New York and Las Vegas, on five-star hotels, designer clothes, and her Instagram lifestyle. But Kat still wanted more. Desiree writes in her book that Kat came up with a new plan for her. One of her clients turned out to be a very wealthy man, so Kat told Desiree to stop using contraception.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
Desiree went to the doctor and she had her IUD removed. It left her in a lot of pain. The doctor told her to avoid sex for a while, but Kat insisted that Desiree keep sleeping with her clients. And the pain got worse. Eventually, Desiree had to go to the hospital. And the doctors there told her she had an infection.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
Even during all of this, Desiree says Kat only let her take a break from escort work for two days. There would be no break from stripping. There was a constant battle inside Desiree's head. She was so angry. She resented Kat.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
She still truly believed that higher powers had put Kat in her path, that Kat was leading her to a more prosperous life. One afternoon, Desiree was getting out of the shower during a session with a client. She went to check her phone and saw that she had several missed calls from Kat. When she called her back, Kat broke the news to her. Desiree's profile on the escort site had been discovered.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
Jamila was just there to work. She wasn't going to pick battles over Kat's weird house rules. What Jamila didn't know was that soon she'd be doing a lot more than a bit of yoga and helping around the house. Because Kat had plans for her new housemates. Plans that went far beyond what they had signed up for.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
Desiree's secret was all over Instagram. Her biggest fear had come true. And Desiree wasn't the only one who had been exposed. Leticia's escort profile had also been found. Not by one or two people, but by thousands. By people who were following the search for the missing women. And Kat tried to reassure her, but Desiree wasn't convinced. She felt trapped.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
After the escort sites made headline news in Brazil, the searching for Desiree Instagram page went viral. Internet sleuths tracked down Kat's address. People in Brazil and in the U.S. started calling the police in Texas. Even complete strangers who didn't know the women at all.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
It was time for the police to pay Kat a visit. Follow Don't Cross Cat on the Wondery app, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or Apple Podcasts. Before you go, tell us about yourself by completing a short survey at wondery.com slash survey.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
If you have a tip about a story you think we should investigate, please write to us at wondery.com slash tips. From Wondery, this is episode four of six of Don't Cross Cat. Don't Cross Cat is hosted and reported by me, Chico Felitti. Producer is Andres Caballero. Senior producer is Fernanda Echavarri. Associate producers are Giovanna Romano-Sanchez and Otavio Bonfá.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
Additional production assistance by Beatriz Trevisa. Fact-checking by Zoe Sullivan. Voice acting by Mariana Goulart and Domingas Persson. Theme song by Mariana Romano. Sound design by Stephanie Lebeau and Jacob Rossati. Additional mixing by Julia Caruso and JJ Carubin. Sound supervisor is Marcelino Vialpondo. Project manager is Nancy Trujillo.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
And supervising senior production manager is Jessica Ellis. Managing producer is Heather Baloga. Development producer is Olivia Weber. Senior development editor is Rachel B. Doyle. Production services by Futuro Studios. Executive producers for Futuro Studios are Marlon Bishop and Maria Garcia. Executive producers for Wondery are Russell Finch, George Lavender, Marshall Lewy, and Jen Sargent.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
From Wondery, I'm Chico Felitti, and this is Don't Cross Cat, Episode 4, Inside Cat's House. To Desiree, Cat was her spiritual mentor, a guiding light of sorts. Desiree later wrote about her experiences with Kat in a book. In it, she described how she had first discovered her in 2016. She signed up to her website, paid for coaching sessions.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
She even began to explore the world of witchcraft that Kat talked so much about. After all, everything seemed to work out for Kat. Every time Desiree had a one-on-one session with her, Kat's life seemed just perfect. Until one day, Kat called Desiree out of the blue. She was upset. Very upset. She told Desiree she'd been having suicidal thoughts.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
It was a warm, bright April day in 2022. A patchwork of scrubland and suburban housing sprawled out beneath the plain as it began its final descent into Dallas. Inside, Jamila, a woman in her early 30s, crammed to see out the window. She had never been to Texas before.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
She wanted Desiree to come to Texas and stay with her for a while. Desiree had noticed Kat acting strangely lately. It hadn't been long since Kat had gotten angry with her over the whole Russian kidnapping thing. But before Desiree could say anything, Kat booked her a flight. It was due to leave in less than 12 hours. Desiree rushed to pack her bags.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
It wasn't something she expected, but she was worried about Kat. Besides, it was a chance to see her idol in person. Your attention, please.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
A few hours later, Desiree was on a plane to Texas. She could barely sleep during the flight. And when she landed, Kat was there, waiting for her. In her book, Desiree still sounds in awe of that first meeting. And her words are spoken by an actor.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
Kat took Desiree to the house in Leander and gave her the tour. Kat's bedroom was a master suite. Desiree's was the smallest in the house. Soon after, Kat posted a message, introducing her new housemates. Meet the witches who work for you. There was Jamila, who'd come from Boston. Leticia, the young woman whose parents were looking for her in Brazil. And now, Desiree.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
It was this boast that had shocked Desiree's friend, Patty. But it seemed Patty wasn't the only one who was alarmed. According to her book, the whole thing was news to Desiree as well. She said she felt uncomfortable. She had come to Texas to help her friends through a tough time, not to join a witch's coven. It seemed she didn't want to make a big deal out of it, though.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
In the beginning, things felt relatively normal inside Kat's house. Jamila said that Kat's husband bought groceries and gradually they all began to settle into the big empty home. And sometimes the women went out with Kat and her husband, Zach.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
At home, Kat focused on making videos about how to manifest your dream life with magic and witchcraft. She told her followers she could turn them all into millionaires. And she wanted to make herself a millionaire in the process, with the money of her followers, of course. She told Jamila she had a new plan to do it.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
Kat told Jamila that she had a client who wanted to get back with her boyfriend. So she was coming to Texas in person to take part in Kat's spiritual rituals. Kat warned Jamila she was not to speak to the guest about anything unless it was spiritual.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
So when the client got there, Jamila wasn't sure what to do.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
While Kat left all the teaching to Jamila, Kat went shopping. She went out and bought a ton of furniture for the house. After one shopping trip, the client came and spoke to Jamila.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
By the way, Jamila asked not to use her last name, and her words are spoken by an actor. Up to now, she had been living in Boston, teaching yoga. But after she split up with her partner, money had gotten tight.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
Kat's guests seemed to be feeling a little taken for granted.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
When the client finally had a word with Kat, Jamila heard a commotion.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
Kat had taken the guest's money and thrown her out on the street.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
That first client wasn't the last. One follower came all the way from Germany, another one from a remote city in the Amazon. And Jamila was there to help Kat prepare the rituals.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
Even with the alien bats and the high-rolling clients, Kat still seemed eager for more cash. In fact, she hinted at yet another money-making plan. On one of the first nights that Cyria was there, Kat began talking to her about her appearance. She said good looks weren't something everyone was born with. That she should use her beauty to her advantage. And there was an easy way to do it. Stripping.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
In her book, Desiree says she was shocked to hear her mentor even suggest it.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
But Kat wasn't put off. She told Desiree how much money she had already spent on her. Like the flight, the food, the furniture for her room. So she owed her the money. And if she didn't pay, she would put a curse on her. Desiree believed Kat. She was convinced she was powerful. But as she hesitated, Kat changed her tone. She told her the money wouldn't just pay off her debts. She could invest it.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
They could use it to start a new wellness business together. Desiree felt conflicted. Owning her own business would be a dream come true, especially with her mentor, Kat. Is it just dancing I'd be doing? said Desiree. Kat laughed and said, yeah, just dancing. Later Kat spoke with Jamila. She had a favor to ask.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
That was when she'd seen Kat's livestream on Instagram. Usually, Kat's posts were all about her glamorous life, living the American dream. But this one was different. She was looking for help. She wanted people to go live with her in Texas. To Jamila, it felt like a lifeline. As soon as the wheels touched down, Jamila turned on her cell. A new message popped up.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
The next morning, Desiree got in the car with Jamila. Her hands were trembling the whole ride. When she got to the strip club, she found herself in a dark place with loud music, full of young women walking around serving drinks. A man approached her and asked if she was there for the audition. She said she was, and he directed her to sit down with the other girls.
Guru: Don't Cross Kat
Inside Kat's House | 4
When it was her turn, Desiree climbed up onto the stage. She ran her hand through her hair and forced a smile. She began to dance. The club manager watched her squirm around the stage, trying to look seductive. The opposite of how Desiree was really feeling.