My first real experience of Stalking was through a friend and his friend Gracie Spinks; this is what inspired and introduced Gracie’s Law.
The on-going aim for Gracie’s Law, and her legacy, is to see every police force in the country, have robust and standardised procedures to handle stalking cases, exemplary training for all officers and dedicated stalking units or officers; for the Government to ensure that police forces have the necessary budgets and funding to adequately tackle stalking and for additional funding to be made available to organisations and charities, such as the Suzy Lamplugh Trust and Paladin, so that further independent stalking advocates can be employed to directly help victims with all manner of stalking-related issues.
Stalking doesn’t just mean being harassed or followed or about the safety of the victim; stalking includes other issues including having someone insert themselves into your life; unwanted and unwarranted behaviour where someone makes a point of being abusive or making abusive comments to others or simply being slanderous. It may start as gossip but things develop into stalking. It may be online; it may be in person or even from a distance, but stalking is a serious issue.
So it recently came to attention that a friend was receiving unwanted attention from an individual; he was the target of a stalker.
This unhinged individual started off by defacing and vandalising his front door and his property; hanging around where he lives; going out of her way to slander him; she’s excessively following him and his businesses on social media and web sites and in fact on several occasions has caused fear, alarm and distress to individuals who are friends and colleagues.
What kind of person takes time out of their day to follow someone out and about and to make a point of talking to everyone that they meet or talk to in order to slander them; it doesn’t just border on unacceptable, it’s unhinged, disturbing and obviously manic behaviour.
What goes on in someone else’s life is their private affair; gossip and hearsay is one thing; but slanderous and evil comments are quite the other. Contacting people and businesses that he’s involved with is a serious issue; apart from anything it’s clear evidence of a declining state of mental health. Or can someone actually be quite as vindictive and evil?
Judith E Lowrie
Judith E Lowrie originally lived in Switzerland and had met my friend when he was doing a post grad at Guildhall; oddly enough she remembered him when she was an undergraduate student at the time but has now decided that he has never been to Guildhall. I spoke with a Ms Harries who is the Director of Student & Academic Services who checked for us to confirm his year as a student at Guildhall. For some reason an ex partner of Ms Lowrie contacted me and told me a very worrying story about her obsession with him, yet again, stalking. Her own ex husband referred to her in very derogatory terms and confirmed that her mental health has always been poor.
I spoke to Ben Mear at Big Blue Scribble Ltd who confirmed that Ms Lowrie had used a falsified employment reference for her daughter Lily which was used to obtain employment with Virgin Hotels. Virgin Hotels have contacted Big Blue Scribble Ltd to confirm that both the personal and employment references were false and untruthful and the matter has been reported to the police. Ms Lowrie has also come to the attention of the police in relation to her stalking with in fact complaints made by more than one individual. It’s been revealed that this isn’t the first incident of stalking but in fact the third.
Ms Lowrie has advised that she makes a living as a Reiki Master and a piano and singing teacher. In light of her work with children; several people have raised the issue of her teaching as a safeguarding issue and we believe that an investigation is underway by Scottish Borders Council.
Laura Richards is a well known criminal behavioural analyst and expert on stalking, domestic violence, and sexual violence and she founded Paladin, the world’s first National Stalking Advocacy Service; she’s been instrumental in the development of stalking and coercive control laws in the UK. She was kind enough to give me a few minutes of her time and she explained “this is a text book example where an individual displays obsessive behaviour towards another and it crosses the line. In her head, there’s perfectly valid reason for what she’s doing; but of course she’s the only one that could possibly think this. She’s clearly unable to go about her own life and it’s likely she obsesses over this repeatedly which leads to acting out. The defacing of the property and front door is only the beginning and is likely to lead to unreasonable anti social behaviour and possibly violence”.
Having spent a few days in Kelso I’ve spoken to several individuals who have concerns about Judith E Lowrie and her mental health due to several incidents in public. Although having obtained an undergraduate degree in music, Judith E Lowrie never had much of a career in the industry although she has only recently started teaching and sings from time to time locally. It was suggested that jealousy sparked her issues for my friend who in fact has had a very successful career in theatre. But several individuals suggested that Ms Lowrie was under the impression she was in a relationship with my friend.
Of course the matter has been reported to the police and it is under investigation; I’ll certainly keep you updated. By the time this is published there will be an Interdict in place against Judith E Lowrie. She’s also facing a civil court action (possible criminal charges pending) for the criminal damage and defacement of property (which Ms Lowrie did in front of a neighbour but also proudly boasted about it afterwards) but she’s now facing a serious defamation civil case which being petitioned to be heard at the High Court in Edinburgh. however it has also been advised that Judith E Lowrie may face criminal charges for breach of the peace as well as threatening and abusive behaviour.
Stalking encompasses a desire to exert control over a victim. That drive could emerge from a romantic relationship, for instance warding off suitors or trying to win over a new partner. It could arise from the fantasy of a relationship formed entirely in the person’s mind, such as in the case of celebrity stalking. Or it could have its roots in a mental health condition, such as borderline personality disorder. There is of course a psychological toll of being stalked but stalkers often see themselves as the victim. However in this case it has been made clear that Ms Lowrie seems to have created a fantasy relationship which never existed.
Stalking isn’t just about harassment; it’s the kind of unwanted attention that causes concern not just for the victim, but for the health of the perpetrator and in fact the community as a whole. Several witnesses have come forward and I’ve been able to talk to them about various incidents; these are quite disturbing and best left for the police and any formal investigation. But many of the incidents have taken place in public and in front of a number of witnesses.
No-one wishes to see this end badly; but this kind of vindictive and abusive behaviour is unacceptable; unfortunately cases of stalking in Scotland are on the rise, but as is common in these cases, the offender never believes they are stalking until it goes too far and they are arrested and charged.