Bizarre stalker left framed photo of Beatles star John Lennon on family home in Pudsey Cemetery
A bizarre stalker terrified a young family after he hung a rosary on the door of a family home in the grounds of a cemetery, then later left a photo of John Lennon.
Mentally-ill David Dalton left the mum of the family paranoid after he was caught on a door bell camera returning to the home several times over a three-month period, sometimes late at night.
The 63-year-old appeared at Leeds Crown Court today and admitted stalking and causing alarm or distress, along with assaulting an emergency worker from a unrelated incident.
He was given a community order after the judge felt there was no “sinister motive” behind the stalking and that he was delusional, triggered by his bipolar disorder.
However, he was given a life-long restraining order to keep him away from the woman and her family.
The court heard that his strange behaviour began on March 2, when he approached the home in the grounds of Pudsey Cemetery.
He was seen on a doorbell camera approaching the car parked outside, touch the bonnet, then move to the front door where he touched the camera before leaving.
Two days later he was caught on the camera again approaching late at night and hanging the rosary on the house door.
Then on March 16, it picked him up again, when he placed the large framed photo of former Beatles star John Lennon outside the door.
Once again, he returned on March 31, dressed in a military-style jacket and laid a backpack full of random items outside the door. They included cassettes, books and a socket wrench.
He was arrested on April 4, sectioned and detained at The Becklin Centre in Leeds for more than two months.
However, after being released he returned to the cemetery again on June 13 at around 6.30am. He spoke with the male resident of the property and told him he was trying to post a brooch through the letterbox.
Later that night, the woman of the house saw Dalton again. He tipped his hat towards her and then left the cemetery.
He was arrested again on June 21 and told officers during his interview he had blessed the woman’s car and admitted leaving the rosary, but then refused to answer further questions.
The court also heard that he had also gone to Pudsey Police Station on March 15 and became irate at officers who tended to him, punching one in the chest. The officer was not injured.
Dalton, of Westdale Drive, Pudsey, has 25 previous convictions for 69 offences, mainly for shoplifting.
Mitigating, Martin Morrow said Dalton was previously diagnosed with bipolar and was taking anti-psychotic medication.
He said he accepted that his conduct would have caused alarm and distress, but he had little recollection of events.
Judge Richard Mansell KC said the woman had “unsurprisingly” become paranoid, that Dalton left her feeling anxious and that she took to closing the curtains during the day.
He said: “It must have been unsettling and distressing for her and her family to put up with this behaviour.”
Despite this, he said he was prepared to release Dalton back into the community.
He gave him an 18-month community order, 25 rehabilitation days with probation and a six-month GPS tracking requirement so the authorities can monitor his whereabouts.