Latest news with #stalking
Washington Post
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
After Minnesota shootings, young lawmakers ask: Is politics worth it?
Greg Scott entered elected office in Pennsylvania at 28, full of optimism. Ten years later, he's full of fear. A stalker left a dummy with a noose and racial slurs hanging above his parking spot. He's received threatening emails and social media posts. And he's watched with horror as fellow elected officials have been attacked and killed.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Stalker admits going to Cheryl Tweedy's home again
A man who stalked Cheryl Tweedy has admitted breaching a restraining order after turning up at her home again. Daniel Bannister, 50, pleaded guilty to a single charge at Reading Magistrates' Court, was remanded in custody, and is due to appear there again on 23 September. He had already twice been jailed for targeting the Girls Aloud singer at her home, in the Chalfonts area of Buckinghamshire, and was most recently sentenced to 16 weeks in March. At the time, she said she "immediately panicked" and "feared for my safety" after seeing him on a security camera. The court said the charge against Bannister stated he attended an address where he "reasonably believed or reasonably suspected" Tweedy to be residing. He had been given a restraining order for turning up in January last year and saying "it's Daniel, I've come to get Cheryl" and then returning in July asking for a glass of wine. He was given a four-month jail term in September for the initial offences. After showing up in December, he admitted harassment and the breach and attempted breach of his restraining order, and was sentenced to 16 weeks in March. The December incident took place three weeks after Tweedy attended the funeral of One Direction star Liam Payne in Amersham in Buckinghamshire. The pair had had a child together but had split up. Payne died after falling from a balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in October. In an unrelated case, Bannister had also been jailed for killing Rajendra Patel, 48, at a south London YMCA homeless shelter in 2012. Mr Patel died 15 days after he was attacked in Croydon on 21 February that year. He died of a pulmonary thromboembolism in hospital, where he was being treated for bruising and swelling to the left side of his face, a broken nose and a fractured ankle. Bannister admitted manslaughter and was jailed for two and a half years at Kingston Crown Court. Man who stalked Cheryl Tweedy jailed for 16 weeks Man who harassed Cheryl must wait for sentence Charges against Liam Payne's friend dropped Girls Aloud reveal 'magical' reunion tour Cheryl's baby name inspires social jokers HM Courts & Tribunals Service
Daily Mail
10 hours ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE A fatal mistake that led to bloody murder of a young mother: How wannabe influencer tracked down his wife who was in hiding... before slaughtering her in the street
A wannabe influencer who callously murdered his wife as she pushed their baby in his pram abused his social media knowhow to exploit a fatal error after she fled his violent, controlling behaviour. Tech-savvy Habibur Masum appeared to be embracing life in Britain after moving from Bangladesh to study for a masters in digital marketing in 2022. But behind closed doors he was an aggressive bully who had already confessed to a doctor that he felt like killing Kulsuma Akter. He subjected her to a campaign of abuse, banning her from wearing make-up or even drinking tea. In November 2023 the obsessive former marketing student flew into a rage over an innocuous text message the 27-year-old had received from a bakery colleague asking if she was working. Chillingly he warned her: 'I am going to murder you, and the police will be taking me' Consumed by unfounded jealousy, Masum held a knife to her throat as she clutched their newborn child in a desperate act of self-preservation. After a worried relative called police, he was arrested and charged with assault and making threats to kill. But despite a Crown Prosecution Service lawyer urging magistrates to lock him up on remand, he was granted bail on condition he stayed away from Ms Akter and their Oldham home. Fearing for her life, Ms Akter and the couple's baby son were given sanctuary at a refuge in a secret location. A furious Masum vowed to track her down, taking sinister advantage of his digital skills to stalk and then fatally dupe her online. First he took advantage of her failure to switch off the location on her Snapchat account to establish she was living in Bradford. Ms Akter reported the new death threats to police, and arrangements were put in place to rehouse her. Meanwhile after taunting her that he had found the refuge, Masum laid a false trail to trick her into believing he was on holiday in Spain. Believing it was safe to take their son out amongst the Saturday afternoon shoppers on April 6 last year, to her horror Ms Akter - who was due to be rehomed for her own safety two days later - was instead confronted by Masum. In a brazen daylight attack of barbaric ferocity which shocked the nation he repeatedly plunged the blade into his screaming partner, stabbing her more than 25 times before slitting her throat. The killer was filmed dancing at an event in a TikTok video shared last year After the 'cold-blooded' killing, callous Masum was captured on CCTV grinning as he boarded a bus to make his escape, having left his wife for dead and abandoning their baby in the street. Police launched a manhunt and Masum - who had shaved off his beard - was traced two days later after seeking treatment for 'lockjaw' 170 miles away at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire. Masum, 26, pleaded guilty to his wife's manslaughter and possession of a bladed article earlier this month but denied murder on the grounds he had lost control. But yesterday a jury at Bradford Crown Court unanimously convicted him of murder after deliberating for less than six hours. Masum - who was also found guilty of stalking, assault and threats to kill - wiped away tears in the dock before being remanded back into custody ahead of his sentencing. Despite two police forces being made aware of the threats Ms Akter had been receiving, a probe by the Independent Office for Police Conduct found there had been no breach of professional standards. But campaigners said her brutal killing could have been prevented, saying the latest example of a woman murdered by her abusive partner once again underlined the need for change. 'Her death was preventable, and the loss of Kulsuma is a stark reminder of the deadly consequences of honour-based abuse and coercive control,' a spokeswoman for charity Karma Nirvana said. A mugshot issued by West Yorkshire Police as they launched a manhunt for Masum following Ms Akter's brutal murder in April 2024 - while on the run he shaved off his beard in a vain bid to avoid capture 'We must do more to protect women like her.' The organisation - which helps victims of honour-based violence - said her tragic killing was a 'stark reminder' of the need to give greater protection to those fleeing abuse. Bradford West Labour MP Naz Shah said violence against women was 'a cancer that needs eradicating'. 'Kulsuma came to Bradford trying to find safety and her attacker found her,' she told the BBC. 'To keep women safe we need to change the culture of misogyny and domestic violence.' With his slick social media skills and confident persona, Masum had appeared to be embracing life in Britain. Growing up in the city of Sylhet, Masum is understood to have studied English literature in Bangladesh, working for a wedding planning firm and as a content writer for a digital marketing agency. In 2022 the self-styled 'adventure lover' began studying for a masters in digital marketing at the University of Bedfordshire, sharing vlogs about life in the UK. One shows him admiring the wide range of Bangladesh-made clothes in Primark before trying on a range of winter jumpers. In another, Masum is seen filming himself as snow falls, warning his paltry 14 YouTube subscribers not too 'stay out in the cold too long' as they could get chest problems. Masum studied for a masters in digital marketing at the University of Bedfordshire before working for a creative marketing agency In further clips he looks every inch the proud dad, including one to his 4,300 Facebook followers on how to prepare a hospital bag for 'your newborn baby'. Yet behind the carefully crafted image, Masum was a violent and possessive bully who controlled and terrorised Ms Akter, who had followed him from Bangladesh and spoke little English. More than a year before murdering her, Masum had told a doctor he 'felt like he would kill her'. He stopped her from wearing make-up and would check her phone to see who she had been talking to, relatives said. Ms Akter had to ask permission from her husband before going out and even stopped her drinking tea, because he didn't like the drink. During one argument he divorced her under Islamic law by 'saying it out loud three times', but later said she was confused and he had only said it twice, his trial heard. In July 2023 - shortly before their son was born - she went to stay with her brother because of Masum's controlling behaviour, leading him to threaten to harm himself with a knife. She later returned to the flat, with Masum posting photographs of himself cradling their newborn son. But things 'got worse after the baby was born', her sister-in-law Minara Begum said. It culminated in the jealous rage which would see Masum charged with making threats to kill. Turning his tech knowhow to the most sinister use imaginable, Masum established where she had sought sanctuary via the location on her Snapchat account. On April 2 she showed her social worker a Snapchat message he had sent showing an image of the refuge. With it he had written: 'If I had any wish to kill you, I could have from the first day. 'You do not know what you have lost but one day you will understand. 'Nobody will love you like I do.' Then just over a week before the murder he had shared a video on his YouTube channel, vlogging his trip from Manchester to Barcelona. In reality the clip was part of a sinister scheme to trick Ms Akter into believing he was out of the country and that she would be safe to carry on with daily life. Her killing has left her grieving family back in Bangladesh 'completely devastated' and struggling to comprehend how she had been taken from them in such brutal fashion halfway around the world. Her cousin, Aftab Miah, told the Daily Mail that Ms Akter – the youngest of five siblings – was 'a lovely girl and had a great personality'. 'She was always smiling and liked to make people laugh.' Detective Chief Inspector Stacey Atkinson of West Yorkshire Police said: 'Kulsuma suffered a brutal attack in broad daylight whilst her baby son was in his pram. 'Masum carried out the murder then calmly walked away as if nothing had happened.' IOPC director Emily Barry said: 'This was a harrowing case which caused widespread understandable concern. 'It was appropriate we carried out a thorough investigation into the relevant contact between police and Ms Akter.'
Daily Mail
10 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Police chief, 48, reveals how she 'jumps if the doorbell goes' after 80-year-old man plagued her with stalking ordeal
A Met Police chief has told of her stalking hell at the hands of an 80-year-old man and says she now 'jumps when the doorbell goes'. Assistant Commissioner Pippa Mills said the impact of being harassed by Richard Jackson now gives her 'sleepless nights'. Jackson appeared at Worcester Magistrates' Court on Thursday after he was charged with stalking. Miss Mills, 48, told the court the pensioner first targeted her when she was Chief Constable of West Mercia Police between 2021 and 2023. The court heard Jackson had also loitered outside New Scotland Yard, when she became a Met Assistant Commissioner in 2024. During this time Jackson bombarded her with emails and messages. Colin Le Roux, prosecuting, said: 'He has no reason to email Miss Mills.' 'He has attended New Scotland Yard on two occasions.' The court heard that Jackson was angry with West Mercia Police about an event in 2004, before Miss Mills had joined the force. In a victim impact statement read out in court, Miss Mills said: 'It is literally giving me sleepless nights. 'I dread walking from the station to New Scotland Yard and back in the evening. I'm hyper vigilant. 'This has had a big impact on my lifestyle including me feeling unsafe in my home in case he finds out where I live. 'I jump if the doorbell goes.' Miss Mills said that she considered herself a 'very resilient police officer' but added: 'It feels very personal.' She added: 'I feel it would not be happening in these circumstances to a male colleague.' Chairman of the bench, Tim Hazell, slapped Jackson with a two-year Stalking Protection Order. Under the order, Jackson is banned from attending New Scotland Yard unless he has a pre-arranged appointment and cannot contact Miss Mills. Jackson has previously been handed an anti-social behaviour order for assaulting a neighbour following an 18-year dispute. He also regularly appeared outside courts wearing a placard accusing police of corruption.
The Sun
11 hours ago
- The Sun
‘Nightmare neighbour' arrested for posting smoke bombs and throwing eggs is found with sick pictures of children
A MAN dubbed a "nightmare neighbour" by police for posting smoke bombs and throwing eggs was found with sick pictures of children after being arrested. Andrew Wilson, 53, from Lichfield, Staffordshire, was jailed for multiple offences on June 19 at Stafford Crown Court. 1 Wilson was jailed after cutting off his neighbour's internet access and throwing smoke bombs and eggs. Staffordshire Police said Wilson had taken a dislike to his neighbour merely because they had a dog who they would play with in the garden. When officers arrested him he was then found with indecent images of children on his device. Police said he put smoke bombs through his neighbour's letterbox, threatened them with a baseball bat and cut off their internet access as part of the dispute. Wilson was jailed for two years and four months after admitting multiple offences. This included two counts of stalking involving alarm and distress which involved him throwing stones, smoke bombs and eggs at a neighbour. This is in addition to threatening them with the baseball bat and interfering with their wi-fi and CCTV cameras. Wilson also admitted to three counts of making an indecent photograph of a child relating to category A, B and C images. As part of his sentence, Wilson was handed a sexual harm prevention order and a notification order for ten years. He was made the subject of a restraining order indefinitely. Wilson was ordered to forfeit the internet tampering device and mobile phone to police as well as pay a victim surcharge of £228. An officer who lead the case from Lichfield local policing team, said: 'Wilson's conviction and sentence sends a clear message that those who engage in such disturbing and harmful behaviour will be prosecuted and brought to justice. "The safety and wellbeing of our community is our absolute priority, and we remain committed to protecting residents from those who pose a threat - whether through stalking or any other form of abuse. "We continue to work closely with partner agencies to support victims and ensure Lichfield remains a safe place for everyone.'
