The Case of Joshua Stimpson | Stalking turns Deadly

Profile of Patrick Mackay by Mandeep Rai


We often find ourselves asking what could have happened if things had been different. Hindsight is everything. It is important that we learn from what has happened in the past in order to prevent future tragedies. I spent lockdown in a Kent cottage with no neighbours nearby. After reading into some stories of stalkers, I began to wonder...are we ever really alone? 

Please educate yourself on stalking cases, and reach out to the appropriate channels if you or a loved one are experiencing this. 

Today we look at a case of severe stalking, which would result in a young woman's life coming to a tragic end. 



Molly McLaren was a University of Kent student, aged 23, when her life was taken by her ex-boyfriend Joshua Stimpson.

Stimpson, 26, a warehouse worker, was born in Stoke on Trent, but moved to Medway, Kent. He was described by those who knew him as a bright man, but there were 2 sides to Stimpson. The Kent based man became depressed, and his mood swings worried those closest to him.

Stimpson and McLaren's paths would cross on the online dating app Tinder in summer 2016, and they would go on to meet in person in October of the same year. The two would make things official shortly after this, with the University of Kent student's mother describing the relationship as normal. This however was not the case as we would later learn. Stimpson's previous relationships painted him as a negative, controlling man, and he was extremely unpredictable. Whilst dating his previous girlfriend, he made threats to destroy her property and called her numerous times within a short space of time

Another ex girlfriend reported that Stimpson had followed her to a bar in Kent where he would go on to attack. Stimpson would repeatedly abuse her verbally to the point that she threatened to call 999 and report him to the police. 

When Stimpson had been dating the victim, Molly McLaren, she grew concerned about his childish behaviour, and the couple broke up after 4 short months. Stimpson was enraged and began stalking McLaren both online and in person. He would make false claims about McLaren on Facebook in an attempt to destroy her name, and would regularly turn up to places he knew his victim would be. He had gone as far as to sign up to the same gym as the Kent student in order to get closer to her.

In June 2017, McLaren was followed and later brutally murdered by Stimpson. The young woman was stabbed over 70 times in a car park in Chatham, Kent. It was believed that Stimpson had planned the attack as he had purchased weapons days prior to the murder.

Stimpson was sentenced to life in prison, and would not be eligible for parole for 26 years.




Sources:
https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/who-joshua-stimpson-molly-mclaren-1144378

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Top 5 Dumb Ways Killers Were Caught

Image
 Dumb Ways Killers Were Caught - Written by Mandeep Rai 5. Scott Purk and Oversharing In March 2009, police were called to the home of Scott Purk to investigate reports of a fire. Purk had burned down his own house for the insurance money, but that's not all he told cops that night. When being questioned by police, Purk made a passing comment about his first wife, and how she had committed suicide by hanging while she was 9 months pregnant. Something felt off about the way Purk had mentioned the apparent suicide, which had occurred 24 years prior. Police would go on to exhume his first wife's body and find that marks on her neck were inconsistent with suicide by hanging. 4. Stacey Castor and the Word Document In late 1999, Castor poisoned her husband, who would sadly pass away in 2000 as a result. His daughter, Ashley, aged 11 at the time, was the only person with him when he died. At the time, it was believed that he had died of a heart attack. In 2003, Castor's second hus
Read more

Chocolate Cream Killer | Murder in Brighton

Image
Look Into Brighton's Chocolate Cream Killer by Mandeep Rai Yes, the CHOCOLATE CREAM killer. I thought the same thing... It's not quite how it sounds. This murder took place in the 1860s in Brighton, UK (off topic, but why do so many murders seem to be happening in seaside towns?? We learned about the Herne Bay, Kent bathtub murders earlier, and now we have a killer in sunny Brighton!) So who was the chocolate cream killer, and how did she get that name?  Christiana Edmunds was a woman scorned, or so she believed! In the 1860s, she became quite the jealous "lover", and thus began her poisoning spree. I use the term "lover" loosely as she was never actually dating the man in question. Nevertheless, Edmunds was madly in love with the man, who was a local doctor, and she believed the only way to be with him would be to simply poison, and therefore get rid of, his wife. The wife, being married to a doctor, was of course seen to straight away. He examined her sudd
Read more