A STALKER who made a female friend’s life hell was said to have told her that she would ‘never be rid’ of him.

George Doyle, 24, turned up at the woman’s workplace and home, ordered she send him her GPS location, popped-up during nights out and bombarded her with calls.

In one of those calls, which was taped by the victim, ranting Doyle could be heard demanding to know when she would meet him and threatening the lives of any men in her life.

“[I’ll] kill some bloke with my f***ing hands. I don’t care,” he appeared to say on the poor-quality recording.

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In her statement, the victim said: “He has told me I will never be rid of him.” She added: “I cannot carry on living like this, looking over my shoulder.”

Prosecutor Christopher Pembridge told Oxford Crown Court that Doyle and his victim met during a night out in Banbury last summer.

They became friends, although were never in a relationship. Doyle became controlling, demanding that she use an app on her mobile phone that allowed him to track her location at all times. He would also share his location with her.

When she went out with friends one night in October he turned up and demanded she get in his car. She refused and he tailed her as she walked along the pavement. The woman relented but, as they got a meal in McDonalds, made it clear she was not happy with his behaviour.

Later that month, he surprised her by turning up at a bar then followed her to another when she moved-on in an attempt to shake him off. As she stood by the bar with a friend he grabbed her by the throat and squeezed her neck for ‘a few seconds’.

In November, he turned up unannounced at his victim’s work three times and also demanded she send him pictures of her in her work clothes to prove where she was.

When on one occasion she went out to confront him, he became angry and reversed his car towards her. “She thought he was actually intending to hit her,” Mr Pembridge said. On other occasions he blocked her car in.

On November 5, he drove up to Leamington Spa after discovering she had gone out with friends in the town. Eight days later, a bouncer at a Banbury club was so worried about what Doyle might do that he drove the victim home himself to ensure her safety.

In December, she recorded a phone call with him in which he aggressively demanded to meet her and threatened to kill an unnamed male friend of hers. The next day, he called her 33 times and also sent a barrage of messages. They included threats ‘he’s getting poked [stabbed]’ and ‘dead man walking’.

Doyle, of High Street, Cropredy, pleaded guilty to stalking and assault by beating. He had no previous convictions.

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In a letter to the judge, he said he was remorseful and ‘completely understand how my actions came across’. He said: “This is not me. This is so out of character.”

Mitigating, Richard Davies said his client had a good job and a number of character references that spoke of him as a ‘good lad’.

Judge Michael Gledhill QC said what Doyle did was ‘quite unbelievable’. Suspending the 13 month prison sentence for two years, he said: “Those who would suffer [if you went to prison] would be your family, not yourself. You’d get through a prison sentence with very little difficulty, in my view, but leaving those on the outside in a terrible situation.”

He must comply with the probation service, pay £1,500 in prosecution costs and abide by a restraining order banning contact with his victim.

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This story was written by Tom Seaward. He joined the team in 2021 as Oxfordshire's court and crime reporter.  

To get in touch with him email: Tom.Seaward@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @t_seaward