Blonde’s ‘108 calls to Chelsea chairman’s son in just one day’
THE millionaire son of the chairman of Chelsea Football Club was stalked by a former lover who bombarded him with calls and lied about being pregnant, a court has heard.
Rory Buck, 31, whose father is Chelsea’s long- standing chairman Bruce Buck, allegedly received 108 phone calls in one day from Mariia Pihlajamaki, 24.
She is also accused of hanging around his £2million home, ringing his doorbell and posting letters after he broke off their ‘casual’ five-month relationship by text.
The court was told the Finnish-born sales assistant was so besotted with the property investment director that ten days after he dumped her, she falsely claimed she was pregnant with his child and produced a bogus letter from a clinic in the desperate hope he would take her back.
Miss Pihlajamaki denies stalking. But prosecutors said her ex-boyfriend is now ‘scared to go about his day-to-day business’ after she allegedly ‘jumped out’ at him at his home at night and turned up at his office at property firm Gramercy Europe in London.
She is accused of plaguing the wealthy American with more than 400 calls and leaving him so frightened he no longer turns on the lights at his Notting Hill apartment in case she turns up.
Hammersmith Magistrates’ Court was told Miss Pihlajamaki, a University of Westminster student, met Mr Buck on dating app Tinder in June 2016 and ‘engaged in a casual relationship’.
During a pre-trial hearing, prosecutor Simon Maughan told the court: ‘On 18 November he texted the defendant and said he did not want to hang out anymore.
‘But she said she was not going to let that happen and was going to come down to his flat to prevent this. On November 19 they met outside his workplace and she said she would not accept it.
‘He then returned to his apartment and the doorbell rang constantly and he did not answer it.
‘At around 11 in the evening he returned to his apartment from dinner and she jumped out as if from nowhere. For the next twoand-a-half weeks he received a barrage of messages and letters.’ Mr Maughan said that on November 28, Miss Pihlajamaki said she was pregnant. Mr Buck asked for proof and two days later ‘ he received a hand- delivered letter from a clinic but it was his understanding that the letter appeared not to be authentic’.
Mr Maughan added: ‘ The calls continued and he received 20, 30 calls and 20 voice messages a day.
‘He has received 400 phone calls and several hundred texts and Whatsapp messages. The defendant’s phone was confiscated by police and during the time she was interviewed it was confirmed that her phone had called his number 108 times in 24 hours. ‘He is scared to go about his dayto-day business.’
During the hearing last Thursday, prosecutors applied for a screen to be placed in the courtroom at trial so he would not have to face his alleged stalker, which was granted.
Mr Buck, who was born in the US and studied at the University of Pennsylvania, has enjoyed a high-flying career working at top banks and private equity firms including Deutsche Bank, Brockton Capital and Doughty Hanson.
His father, as well as being chairman of Chelsea, is the European head of a top US law firm and the family moved to the UK in 1983.
Miss Pihlajamaki, who was born in Helsinki, is studying business management law and speaks three languages. She also works for a luxury chocolate firm in London which has supplied top hotels and restaurants.
Her relatives are horse trainers and she is thought to have competed as a youngster in Finland’s national dressage competitions.
During the brief court hearing, Miss Pihlajamaki spoke only to confirm her name and address.
The student, who lives in London, pleaded not guilty to a charge of stalking without violence. She was released on bail ahead of her trial in June with conditions that she does not contact Mr Buck or visit his home or work address.
‘Scared to go about his day-to-day life’