Neighbour from hell threatened to ‘slice up’ and kill elderly woman
GRAN LEFT ‘TERRIFIED’ BY CAMPAIGN OF HARASSMENT
A nightmare neighbour threatened to kill and “slice up” a terrified elderly woman in the flat above him during a campaign of harassment.
David McLaughlin targeted the gran for no apparent reason, regularly shouting foul-mouthed abuse and threats and leaving her “absolutely petrified” and feeling like a prisoner in her own home in Blyth, Northumberland.
Newcastle Crown Court heard she had lived in her upstairs flat on the town’s Bowes Court for 17 years and McLaughlin, 49, had been there for a few months when the trouble began, it having previously been his mother’s flat.
On November 15 last year, the woman’s grandson came to visit and when he left he realised his car had been damaged, with the wing mirror having been smashed.
When he got in the car to leave, McLaughlin was outside shouting, swearing and making threats towards the woman.
She was frightened and her grandson returned and stayed the night with her. The following day, the grandson found his work van had had its tyres slashed and McLaughlin was walking around near the van.
After it was fixed and he drove away, McLaughlin shouted and swore for the woman to come out and said he was going to kill her.
Then on December 27, he again shouted, telling her he was going to “slice you up” in a rant which lasted two hours.
On January 2 this year, around 10.50pm, there was a loud noise from his flat, followed by further foul-mouthed threats to “do her in” and abuse.
Shada Mellor, prosecuting, said: “She was terrified and believed the threats to be real. Her grandson came to stay because of the fear she was in.”
The following morning, after her grandson left to go to work, McLaughlin started shouting more abuse and said “Oh he is off, I’m coming to get you now.”
He went on to threaten to “sort you out” and “punch your head in”. A neighbour heard him shouting and called police.
The victim said in a statement outlining the impact of the offending: “I’m absolutely terrified of him. I believe the threats are real.
“I’m scared to be by myself at night and have my grandson stay with me. I don’t know why he is threatening me.
“The way he has been constantly threatening and harassing me has been dreadful. I feel like a prisoner in my own home.
“I’m constantly in fear of violence from him. I did nothing to deserve this,”
McLaughlin, who has 83 previous convictions and was on a suspended sentence at the time for an assault on a former partner, pleaded guilty to harassment causing fear of violence between November and January.
Jailing him for 12 months and imposing a seven-year restraining order, Judge Edward Bindloss said: “This was persistent harassment over a long period and the nature of the threats maximised fear and was intended to do so. She, understandably, was extremely scared.”
The judge said McLaughlin, who has been put on anti-psychotic medication in custody, is classed as posing a high risk of reoffending and a high risk of harm.
Penny Hall, defending, said: “He accepts he was shouting and that she would have been frightened. He didn’t have issues with her, he describes her as an elderly person and says why would he have issues with her.
“Threats were not made when in direct contact with her. He had traumatic events in his childhood.”