‘I believe he would have killed me’: stalking victims share their stories for new Virgin Media documentary

The documentary ‘Stalked’ aired tonight on Virgin Media One and Virgin Media Player, told the stories of three victims of stalking in Ireland.

Una Ring from Youghal, Co Cork, told how she lived in fear when a colleague began to continuously contact her and leave messages detailing his plans.

“I was thinking of getting a tattoo on my hip and with my name and date of birth and just ‘Youghal’ on it and basically, what it was that if my body was found – I know it sounds awful – semi-decomposed that instead of them having to wait for DNA, my name would be there,” she said.

She described “running on adrenaline” and focusing only on what she could do to keep herself safe, purchasing a security bracelet online that sent a pin drop to five contacts and a text message if she ever needed help.

Her stalker was arrested outside her house after gardaí sent an unmarked car, finding the man carrying a bag of items including gloves and rope.

“I believe he would have killed me,” she said, describing how it felt like she was “being hunted” and her fears for when he is released from prison.

Activist Eve McDowell told the programme that she still has nightmares about her stalker, who even entered her home one night where he hit her housemate’s hands with a hammer.

She had moved from Sligo to Galway for college and encountered the man who she didn’t share many “one-on-one conversations” with but had encountered at parties or from around the campus.

“I felt as though he was a bit awkward. I probably pitied him a bit and felt sorry for him because I don’t like to see people left out of things very much.”

Ms McDowell recalled how he had followed her to the shop and back home, among other instances.

Stalking is an offence in Ireland since last November, with Ms McDowell telling how gardaí initially did little to address her concerns.

“If someone interrupts the way that you live your life, that should be enough for action to be taken.”

She said adequate stalking legislation would have totally changed how the case was handled, with Dubliner Jarlath Rice telling how Ireland did not have the legal framework to deal with stalking.

He feared for his safety, requiring two phones as the woman had acquired access to his phone, messages and accounts to track his location and continuously arrived at his house.

“I called the police so many times that the guard had said to me that if I called again that he would arrest me and lock me up for the night, and so therefore, problem solved,” he said.

Mr Rice ultimately moved to Brighton, where his stalker was arrested after continuously pursuing him.

“If I hadn’t come to the UK when I did, I don’t think I’d have made it. I don’t think I would have survived,” he said.

Mr Rice said his life was “curtailed” and “controlled” by the experience, telling how something in him “came back to life” at the prospect of a conviction for his stalker who has since been released from prison.

“I can’t live looking over my shoulder, there’s no way.”