One person’s cellmate is another person’s soulmate.
A Swiss citizen reportedly has become engaged to a US prisoner after spending just three hours together.
Kim Eichenberger, who hails from Gebenstorf, Switzerland, said she connected with William McCarty on WriteAPrisoner.com — a website facilitating pen pal relationships with American inmates.
“I’ve always found criminals very interesting,” Eichenberger admitted in an interview with Central European News (CEN).
“That’s why I wrote to William,” she further explained. “He’s been a criminal all his life. He grew up in difficult circumstances and dealt drugs.”
McCarty is currently serving time for drug offenses at a correctional facility in California and is set for release in October 2023.
After exchanging several letters, Eichenberger realized she was falling for the felon and decided to fly to the US to visit him behind bars.
During their first — and only — 3-hour meeting, McCarty popped the question to Eichenberger as prison guards watched on.
“It felt very strange, but it was also very beautiful,” the lovestruck Swiss woman swooned about the surprise — and supervised — proposal.
However, the smitten blond may have also committed a crime before meeting her man, claiming to CEN that she cut some corners in order to see McCarty in the flesh.
“In order to meet, you have to request a permit that proves you’ve known each other for two years or more,” she stated, adding that she had not known her prisoner paramour for that long.
“It sounds stupid and it’s not really my style, but you have to sneak your way through it.”
A now-engaged Eichenberger — who is a popular gamer on Twitch — says any white lie was worth it.
She and McCarty are now planning for a life together in Idaho, and she has already applied for a US visa.
“My goal is that by the time he gets out of jail, I’ll be there,” she declared.
In the meantime, Eichenberger is back in Switzerland and still speaks to her incarcerated beau over the phone.
“He gives me extreme mental support,” she cooed. “Without him, I wouldn’t know where I would be now.”
WriteAPrisoner.com reportedly was set up to aid with prisoner rehabilitation and lessen the likelihood of a jailbird’s re-offending after release.
According to the site, “decades of research have shown that maintaining contact with the outside world supports the mental health and emotional well-being of inmates. In addition to more positive attitudes and a reduction in recidivism for those who engage in regular communication, society at large benefits. Inmates that maintain positive relationships during incarceration are better equipped to interact with family members, employers, and others upon release.”
Meanwhile, Eichenberger isn’t the only European woman to fall for an American criminal currently behind bars.
Last December, British woman Gemma Morgan, 31, tied the knot with convicted rapist Leonel Vasquez, 31, inside a Virginia prison — less than two years after they began exchanging messages online.