Terrified mum ‘living like a prisoner’ after 19-month stalking hell
AMOTHER says she is living in fear because of a stalker and feels like a ‘prisoner’ in her own house.
Emily Humphreys has been experiencing scary events for almost two years and wants to swap houses to escape the torment.
Since the stalking started, Emily has needed therapy, takes prescribed medicine, and is now classed as disabled due to the rapid decline in her health. As a result she has also had to stop working.
Emily faced a chilling episode when she found the seatbelt of her car cut last week. Her tyre was also previously slashed. But what really scared her was realising her stalker had broken into her Flintshire home.
The 49-year-old said: “He’d twice previously climbed onto the flat roof and in through a bedroom window in the early hours of the morning.
“Not to take anything, just to let me know he can. On the third occasion, we were downstairs watching Sundaynight TV in the living room.
“I heard someone coming down the stairs, then heard the door slam shut. I didn’t see anyone and I didn’t get up to look. I was just frozen to my chair, I was that scared.”
Since the incident, Emily has put locks on all the windows of her home, which she rents.
She’s brought up her boys in the house; one is now studying at Liverpool University, while the others have jobs as an IT project manager and a teaching assistant. Her youngest son, who is 12, still lives with her.
Even though her home is covered in cameras, the person who is stalking her has managed to avoid being caught by Emily and the police.
“Whoever it is, he’s very smart,” she said. “He always wears a hoodie, or a mask and hat, and he always wears gloves so he doesn’t leave any fingerprints.
“The council has put a CCTV camera on a neighbour’s house because it gives the best view of the street I live on. But he knows it’s there. Not long ago he sneaked up under the camera and threw stones at my window, which set off all the alarms.
“It woke me up, and when I looked at the video footage I couldn’t see anyone. But because of where he was standing, he kept setting off a neighbour’s security light.
“So on the video all I saw was lights turning on and off all night.”
Some images have been obtained of the man but they’re too grainy, or too covered up, to enable identification. Police have been alerted to video clips but none has resulted in action.
Emily’s stalking nightmare began without warning in July 2022. Sometimes incidents occur on a weekly basis, occasionally her stalker goes quiet. The longest interlude was two months.
At least four stabbed car tyres have needed replacing, and recently an empty aftershave bottle was left on her front doorstep.
“I don’t want to go outside, I’m too frightened,” she said. “I’ve brought up my family here but most of the time I wish I wasn’t living in this house. I can’t sleep because I worry it might be the night he comes back. I have anxiety sweats, panic attacks, my therapists have diagnosed PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). I feel like I’m a prisoner in my own home.”
Delyn Women’s Aid loaned Emily security cameras for a year to help her collect evidence. When the 12 months was up, her elderly mum stepped in to pay for a new suite of cameras.
To break the cycle of stalking, Emily approached her housing provider and requested a house swap.
She claimed her landlord, ClwydAlyn, is reluctant as her request would need to be advertised online, alerting her stalker to her new address should she be successful.
Housing group ClwydAlyn said it does its best to support residents to live “happily and safely” in their homes and communities. Personalised support is provided where needed and each case is treated individually.
“This might involve supportive intervention, extra support from our housing officers, or working with partner agencies like the police to issue interventions,” said Suzanne Mazzone, ClwydAlyn’s executive director of housing services.
“A house swap isn’t our recommended option for someone who would like to keep their new location private, as confidentiality cannot be guaranteed. We have no current request for a housing move and our housing team will contact Emily to see what support we can provide.”
Even with all that’s happened, Emily keeps going. Some days are really tough, but her boys and her mum help her to stay strong.
She’s getting therapy to deal with her stress.
“The medication is helping too,” she sai. “I still find it hard to believe what’s happened.
“Two years ago I was happy, healthy and working. I was self-supporting and not reliant on the state.”
“At Abakhan I was in the made-tomeasure curtains department. The company was very good. It kept open my job for a year but I just couldn’t face going back.
“So now, two years later I’m on medication and I’m classed as disabled. I’ve even got a blue badge.
“Whoever this person is, I can only try to keep going. My youngest son has been amazing and together we’re just trying to have the best life we can.”