'Fixated' nightmare Wetherby neighbour left woman fearing he would kill her
A ‘fixated’ neighbour daubed graffiti on a woman’s door after hounding her and leaving her fearing for her life.
The terrified victim said she was forced to move out of her flat because of the incessant behaviour of Daniel Beasley.
He was found guilty after a trial of stalking over a month-long period, and criminal damage.
Leeds Crown Court heard that Beasley moved into the block of flats on Ezart Avenue, Wetherby, in summer of last year and that he became “fixated and obsessed” after making friends with the woman.
He would offer to give her lifts and would enter her home uninvited.
When she was not in, he would message her asking her where she was, and began questioning her when she did not want to meet him.
The victim eventually blocked him on WhatsApp, so he began sending long text messages in which he was “highly abusive”, telling her she would die a horrific death.
Beasley, 32, was eventually arrested and bailed with strict conditions not to contact the woman.
On August 11 last year, when she returned from a night away, her doorbell camera had been removed and he had written “frightening” messages on her door and letterbox in marker pen.
He later tried to grab her new doorbell camera.
Beasley, who has previous convictions for harassment, was arrested again and held on remand. He appeared in court via video link from HMP Leeds.
In a victim impact statement, read to the court by prosecutor David Ward, the woman said she was “constantly overwhelmed with anxiety and stress” and struggles to sleep.
She said: “I felt on edge all of the time, even simple everyday things started to feel difficult.
“I was so afraid of what he might do I had to leave my own property. I could not be anywhere near him.
“I do not want him living anywhere near me. I’m scared he would attack me or even kill me.”
Mitigating, Emily Hassell said Beasley suffered from autism and “clearly misinterpreted” the nature of their friendship.
Judge Simon Batiste gave him a 21-month sentence, suspended for 24 months.
He ordered him to complete 30 rehabilitation days with probation. He was also handed a seven-year restraining order banning him from contacting the victim.