Molly McLaren tragedy: Ex-boyfriend goes to extremes not wanting to lose relationship
The Internet has made life much easier for many people. It also helps those who are too shy to meet people in real life. However, there is a danger, because online a person can pretend to be someone completely different from who they are. 23-year-old British Molly McLaren did not know that meeting a guy from a dating site would cost her her life.
In 2016, Molly McLaren met Joshua Stimpson on a dating site. Molly was a beautiful, kind and sociable girl, but she also had problems. She suffered from an anxiety disorder, which interfered with her happy life. The girl worked on herself and achieved considerable success. McLaren received an education, found a good job and kept a blog in her free time.
But Molly missed having a loved one nearby, with whom she could share the joys and sorrows of this life. In 2015, she registered on a dating site, and a few months later she met Joshua Stimpson there. After several months of online communication, the young people met for the first time in November 2016.
Joshua seemed like a great guy, and he and Molly started dating. The guy seemed open and sociable, but the girl didn’t know that he was hiding something. Before this, Stimpson had started two relationships. All of them ended rather quickly, and then Joshua stalked his ex-lovers. One of the breakups even ended in an ugly scene - the guy spat in his ex’s face in front of numerous witnesses.
If Molly had known about this, she most likely would not have gotten involved with Joshua and would have stayed alive. But the girl thought that everything was fine and she enjoyed the relationship. But the girl's parents and friends did not like her new boyfriend. They noticed that his words often diverged from his actions, and warned Molly, who did not want to listen to their concerns.
It was clear from the outside that Joshua demanded too much attention and did not recognize personal boundaries. When Molly needed to go to her parents or friends, the guy came up with many ways to stop her. He asked for help, pretended to be sick, or simply demonstratively took offense. Joshua came to the girl without warning and often forced her to radically change her plans.
Molly came to her senses only when Stimpson demanded to be with her all the time and forbade her to communicate with her friends and parents. The boyfriend even quit his job to control the girl's every move. She began to get irritated by this behavior, and she wrote Joshua a letter in which there were these words:
But in response, Molly received only insults and accusations of ingratitude and frivolity. Fate gave her another chance to save herself. She could have broken off this relationship then, but she did not. On the contrary, the girl apologized to the guy, shocking all her friends.
Stimpson skillfully manipulated Molly Maclaren. He convinced her that she would not be able to cope with her mental problems without him. He proved that she should not be alone for a minute. But very few can withstand such pressure and the constant presence of a jealous manipulator nearby.
Molly was wrong to think that she could end the relationship at any time. When her patience ran out and she told Joshua that she wanted to break up with him, the guy began to apologize and beg her to give him another chance. The girl forgave him and believed in his repentance. For some time, Stimpson really did restrain himself, but in April 2017, a new scandal occurred again due to his obsession.
After that, Molly McLaren firmly decided to break up with Joshua. She decided to do it after her birthday on June 17, 2017. On that day, Stimpson again made a scene for the girl, not embarrassed by the guests. Her patience snapped, and the girl rudely showed Joshua the door.
After that, the rejected gentleman bombarded the girl with calls and messages with apologies. When this did not help, Joshua changed tactics and moved on to threats and blackmail. He began posting their personal photos and correspondence on the Internet, and spreading dirty rumors among her family and friends about the girl who dumped him. In response, Molly only blocked the scoundrel everywhere she could.
At the end of June 2017, Molly and her mother went to the police and filed a complaint against Joshua Stimpson. They accused him of stalking, slander, and invasion of privacy. But no criminal case was opened against the scoundrel. He was only summoned to the police for a conversation and asked to remove information about Molly from social networks.
And the next day, Joshua himself came to the cops. In turn, he accused McLaren of slander and spreading dirty rumors about him. The police did not listen to him and only reminded him that he should leave McLaren alone. But Stimpson did not understand this in a good way and continued the campaign of persecution of his ex-girlfriend.
But then something unexpected happened. The police called Molly and said that Joshua had complied with all the demands and removed the information that was defaming the girl. Molly and her mother were happy and thought that their nightmare was over. But they didn’t know that this was all just part of Stimpson’s evil plan.
Joshua planned to kill his ex-girlfriend and began to prepare for it. He bought a large knife and a pickaxe from a hardware store. He put them in the trunk of his car and carried them with him everywhere. Since Molly blocked her ex everywhere, he came up with a way to follow her on social media. Stimpson asked his friend to add Molly as a friend and through her closely followed her life.
On June 28, 2017, Joshua learned that the girl had posted a new photo on her account, taken at a popular bar. He immediately went there and "accidentally" caught her eye, causing Molly to be horrified. This meeting was also part of his evil plan. The next day, she ran into Joshua again, this time at a gym. She asked the guy: "Are you stalking me?", to which Stimpson replied that it was none of her business.
After a short conversation, Joshua left the gym and began stalking Molly from his car in the parking lot. When she got out and got into the car, he attacked her. Molly was talking to a friend on the phone at the time, and the killer caught her by surprise. He began stabbing the victim, ignoring her screams. Experts later counted 75 wounds on McLaren's body.
When Stimpson was sure Molly was dead, he walked to his car and waited for the police. When the officers arrived, he calmly told them: "She's in the car. I killed her." The murderer's trial began on January 18, 2018. The criminal pleaded not guilty and insisted that he attacked the girl due to a clouded mind, not realizing his actions.
Despite this, the jury took only four hours to reach its verdict. When announcing the verdict, the judge said:
Joshua Stimpson was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to 26 years in prison.