How can we stop stalkers before they kill?

Stalking victim and Corrie star Kym Marsh last week showed her support for a new bill that could stop stalkers before they kill. It comes after Christof King, 39, received a ninemonth suspended sentence last month after bombarding TV star Christine Lampard with “sinister” tweets about her “crucifixion”. Shocking statistics show over a million people are stalked every year, with many victims murdered by their aggressors.

But while a stalker’s actions can be intimidating, they’re not always unlawful, meaning they can’t be stopped until it reaches terrifying levels. Last year, just 806 stalkers were prosecuted, but MP Sarah Wollaston’s Private Members’ Bill, which is currently going through Parliament, calls for Stalking Protection Orders, which would allow police to go to magistrates at the first sign of stalking, they could then issue a warning to an offender to stop – or risk jail.

Kym, who was stalked by an obsessed fan for nine years, said, “What happened to me was very scary and I was shocked there wasn’t anything that could be done.”

Closer speaks to one mum whose daughter died at the hands of her stalker…