Meowing stalker runs Kiera out of her home
KEIRA Knightley has been driven out of her home by a deranged stalker who meowed through her letterbox, a court heard yesterday.
The Hollywood star says she was too scared to go out following a 12week ordeal at the hands of infatuated Mark Revill.
Cat-obsessed musician Revill, 49, bombarded her with cat pictures and recordings of a tune he called The Fuzzy Kitty Waltz.
Revill – who changed his name to Mark McCattipus – also went round to her north London house to deliver letters and postcards addressed to “Keira McCattipus”, including one of two cats he captioned: “That’s you on the right, the stupid looking one, and that’s me on the left.”
Knightley, 31, star of The Imitation Game and the Pirates Of The Caribbean films, told Highbury Magistrate’s Court in north London, in the UK, that Revill had made her frightened of leaving her home.
She said her “worst nightmare” was the t hought t hat her 18-month-old daughter Edie could be at risk.
On Thursday, Revill was banned indefinitely from contacting her or going within 90m of her home and was given an eight-week prison sentence suspended for 12 months.
District Judge Robbie McPhee said the stalking was “serious and aggravated” and told Revill he would be jailed if he broke the restraining order.
In a statement, Knightley said he had caused her distress and panic, adding: “I’m scared every time I go outside.
“We loved living in this borough. My family enjoyed visiting local shops and playing in local parks, and being close to the heartbeat of London.
“We are now looking to move house outside the borough. We had hoped our child would go to school here. When I re- turn home I have to look behind me, concerned I don’t know who might be in the shadows.”
Revill was caught when Knightley’s husband, pop musician James Righton, 33, gave chase and confronted him before calling the police.
The court heard that she has since spent thousands of pounds on stateof-art CCTV and security shutters.
She added: “The thought of him being on the other side of the door has left me quite shaken.
“If I was with my child we wouldn’t have been able to run away easily. The thought of my daughter being at risk is my worst nightmare.”
Revill, who has a conviction for indecent exposure after sending letters to a woman hospital worker and turning up at her home naked, had admitted stalking. His lawyer Abu Kibla said: “He knows his behaviour could be described as odd.”
Judge McPhee said he must receive mental health treatment and pay a victim surcharge and £85 (R1 500) costs. – Daily Mail