‘Neighbour from hell’ academic appeals sentence
Battle rages on after harassment conviction
THE academic whose long feud with neighbours at an apartment block made national headlines is to appeal a suspended prison sentence for harassment.
Dr Elizabeth Hall was thrust in the media spotlight after reports she had waged a 25-year war with residents at leafy Melville Hall, off Hagley Road, in Edgbaston.
Bad blood was initially spilled over when the 75-year-old played Frank Sinatra single My Way too loudly, it was claimed.
In April this year, the pensioner was found guilty by magistrates of harassing three people. She was sentenced at crown court a month later and received a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.
The court was told Dr Hall, a wheelchair user, sent daily letters containing “abusive content” to neighbour Margaret Wheeler after “falsely accusing” her of throwing dog excrement over her balcony.
Another row erupted when the victim pruned overgrown ivy in the communal garden area. She claimed Dr Hall started getting “personal” and even blamed her for her brother-inlaw taking his own life.
Now the doctor of science will appeal her conviction and sentence – which she dubbed an “invasion of reality” – at Birmingham Crown Court on November 18. It will be heard by a judge and two magistrates.
Last April’s conviction is one of a string of court appearances featuring Dr Hall.
Just a month later, she was again up before a judge for harassing 73-yearold neighbour Christine Penny and breaching a restraining order. On that occasion, she received a 12-month sentence, suspended for 21 months.
The court heard Ms Penny, a former hotel owner and actress who appeared in Crossroads, had received 53 emails from the doctor – despite a court order prohibiting contact.
Judge Roderick Henderson told Dr Hall she was “in complete denial” over her behaviour.
Dr Hall continues to send long emails to the Birmingham Post outlining her case in detail – despite complaining over our coverage of her cases.
In her most recent she sent a picture of garden foliage under the heading: “Ivy’s dead.”
And she continues to attract police attention. In an email entitled “Dawn Raid”, she informed our reporter: “At five o’clock in the morning, September 25, we were roused from our beds by police officers arriving to arrest me for breaching a restraining order.
“An hour later police officers returned with evidence bags and a full house search warrant.
“The breach of restraining order referred to two ‘events’ that supposedly occurred three months. The police finally recognised no cause to plead, these were simply for the purposes of intimidation. I was returned home at 3pm.”
The author described the “raid” as “gratuitous harassment and hounding”.
A chosen few are kept up to speed with the complex saga through a newsletter entitled “Friends of Elizabeth”.
The September issue informs readers: “Many of you will never have seen Elizabeth, let alone met her and talked with her. If you could see a photograph of her taken in early May, 2019, you would not recognise her.
“If you did know her then, you would not believe how she is now. She has become a recluse.
“Somebody who was due to visit South Africa to co-author a book, who visited Japan and had planned to do so again, is now housebound, she has lost her independence and cannot live alone. She is only a carcass to be carted around and all her dreams of travel have been dashed and shredded.”
It adds: “You may have been watching recent dramas such as Killing in Tiger Bay, the Pembrokeshire Murders, where police are so certain of guilt, invest so much time and energy in prosecuting a suspect(s) they lose sight of reality. All have one thread in common, pursuing a mind-set justifies a stance and actions and blots out alternative scenarios.”
A police spokesperson said: “A 75-year-old woman was arrested at Melville Hall, Edgbaston, on September 25, on suspicion of breaching a restraining order and harassment matters.
“She was later released pending further investigations and our enquiries are continuing.”