Don’t Pick Up the Phone: What happened to Louise Ogborn?

Don’t Pick Up the Phone is a chilling three-part docuseries examining a widespread strip-search phone call scam that occurred from 1994 to 2004. While there were hundreds of hoax calls during that time, dozens actually turned into traumatic instances where the caller coerced managers and employees to perform illegal strip searches on their employees or customers based on fake intel.

The documentary series examines this bizarre situation and a couple of specific cases, such as Louise Ogborn. Ogborn was just 18 when she was sexually assaulted by her manager’s fiancé and unlawfully imprisoned at the McDonald’s where she worked, all at the behest of an anonymous caller who was impersonating a police officer. This incident occurred in Mount Washington, Kentucky, in April 2004 and led at least one detective, Buddy Stump, to uncover a much larger problem.

Don’t Pick Up the Phone: What happened to Louise Ogborn?

Louise Ogborn sought $200 million in damages from McDonald’s for alleging that they did not give employees enough warning and training regarding the hoax calls. A trial found that McDonald’s had reportedly received several similar hoax calls before the 2004 Mount Washington incident and did not warn employees. These hoaxes had occurred at various fast-food franchises across the country since 1994.

In 2006, a Kentucky jury awarded Ogborn $6.1 million in damages, $1.1 million for compensatory damages, and $5 million in punitive.

Don’t Pick Up the Phone: What happened to Donna Summers?

Donna Summers filed an Alford plea, a type of plea where the defendant maintains their innocence but acknowledges the jury is likely to find them guilty due to the evidence. She pled guilty and received a misdemeanor resulting in a year’s probation. Summers was also fired from McDonald’s.

Like Ogborn, Summers sued McDonald’s and received $1.1 million, but that amount was reduced to $400,000 on appeal in 2009. While Summers received less money, the jury voted to uphold Ogborn’s $6.1 million award, per Wave 3 News.

Don’t Pick Up the Phone: What happened to Walter Nix?

In March 2006, Walter Nix, Summer’s then-fiancé who assaulted Ogborn after listening to the caller, was sentenced to five years in a state petitionary after pleading guilty to charges of sexual abuse, sexual misconduct, and unlawful imprisonment. He is out of prison now.

Don’t Pick Up the Phone is now streaming on Netflix.