This program me contains strong language, discussions of suicide
and descriptions of stalking that some viewers may find upsetting
Megan, she's always said she likes animals better than people.
She had her first baby very young,
and she thought that that was the end of her going to college.
But she used her second maternity to do her veterinary.
She put everything into everything she did.
She met Dan in the town square in Peterborough.
The kids were playing and he asked her out.
He seemed happy and bouncy and like an overgrown puppy.
That's how I would describe him.
They moved in together after six, seven months
and it just sort of went from there.
But really didn't see it coming.
It's crucial that we find the truth.
Police! Police!
Hands behind your back.
You've got to question everything.
Believe nobody.
It's almost a game of chess,
try and get them to slip up.
This is your opportunity to talk to me.
PHONE RINGS
Cambridgeshire Police emergency,
how may we help you?
Hi, um, this is going to sound really odd,
but I had a message from someone on Snapchat
saying that they've killed their ex-partner
and they want me to ring the police for them,
and they've given me an address to where they are.
The only thing I have is their Snapchat name is AuthenticDan.
AuthenticDan? Dan, yeah. Dan, as in Daniel.
Yeah.
It's a really odd situation.
OK, well, that's absolutely fine.
I'll get them to send somebody out immediately, OK?
Do you want me to call ambulance? What's his name?
Cambridgeshire Police immediately dispatch two response cars
and one Taser unit following the report
that a man has killed his ex-partner. KNOCK ON DOOR
Turn and face the stairs for me
and keep your hands where I can see them.
Just stay there where you are.
Keep your hands where I can see them. Yeah, sorry. Come in. OK?
My colleague is going to approach you.
She's going to put handcuffs on you.
Handcuffs?
Stay where you are. Right, put your hands there.
What for? Put your arms behind your back.
Who else is in the property? just me and the clogs.
OK. What's going on?
Keep your hands there. Don't make any sudden movements.
Right, we need to check this property,
because there's been a message sent saying that you've killed somebody.
What?! That's the information we've got,
so we need to pop them out an explanation. What?! Killed who?
Killed who? Is it Dan, is it?
Yeah, Dan? Yeah, what's...? Sorry, guys. What's going on?
Right, once my colleague has searched the property...
Well, can I turn around and sit down, if possible?
Yeah. Please? Is that all right?
So can you just say that again?
So we've had a message to say that someone in this address
has killed their ex-partner.
Are you...? Are you taking the piss?
No, we don't take the piss.
Like, we don't come to the door with Tasers for a joke.
We need to investigate. No, no, no worries.
No worries, like this.
Can I call her? Cos that's my ex-partner.
What's her name? We've literally...
Look... What's her name? Megan.
Look, we've literally just broke up.
So you've broken up with your ex-partner?
I'm still living here till I move out.
So you're still living here? And she's at work at the minute?
Yes.
My heart is going, man.
PHONE RINGS
Good afternoon. How can I help? Can I speak to Megan, please?
It's urgent. OFFICER: Who's that?
His partner. ON PHONE: Can I ask who's calling?
No, I just need to speak to Megan asap, please.
Hello, is that Megan? MEGAN: Yes!
Are you alive?
I'm at work. Oh, you're...
I've got four police officers here.
Apparently someone's called them saying that I've murdered you.
What are you on about? I'm at work. What am I on about?
Speak... What's your name? Jill. Speak to her.
Hi, Megan. We've had a call to say that someone here
may have hurt their ex-partner.
Yeah, this is me. I'm absolutely fine.
I've been at work all clay.
All right, then, really sorry to disturb you at work.
I'm just glad you're all right.
Yeah, no, no, I'm fine. I'm fine, thank you.
No worries. Bye. Bye-bye.
Hello, this is Cambridgeshire Police.
Well, basically, I'm at home, yeah,
and I got a request on Snapchat
from a girl from Peterborough, yeah...
Right. "telling me that she needs my help
and she stabbed and killed her ex-partner.
I thought she was lying.
Yeah. But she just sent me a picture...
...of someone on the floor with blood all around them
and it looks very real.
Her name's Megan.
She said this guy's been dead for hours.
I'm going to get some help organised for you.
Just stay on the phone.
OK, Oscar one.
Go ahead.
I have requested ambulance.
So, just to confirm,
how many people are hurt?
We don't know.
We're thinking it's potentially going to be a male
named Daniel Dugdale.
Is there any serious bleeding?
Yes, yes.
Five response officers, an armed vehicle
and three ambulances are deployed.
RADIO BEEPS
just for your information on arrival,
house is all in darkness at the moment.
Just putting a knock in now.
KNOCK ON DOOR
Hello, Megan? I'm Megan. Megan. Hi, Megan.
It's armed police.
I'm going to be perfectly frank with you.
We've had information that you've potentially stabbed someone.
Is there anyone else here at the moment?
My children are sleeping upstairs. just your children.
So if you're happy, we'll come in.
There was a call about another address.
With your Snapchat stuff...
That's not my Snapchat. It's not yours?
It's not mine. Right, OK.
So, yesterday they created two,
but they'd used my email for one and my phone number for another.
Have you fallen out with anyone recently, like ex-partners?
No, like, I keep myself to myself.
Well, I split up with my ex,
but he's apparently also being attacked in this, so...
Yeah, just confirm we've got Megan,
and her kids are fast asleep upstairs.
We're talking to her now, but certainly no-one's been stabbed.
We've searched the house.
All right, thanks very much.
All right, cheers.
Police conduct a welfare check on the ex-partner,
who has recently moved to a new address.
What was his name? Daniel.
Daniel?
Oh, hello. Hello. I'm looking for someone called Daniel.
We're here because, allegedly, you've been stabbed, so...
You got badges?
I need proof of who you are.
Our ID cards? Yes, please.
Yeah, yeah, that's all right. What's been going on?
That's my warrant card. Got my warrant card there.
And that one? Yep.
Who called you? I have no idea. No, can you call...?
I'm guessing are your officers at Megan's?
Just to make sure she's all right. We've literally just come from...
Yeah, we've just come from there. Yeah.
I should explain what's been going on.
So, what are they doing? Snapchatting you
or messaging you or...?
It's gone from, so, what, two weeks ago now
they put a post up that I committed suicide.
Right. Ancl this is on...?
Facebook, Snapchat, emails, fucking you name it, it's on them.
Right, yeah, right. It's too much for me.
It's getting too much, all right. It's too much.
Like, I can't... I don't sleep, I don't eat,
I don't drink because all this shit,
it's getting to the point where I'm too scared to walk to work.
Mm.
Oh, look, a random click pic they sent us.
Yeah. Thanks, guys.
How did they send that?
Er... Facebook.
Oh, it's obviously difficult when it's all online.
You're fine, but we now need to get to the bottom
of all of this crap that's going on, isn't it? You're telling me.
I know, I know, yeah.
Engaging with Daniel now, we're standing down ambulance.
He certainly doesn't need their requirements.
Life is hard as it is.
I've had anxiety attacks quite a lot.
I shake.
I'm scared that someone's going to kill me.
I can be sat in a room full of people,
you don't know what A, B, C person is going to do to you.
How are you meant to go out with friends
when you feel like that?
When you feel like everyone's against you?
You never know when it's going to attack you, really.
Ancl that's the scariest thing about it.
Normally when you get given an investigation,
you have a suspect,
like most people know who it is that they're accusing of a crime,
so it adds a whole other layer
that you're dealing with an unknown.
You don't know who they are,
you don't know what they're capable of.
Hello. Hello, Megan? It's DC Richardson calling.
Hi. I'm just wondering if you'd be able to come in Tuesday
to get your phone downloaded.
I suppose it's the boy who cried wolf.
You know, they could have reported a hoax call three times,
the next one could be real. Yeah, you never know.
PHONE RINGS
Good evening, Cambridgeshire Police. How can we help?
Just I've had a very strange message
that's got me quite freaked out from someone I don't even know.
"I've just murdered my kids and ex."
Right, OK. Where is this?
What's the address?
We're here. Yeah.
So when was the last time this happened?
Who do you think it is, sorry?
Oh, you don't know?
MEGAN: Cheers.
KNOCK ON DOOR
Police.
Hello, Megan?
You all right?
Hello, come in.
Yes, please.
Hello. You're not going out to play.
Oh, thank you.
It must be very frustrating for you. Yeah.
Fair enough. We'll get out your way.
Sorry about that. Thank you.
KNOCK ON DOOR Are you...?
We had a call from web chat
and it's just saying that you've killed the kids.
Can you call her on video? Yeah.
You don't know who's doing it, do you? No.
PHONE RINGS Hi.
Hi, can the police see the children? Hello.
Well, apparently I've killed them, so they need to see them.
Yeah.
I'm just constantly worried about her safety.
30 miles away doesn't sound long,
but if anything happens, I can't be there quick.
I can't get there quickly.
It's out of your control,
and because you don't know who it is...
If you know it's a certain person doing a certain thing,
you can take action to prevent that or to stop it.
But when you don't know, there's nothing you can do.
That's the hardest thing,
is watching your child go through something
you can't help them with.
Cambridgeshire Police emergency, how can I help?
Yeah, hello there.
I'm concerned about my daughter.
She's had death threats,
and I've not been able to get in contact with her
since six o'clock this evening.
I'm worried for her safety.
PHONE RINGS
Cambridgeshire Police, how can we help you?
Hiya. I've got an ongoing case with CID,
with PC Richardson. Yeah.
I just need to report more stuff that's been happening.
Thank you. just give me one moment.
Yeah.
The female victim in a serious harassment investigation reports
that while she is OK, the threats against her are escalating.
So, Megan had a malicious report to social services
about her children, saying that she was a prostitute
and she takes drugs and that she has random men
round the house with the kids,
so social services had to investigate that.
A lot of effort being made to target them. Yeah.
Ancl daily as well at this point, like, I really feel for them.
It's a horrible situation to be in.
A hoax is a malicious call to an emergency service.
You've then got the resources being taken up
that could be used for someone genuinely in need.
I've been in the serious crime team for just over two months,
and this is one of my first proper investigations
that I have been OIC for,
so it is quite a big one to tackle straight off the bat.
Trainee detective Emily Richardson seeks advice
from Sergeant Tracy Williams,
the force lead on stalking.
OK, can you just take me through this from the start?
I know we've got Daniel and Megan.
So they'd been in a relationship for about two years.
That broke down around Christmas.
Around 6th January
is when he started receiving messages. OK.
Ancl then shortly after he started receiving messages,
she started receiving the messages as well.
So, she's a vet nurse. Yeah.
So someone set up an email address in her name
and emailed the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons... Yeah.
...and said, "I don't want to be a vet nurse any more.
"Take me off the register." OK.
There was a malicious social services report.
There was allegations that she was taking drugs in the house,
she was a prostitute.
Like, really bad stuff.
It's not just harassment,
this is stalking.
This is more severe.
It's more personal. Mm-hm.
One in two stalkers,
if they make a threat to harm or to kill the victim,
they will actually go ahead and do it.
That is...you know, that's where you can die from being stalked.
People don't die from being harassed,
they can die from being stalked,
and that is the major difference.
When you understand it personally,
you have more sympathy
for the people that it's happening to.
So, I have been stalked.
When I realised what exactly had been happening,
I thought, "Oh, my God, you know, I'm a police officer.
"I should have seen it for what it was."
But I'm not just a police officer,
I'm a human being.
I'm a woman, I'm a mother,
and I know what this behaviour can do to somebody.
DISTORTED VOICE:
Both victims are asked to surrender their phones for analysis.
ON PHONE: Megan, are you ready to die?
I'll be waiting at the top of the road for you.
Or in the woods. just know I see you, but you can't see me.
Can't even work out what that one says.
Something like, "|'ll be waiting top of the road or in the woods.
"I can see you, but you can't see me."
It's definitely not stopping.
Whoever's doing it is relentless.
Like, it's a full-time job.
They're sending hundreds of messages every day.
Yeah, when was the...? What was the date?
So that was 13th January at 11.06. I remember getting it at work.
They're using a mask behind different profiles on social media.
They're changing them all the time.
They're using no caller ID to call.
So they're really going to great lengths
to keep themselves anonymous.
He's given a statement, she's given a statement.
I just need to arrange for him to come in and give his phone in,
but he was busy this weekend, so... Oh, OK.
But he is going to give his phone in?
Apparently, yeah. OK. You don't sound sure.
Well, he said he was going to before,
and then he said that he couldn't, so...
Oh, OK. We'll see.
PHONE RINGS
Hello, love.
I've currently got an ongoing investigation
happening with my ex-partner. OK.
What is it that's happening?
Who's the suspect in this?
The officer doesn't know yet.
DC Richardson is under pressure from Daniel Dugdale
to identify the anonymous stalker.
Been on duty for the last couple of clays,
and I've had quite a few messages,
because he's called in to 101 because he wants to speak to me.
He turned up at the station a couple of times
to talk to me as well, I think,
when I've not phoned him back straight away.
So it's just... He's quite intense.
I had an email from our intelligence unit.
There was another hoax Snapchat received from someone in the USA
and the Snapchat self-reported it,
and then Interpol Washington sent it through to me,
so that was bizarre to come in to on a Monday morning.
Not the normal thing that hits my inbox.
Officers visit a witness who received a hoax murder report
from a Facebook account claiming to be Megan.
Hello, you OK? Hiya.
Are we all right to come in? DOG BARKS
It's all right.
So I've got the, um, information from the 999 call from you,
but that's kind of all I've got.
So if you could just sort of talk me through, like, what happened.
Just a random message.
Yeah? it just said hey.
Then another one - "Do you have kids?"
So I messaged back saying, "Why did you ask?"
And that's when I got the big message
saying about, "I've killed my boyfriend and the kids." Right.
Like, "Ring the police, this is my address."
So, how did you feel when you saw that?
It frightened me.
Yeah. It shook me up quite a bit. Yeah, I can imagine. Yeah.
And someone called Dan that was on my Facebook,
he'd popped up that day to say hello cos he was bored. Right.
And he kept trying to ring me and I kept ending it, saying,
"No way I'm dealing with someone, cos I just got that."
He started saying that he thinks he's got the same message
that I've got, even though I hadn't said that I got a message yet,
which made it really weird.
Sorry, so who said...?
Sorry, run that past me again.
Yeah. Megan or whoever it is...
Yeah. ..had sent the same message, copy and pasted.
So he told me what it said before I'd sent him the screenshot.
Right. What's his name on Facebook?
Dan Dugdale.
So, are you friends with him on Facebook?
I was friends with him on Facebook, yeah. OK.
But he's only spoken to me once, like a year ago,
because he thought he found my bank card
in Peterborough in a pub he was working in.
Yeah. OK. Wow. There's a lot to unpack there.
Yeah, it was all quite weird.
Have you ever heard from him since? Yeah.
He was ringing me every bloody day. He became a nuisance.
Really?!
Oh. OK.
Did you ever meet him or anything like that? Once. You did? Yeah.
It was after then that I just blocked him because he was
so up himself. Oh, really? Yeah.
He wasn't the nice person that he pretends to be.
OK.
Is this Dan involved in it all?
Did you know of him already?
Yeah, there's quite a lot to it.
I'll just speak to my sergeant and then I'll see how much
I can tell you about.
All right.
And people told me I was silly for ringing it through.
No, not at all.
Not at all. You did the right thing.
Hello. She received this message from Megan
saying, "|'ve killed my kids," blah, blah, blah, all that stuff.
At the same time, she received a message from Dan saying,
"Oh, I've received this message as well."
"Don't crash on your way home. I'll run you off the road.
"Can I kill you? Your kids will be better off without you."
Where is this coming from? This is the Facebook messages
she's received. "Go kill yourself. Crash your car.
"I won't rape you. You'll be begging for it." Wow.
The police team review the threatening messages
sent to Megan.
Pictures of dead clogs, Satanic pictures of animal sacrifices,
pornographic pictures, bestiality, pornography.
It's horrible. It's proper horrible.
With all phone work, there's limitations, especially for a case
like this, where a lot of the crime has been committed on social media,
but there's a lot of things in the background that we can do
that perhaps people aren't aware of.
He's rung her at 3.26.06, 3.26.10,
3.26.13, 3.26.17. Like, literally every four seconds.
But he's been withholding his number,
so that's come through to her as no caller ID.
The stalker is using a no caller ID,
but the phone work reveals which number is actually
being used for that.
Nobody can stay anonymous for ever.
Officers now have grounds to arrest.
So, I think everyone kind of knows, like, a basic overview of the case.
Daniel, who we're going to arrest, initially reported himself
as a victim. So, the suspect is going to be a bit surprised,
I think, when we turn up and arrest him.
Make sure we seize any kind of electronic device
that he could be using.
Ancl then I think Elliot's going to try and download...
If we can try and identify pin codes for any devices early doors...
Brill.
OK. Cool. Happy clays. Let's roll.
Hiya. The police. Hello. ls Daniel here?
OK. Um...
Right. The time is three minutes past nine
and you're under arrest for stalking and wasting police time.
So, you do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence
if you do not mention when questioned
something which you later rely on in court.
Anything you do say may be given in evidence. Really?
Yeah. Is that...is that your phone there? Yeah.
Can I take that from you for now?
Has it got a pin code on it?
Four, five, seven, eight. Cool.
Four, five, seven, eight.
27-year-old Daniel Dugdale is under arrest on suspicion
of stalking his ex-partner and wasting police time.
What's the type of stalking?
So, we've got messages from Facebook accounts,
hoax police calls, repeated unwanted contact and calls.
It's just an allegation. No, no, no. No worries.
I nearly, nearly, nearly said something. OK.
Why would you not want to have free and independent legal advice...?
I don't need it, sir.
I know that sounds cocky, arrogant.
I know what I'm going to say and no-one's going to change my mind,
SO...
Is anyone affected by you being here?
Do you need to be looking after a child or a sick relative?
My son. I'm meant to be picking him up at three o'clock.
So, what will happen if you don't pick him up? Is it from school?
Yeah, yeah. So, do you need to let someone know?
Yeah, yeah, if possible. Great. OK.
You all right?
DANIEL EXHALES
It's the first time I'm seeing him in, like, six weeks.
Today was? Yeah. OK.
I have two things in my life.
That's my son and that's myself. That's it.
I decided to disown my mum...
But now I'm not, it's her loss.
|t's...it is her loss.
But I'll never be that kind of parent.
I won't, and that's that.
That's that. just cos you lose someone in your life, don't let it
affect you, cos it's not worth it.
Yeah.
The amount of life I've lived at such a young age...
But, like, I'm adamant I'm going to die by, like, 40.
I don't want to be old. It scares me, being old.
It's a difficult one, to call it, but I think he's going to
own up to something... OK.
...perhaps not everything, but he will... Interesting.
...admit certain things. It's going to throw me,
if he does that, I think. Um... Roll with it.
No, it's fine. Roll with it.
Yeah, but let's go interview him. Yep. I'm nearly there.
I keep getting distracted.
My head hurts.
You did an amazing job. Did anybody tell you that?
Thanks. Honestly, I mean it.
I feel like I'm like a little duck with the feet underwater.
Hello.
I'm here for interview for Daniel Dugdale, please.
In here. Daniel, that's your chair, mate.
Are you coming in? Yes. Yes, absolutely.
I'll just get you a drink and then we'll get rolling.
OK. So, obviously, you've had a brief explanation
at the custody desk of the of fences that you...that have been alleged,
but I'm just going to go into it in a bit more detail.
Um, so, I've obviously got a statement from Megan.
She's outlined some of the messages that she's received
through Facebook, and I just want to read out some of them to you
and you tell me whether that was you... Yeah, OK.
...or not that said that. OK, so, we've got,
"Don't crash on your way home. I will run you off the road."
What? With my legs? Cos I don't drive.
OK, so, that one wasn't you? Sorry, that was really quite... No.
No? OK.
"Can I kill you?" No. Why?
All right. "Your kids would be better off without you." No.
Um, "I won't rape you. You'll be begging for it."
No, we fucking spoke about it,
and the fact she listed that pisses me off. I wouldn't ever do that.
All right. "You've hurt me for the last time."
No, because I've had messages as well, and I'm not messaging
myself doing this. That's what I mean.
OK. Um, pornographic pictures, including bestiality? No.
Do you understand what bestiality...? Yes. Yeah? Yeah. OK.
I googled it cos she sent...she sent me the pictures... Right.
...and videos and links, so I'll click on it, which is great,
I'm there for her, but it's going to look bad that I've searched
for this now, right? Right. I see what you're saying.
OK. So, she's had voice notes as well where a voice-changer
has been used. Now, these were sent through Facebook Messenger.
No. But did she tell you that I messaged her and I found out the...
...the app what they was using?
No. There you go.
What app was that? I can't remember without my phone. No?
No. She's done me dirty, yeah. So, like stuff like this, yeah,
I've typed it in and gone through the voice notes
and, "Megan, it's that one there,"
but now I'm realising that that looks
really fucking bad, doesn't it? So, have you ever sent her
any messages with the voice-changing...? No, no.
Um, I've asked you about Facebook.
Have you ever sent anything via Snapchat to Megan?
No. No?
Have you ever made an account pretending to be Megan...
No. ..on Snapchat? No.
So, on Daniel's device, he has 121,000 messages total.
And over 80,000 of those are either to or from Megan.
Megan's contact is four times the amount of any other person
on his device.
OK. I'm just going to do a quick keyword search just for "Megan".
Yep.
So, can you get into Facebook?
On its own, the no caller ID calls could be circumstantial.
They are ex-partners,
they've quite recently split up, so it's important that we find
some more evidence on that phone, if it is Daniel, and obviously
if there's nothing else at all on there, I might have to question
whether it is him or whether it is someone else.
I can already see that there's a number of notes
that have been marked for deletion, currently in the trash.
Wow. OK.
One of which says, "I've killed my kids.
"I need your help.
"I have weapons in the house.
"They are not breathing.
"I have buried them, one in a dog-walking trail."
Excellent. Fab.
Thanks for that. Thank you. Bye.
This is on his phone and his notes from 12th February.
It's Megan's details and it says, "I've killed my kids.
"I need your help. I have weapons in the house.
"They're not breathing. I've buried them on a dog walking trail,"
which is pretty much exactly what got sent to 101 web chat.
This is fantastic. That's a deleted note, apparently.
Oh, deleted note? Yeah.
The plot thickens.
Mm.
Is it pure orange juice or orange squash? Squash.
That's even better. Are you sure? Yeah, definitely. OK.
Sorry. OK. So, it's an ongoing right, your legal advice.
So, at any time in this interview, you change your mind,
just let us know. We can stop the interview and we can get you
a solicitor. OK? Yeah.
Um, OK.
So, we have had a quick look at your phone from, like,
a cursory look.
So, the web chats, on one of the clays someone purporting
to be Megan is on the 101 web chat for Cambridgeshire Police
and there was also a deleted note on your phone.
It says, um, "I've killed my kids...
"I need your help...
"I have weapons in the house...
"They are not breathing...
"I have buried them, one a dog-walking trail."
Ancl that is literally word for word what...
...the report that was received... What? ..by web chat. On my phone?
On my phone? Yeah.
Whereabouts on my phone? In your deleted notes.
Can I see this message?
Sorry.
It's all right. I'm trying to be very honest with you and just...
Essentially, that's the deleted note there.
I'm adamant it weren't me. But I might have lied to you.
There you go. It was me.
I've got... I've got no way of explaining that it wasn't. OK.
HE CLEARS HIS THROAT
Before I say anything, I just want to apologise to Megan
because it's not all been me.
OK. But...
I don't know if you've ever been in...
I don't know if you've ever been in love with someone.
It's... It's hard.
I've never met someone...
...and I don't mean this, like, fucking cringey or... I've never met
someone so perfect.
And...
And looking back at... Fuck off! And looking back at it...
...she made me lose everything.
And it hurt.
OK.
Um, have you ever...
With the Facebook accounts, have you ever used them
to send death threats to Megan?
A few times. A few times. OK.
Do you remember what you said? No, no.
Just one of them, I'd say it,
and I'd literally...
It's like I had two different people inside me at one point.
One was making the fake profiles, then the one who'd be speaking
to Megan, like, love,
like, we'll get through this together,
like, we'll find out who it is.
And then it was me.
I've said some horrible stuff to her,
to be honest, I've said some real, real horrible stuff.
In a way, I was trying to protect her.
No, I was trying to hurt her, then...
No, I was trying to hurt her
so she needed me.
But not... No, not like...
Like, I don't know.
In my head, I was like, oh, if she keeps getting these horrible
messages and I drop a bit more...
It's embarrassing.
If I drop a few more personal details, it's going to scare her
a little bit more, then she's going to need me
a little bit more.
But, like, what do you say? The whole...
Soc... That wasn't me.
The social services? It wasn't me.
OK. I love her kids like I love my own son.
Like, that wasn't me. All right.
And I've made mistakes,
clearly, haven't I?
And I just want her to know that I am really sorry.
I wish I'd told her sooner.
Do you want anything, like a drink or...?
Yeah. A drink would be nice. Yeah?
What, an orange squash again or a hot drink?
No. just a water. Water? Yeah.
All right, I'll sort that out for you. OK.
See you in a bit. Yeah. Cool.
I need a drink.
Like a water drink.
Not a drink-drink, but also a drink-drink!
I think you need vodka, all right!
So I guess you called it, then, coughed a bit of it
and then denied the rest.
He did not accept entirely all of the blame, but he would not
have it that he was sending the message to himself.
I think you'll be able to probably get the evidence
that he did it somehow. It'll be on there somewhere,
I think. We've only scratched the surface of that phone download,
so... She will...
I guess she will want the restraining order.
Yeah, I'll look at a stalking protection order as well.
Cool. Good job. Thank you.
Well clone, Emily.
I know it was a marathon interview, really.
Thanks. I'm knackered.
Love breaks, like, so quickly.
That is the initial of the girl who's got me in trouble.
Thanks, love!
One thing I do believe in,
the worst drug you can do is love,
and everyone wants a bit of love.
It will... It will ruin you.
It will ruin you, no matter what.
Love is shit. Women are shit.
Stay single, 9W5-
Stay single.
I know it sounds bad.
Love less and stay single.
The officers have asked me to put a few conditions in place whilst
you are on bail. Yeah, that's fair enough. Yeah.
So number one is not to contact or interfere with,
directly or indirectly, any prosecution witnesses.
It needs to be really strongly justifiable to remand someone
and take their liberty away from them.
Daniel's made threats of violence.
He's made death threats. He's made rape threats.
But these threats haven't been acted on.
So the decision was made to bail.
This is your property that you're getting back.
Have you got my phone in there as well?
We'll be keeping your phone for the duration
of the investigation. I need my phone.
I understand, but we're going to keep it seized,
I'm afraid. We need it for evidential.
So, what, can I get a new phone?
Uh, yeah.
No reason why you can't get a new phone.
I think this is where stalking falls between the cracks
a little bit, because he is still out there,
and if he's really intending causing the victim serious harm,
then he can still go and do that.
Ancl by the time the police are aware, it could be too late.
He was quite jovial in that interview, wasn't he? Yeah.
He comes across as sort of a bit like a helpless child, almost.
He played the victim quite well.
I don't think it's going to stop.
No.
Stalking is an addiction.
When somebody is arrested for stalking,
you are disrupting their lifestyle.
So the risk of the stalker becoming aggressive is higher
there because they're not getting their fix.
NARRATOR: Awaiting a final charging decision,
officers attend a national stalking convention held by a family whose
daughter was murdered by her stalker.
It's been seven years since we lost Alice.
5% - no more than 5% - of stalking cases
reported to the police resulted
in a charge by the CPS.
5“/.
So there's a long, long way to go.
The CPS will default a lot of the time to harassment charge instead
of stalking charge.
In a way, it is an easier conviction to get.
And that's not fair on the victim.
I think that is really diluting what has been happening.
Stalking leads to PTSD in 78% of victims.
Ancl so it goes on.
Four out of five stalkers, they will continue their behaviour.
No legal intervention is going to be enough, so the risks
to the victim remain high until the perpetrator is apprehended
and, potentially, you know, imprisoned for what they're doing.
Those barricades are in the summer house all the time.
Doors locked, windows locked.
You honestly feel like you're losing your mind.
So I ended up, like, lashing out at everyone and shut myself off,
pretty much.
Ancl I think when, you know, it was found out that it was Dan,
I was, like, it made sense the whole time that it was him.
I just tried to kind of give him the benefit of the doubt
and be, like, I don't know why he would do that.
Ancl then I was really mad that he'd clone it.
After Christmas, I started decorating my bedroom, just to try
and take my mind off things, you know?
Ancl there was just writing everywhere.
I wanted nothing to do with him.
Ancl yet I was having to see his handwriting on these, you know,
love notes on the wall and stuff.
Yeah, it's made me feel really uncomfortable.
I'm a very confident, outgoing person, just looking
for a connection, I guess.
Just a connection with people.
Life is there to test you.
Only the strong survive,
you know? So clearly...
...if there's a higher power, they can see that I'm strong enough
to go through it.
That's why they've given it to me and not other people.
And I'm here willing to take it.
Journey;
I will get through this, like, nothing's going to stop me
from getting where I want. My next thing...
"girlfriend will be my last.
Yep. He's here at the enquiry office.
I've had several careers before this.
I've had jobs in pensions, insurance.
I worked in a hotel.
I've worked in shops.
I'd get bored and normally swap every, like, two years.
Hello. You all right?
I just need to take you through to the desk.
Ancl then I came to work for the police.
So you're going to be charged with three of fences.
My colleague is going to read them out to you.
This is what you join the job for,
to have an investigation where you don't know who's doing it.
And you've got to get one step ahead of them
and then you catch them.
So, contrary to section 4A and 5 of the Protection
from Harassment Act 1997, pursued a course of conduct, namely, made
threats which amounted to stalking, causing Megan serious alarm
or distress, which had a substantial...
It's a big investigation to tackle as a fairly new detective.
But I feel a lot more content that I'm actually doing something
with a purpose.
You know, I really helped them sort out a problem, and that's nice.
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