A woman’s nightmare as a stalker’s obsession grows | Forensic Files

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dress yoga pants [Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at
anytime you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support
please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website 18 year old Paige Rowland to work that
the Asda supermarket England office of Scotland the Asda store was open 24 hours a day seven days
a week and was a common first job for local teenagers when Paige wasn't pursuing her interests in reading
writing and drawing she worked a few shifts a week at the supermarket as a shelf stocker there was nothing
interesting or remarkable about the job most days were like every other but her colleagues were nice and had decent
benefits and it came with a generous staff discount on October 3 2014 Paige was working her regular shift that
as though she was in the breakfast aisle tasked with arranging cereal boxes neatly in replacing stock as she stood
up from fixing the boxes on the bottom shelf something hard hit the back of her head Paige collapsed the tinkering sound
of shattering glass echoed down the aisle colleagues rushed to her aid Paige was on the floor blood pooled from a
gaping wound in the back of her head a bakery chef found tails to press against the wound to stem the gush initial
considerations that Paige had accidentally hit her head on a shelf above were quickly dismissed broken
glass was all around her but none of the shelves held glass items a customer approached the supermarket
manager having witnessed what happened they explained that a man had approached Paige from behind brandishing a wine
bottle he hit her and calmly walked away CCTV footage showed the assailant to be
a dark-haired male in his 20s of average height and slim build he was dressed like a runner wearing a light jumper
shorts with leggings underneath and black rimmed glasses he was carrying a rucksack and a blue and green tubular
bag local news picked up the story and circulated a description of the wanted men calling the attack on the teenager a
mystery perhaps a random strike by Mad Men but it wasn't random the attacker had travelled nearly 500 miles from
London specifically to smash in the skull of Paige Rowland [Music] richard britain of bedford united
kingdom had a genuine claim to fame before he turned 20 did won the TV quiz show count them crown a series 55
champion in 2006 Richards triumph in the words and numbers gameshow came after winning all eight of his hate games
making him one of the show's coveted okto jams his prizes included a 20 volume dictionary and a flashy trophy it
took pride of place on his shelf beside a framed photograph of him with countdown presenters des Lynam and Carol
Vorderman Richard would tell people later that he thought des Lynam didn't like him very much
because Richard didn't smile enough during the competition Richard didn't get along with people he always knew he
was different believing he was far more intelligent than others his ego caused conflict with employers
and he never lasted in a job for more than two months Richard would say I'm quite good at getting jobs but I'm no
good at staying in them the countdown win was proof to Richard of his superior intellect it also came with a small
measure of Fame people started to recognize him talk to him and perhaps for the first time in Richard's life
respect him less than a month after winning countdown Richard went on another gameshow brain teaser he won and
took home 1,500 pounds there was no doubt quizzes where Richard's thing and he reveled in his newfound celebrity
status anyone who met Richard would very quickly hear about his countdown win with the young man going into minut
detail about his intellectual prowess he also made a youtube video in which he surrounded himself with countdown
memorabilia and spoke straight to the camera my name's Richard Britten and on the
countdown champion if you're a British viewer you probably immediately recognized me as the winner of series 55
if you're not a British viewer I can tell you a bit about countdown it's probably one of the most celebrated game
shows in British history and I've won a series of it he picked up a publicity photo of himself and the hosts and went
on to say that's Carol Vorderman she has been rated the sexiest woman in the UK I
know a lot of you want me to talk about all the rumors about dressing-room encounters on may or may not have had
with Carol Vorderman Richard gave the camera wink following his gameshow wins Richard obsessively searched for
mentions of himself online many comments he found were harsh he was called a disappointment boring and a misery guts
his YouTube bragging was seen as a joke the agent of countdown co-host Carol Vorderman provided a public statement
stating rumors of dressing-room shenanigans between her client and Richard were ludicrous as the public
laughed at him Richard got vigorously defensive he boasted of his intellect pointing out that he had consistently
offered eight letter words while also being very good at the numbers he would keep on dominating their discussions
until he got an apology from his detractors Richards gameshow victories in the accompanying fame gave him the
confidence to apply to the University of Cambridge somewhere he considered a place of esteemed learning he was
nervous when he was accepted feeling that although his social skills had improved he wasn't sure his
communication skills were ready for somewhere like Cambridge as he waited for his time at Cambridge to begin
Richard turned his hand to gambling hoping this would be a way of making money without having to work rather than
games of chance Richard fancied himself as a stock market whiz and would place bets with
bookies on whether the financial time stock exchange would rise or fall in the next 15 minutes for a while he won
convinced his skill and intelligence allowed him to predict financial movements with accuracy but just a week
before starting at Cambridge he lost everything there was never a time Richard had felt more successful and
happier than when he was rising through the ranks of TV game shows so in 2008 he
entered the countdown championship of Champions hoping to earn back his lost fame and fortune but it was clear
Richard had lost his spark and lacked confidence during the championship he put in a miserable performance he lost
with a lower score in the competition he humiliated himself offering up several non-existent words culminating in the
nonsensical game to seek the word became an in-joke in countdown circles four years afterwards
Richard dropped out of Cambridge soon after always a keen camper and hiker he began living a nomadic existence
travelling throughout the UK in Europe he slept in tents and hostels sometimes traveling alone sometimes with other
people he spent the next few years drifting between learning institutions and jobs but he never quite fit in
anywhere hours days even weeks were spent obsessively gaming he also began to write prolifically first for his own
pleasure but then for freelance sites he earned three pounds an hour for transcription translation and writing
articles the work was sporadic and dull and mostly involved rewriting existing articles changing them just enough to
avoid being detected for plagiarism in August 2011 Richard photo was time for him to retry
formal education he enrolled as a mature aged history student at Greenwich University in England for the first time
in many years Richard found ear was able to focus on his studies he made a few friends who enjoyed pastimes like poker
monopoly Scrabble and to risk all games at which Richard excelled they respected
him for being a countdown champion especially when they entered pub quizzes which Richard took far more seriously
than most people one day in September 2012 Richard took a seat at the counter of the Student Union
bar bar latitude at age 25 he was slightly older than his fellow students many of whom had come to think his
manner was somewhat odd he was considered a loner who spent a lot of time with books on his computer or in
his own little world bar latitude was a typical student drinking hole posting events such as open mic nights comedy
and student society fundraisers it had colorful eclectic decor with games and pool tables for entertainment as Richard
took a seat the barmaid smiled at him Richard was immediately besotted he felt there was something incredibly genuine
about her greeting she was enchanting and reminded Richard of Princess Leia in Star Wars he soon learned of the bar
maids name was Ella it wasn't just her beauty that drew Richard he was used to the fake and forced smiles of others
many without eye contact yet Ella's smile was genuine warm and unforced Richard felt her smile was especially
wide when directed at him twenty-one-year-old elegy ran who is living student life to the fullest
studying drama and politics she was captain of her netball team enjoyed skiing and campaigned for the
Student Association earlier that year she had volunteered as a London ambassador welcoming people from around
the world to the city on behalf of the mayor's office her outgoing and approachable personality made her
perfectly suited to a job in the cafe bar of the University the job came with its perks discounts at student union
outlets and reasonably flexible working hours as Ella worked a shift at the bar in
September 2012 a slightly older student came in he was thin and unremarkable looking with dark rimmed glasses and a
bit of stubble Ella served him a drink with her customary friendly smile but paid him no more attention than anyone
else he however kept staring at her as she moved around pulling pints and pouring drinks she thought he seemed a
bit odd but harmless after meeting Ella Richard began going to the bar more frequently Ella didn't
know that the quiet pale older student had watched her come and go worked out the times of his shifts and only ever
came in when she was on duty sometimes when he came in he would just sit and stare at her for that bit too
long making the hairs on the back of her neck prickle she told herself she was overreacting as soon as he had the
opportunity Richard Todd eller of his claim to fame being crowned winner of the county art game shadow though he
thought she had probably recognized him and was being coy when the bar ran a pop
quiz a couple of weeks after they met Richard made sure he and Dale over on the same team they did well and Ella was
mildly surprised to receive a hug from the man she barely knew she accepted Richards friend request on facebook
which wasn't unusual for her regular customers and fellow students he gave her a kiss on the cheek when he left for
that day overjoyed that their relationship had taken a new step Richard had already found Ella's Twitter
feed she was a prolific tweeter and Richard read through them all there was some in particular he thought women for
him specifically just told me baby and we'll be all right you know he's the one when your heart beats a bit faster he
walked into my life and it's beautiful he believed she was letting him know how she felt about him through her Twitter
feed Richard wanted to impress our the way he knew best but winning a televised per game show but even better this timer
would be a team effort which she could be part of the BBC University challenge Richard didn't know if Ella would be of
much use on the team but he was happy to carry her if it meant spending time together
the next time he was at the bar he casually invited LR onto the BBC University Challenge team he was putting
together she was surprised than a little amused at the invitation I don't know if
I'm brainy enough rich she said to which Richard required we need Beauty as well
as brains he had brought along entry forms that needed to be filled out by individual team members which has shoved
at her she took them and promised to fill them out as soon as she had time Richard told her she needed to supply
photograph with the application and she told him to go ahead and choose one for her since she was busy that evening
Richard scrolled through her Facebook photos looking for the perfect picture to submit to the TV show happy to have
an excuse to private message her he started a chat maybe this one he asked Ella couldn't see the photo Richard was
referring to what photo is it she replied you're wearing a low-cut black lace trimmed top on your pink lips and
mischievous smile is playing Ella replied and if you think I look smart enough Richard then teased they she had
not posted any photos of herself in the glasses she sometimes wore he knew there
were no photos on Facebook with her wearing them because he had looked at every single one when not on the bar
while Stella was working Richard spent the remainder of his time honing his general knowledge determined to impress
Ella and get the team on TV he revised intensively during breaks in his revision he would go through well as
Facebook liking and commenting on photos and posts from years back every time he
visited her page he would have something to say until one day he logged on and found himself locked they are tavella's
account unfriended shocked and upset Richard confronted Ella at the bar and asked war she said you're kind of
freaking me out you're a good guy but you're being far too forward Richard was gutted but he asked whether
she was still going to be in his team auditioning for the University challenge she told him yes and handed him her
completed entry forms but Ella said clearly only as a friend nothing more Richard took a deep breath it was Now or
Never he decided he had to tell Ella he's Princess Leia how he truly felt he confessed he was infatuated with her
that he loved her and that she was the only one for him he revealed he had been in love with her from the moment they
met and felt they were destined to be together his declaration didn't have the desired
effect rather than responding in kind Ella pulled out of the team for the baby say University challenge brokenhearted
Richard found a replacement but they failed the audition and never got to be on TV
his dream of winning the game show with Ella by side impressed by his brilliance
was shattered Richard's behavior grew increasingly erratic over the following weeks he picked fights with his friends
doing petty things like snatching away his Scrabble board in the middle of a game he was still gambling and his
drinking became troublesome often sculling down two bottles of wine and then heading out to a club if the
bouncers wouldn't let him in he would climb the fence and start fights he no longer had access to Ella's Facebook but
there was still her Twitter and Instagram the bubbly outgoing Ella was prolific on
social media and Richard scrolled through her timelines photos and stories doing this he came across a tweet she
once posted that said when I say I'm done I mean fight for me Richard believed the tweet was meant for
him and was prepared to accept her challenge Richard made sure to be at the bar for every single one of Ella's
shifts he stayed for the duration just sitting and staring in his mind she was Princess Leia to HIDs han Solo
the fantasy was so strong he could hear the music of Star Wars running through his head
eventually Ella swapped jobs with colleagues so that she could work in the kitchen away from Richards unwavering
gaze Ella did what she could to avoid him but she could never shake the feeling he was always around watching
one day in December Richards stopped her and tried to speak to her as she made her excuses to get away he said I just
wanted to wish you a happy Christmas later that day he a Twitter feed and was ecstatic to say
she posted just wanted to say that I love you he wasn't tagged in it but Richard
believed she echoed his words just wanted to so he would know her tweet was directed at him on Valentine's Day he
sent a cartellis address that he lifted from her University Challenge application form when she received the
card ella froze realizing Richard now knew where she lived thank you for listening we'll be
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making Ella so uncomfortable that she complained to the University authorities they made Richards sign a contract
saying he would stop harassing her but they stopped short of enforcing any measures that would physically protect
her Ella took to Twitter to express her frustration at the lack of action quote not happy that he's going to be led back
into the Student Union where I work I just want it to stop she ended the tweet with an emoticon a colon and a slash
used to express mixed emotions to Richard that emoticon meant that she didn't actually mean what she wrote but
the contract he signed meant he couldn't see her as often as he used to so he started to call her most of the time she
wouldn't answer so we'd leave her messages in one message he mentioned that it had been love at first sight
that same day ella tweeted a meme that said you had me at hello he was excited thinking she was sending him more coded
messages accepting his love sometimes when he called her Richard played songs down the line that expressed how he felt
the Beatles were a particular favorite of Richards he played their song I want to hold your hand so Ella would know his
intentions were romantic and he was going to woo her when he hung up he played more Beatles to himself
they told him she loves you yeah yeah yeah she loves you yeah yeah yeah she loves you yeah yeah
yeah ella was getting better at avoiding rigid that one point she'd successfully
avoided him for a weight he was left scrolling through her Twitter and Instagram feeds and then he saw it but
wait something's got your attention and it's not me she hadn't mentioned him or tagged him in it but Richard believed
ella was speaking to him to ella she was just sharing retweeting and posting statuses reflective of her own life and
thoughts her mind was far from Richard she had no clue he was obsessively scanning everything she posted and
deluding himself that everything she wrote online was directed to him he continued to call and send her love
letters through the post rose themed cards containing poetry and drawings he kept playing songs to let her know how
he felt he played another British rock band the police every breath you take he recorded it to her voicemail so she
would be able to play it back and think of him every breath you take every move you make every bond you break every step
you take I'll be watching you Ella had initially been reluctant to go to the police about Richard as she felt
sorry for him the Richards behavior was increasingly unhinged and she began to suspect he was
dangerous she was no longer simply annoyed she was slowly becoming terrified she began to have panic
attacks whenever she saw him and sometimes she would scream at him to leave her alone when letters kept
arriving at her home she decided to go to the police although stalking had been a crime in the UK since 2012 the police
advised their life that such cases were difficult to prove let alone prosecute Richard hadn't harmed her there was
little they could do they told her Ella assumed the police would at least pay Richard a visit to caution him but she
was devastated to discover the only action they took was to talk to the university the university banned Richard
from the Student Union Building meaning he couldn't enter the bar where she worked or sit outside waiting until she
finished her shift soon after Ella graduated with a bachelor's degree in politics and drama she moved back to her
parents to take up a job in Exeter a combination of the report to the police and the distance between them seemed to
work Richard backed off and Ella was almost able to go back to a normal life little
by little as the months wore on she became less fearful that Richard had not forgotten Ella he spiraled into episodes
of alcohol abuse on a roller coaster of highs and lows when he was high he would
lift weights working out to booming music that motivated him to pursue his goals during the lows he would get blind
a drunk abused friends and occasionally get into fights in October 2013 Greenwich University put on the
graduation ceremony for Ella's class Richard wrestled with himself he knew she didn't want him there he knew that a
visit to the police meant that perhaps she was serious when she said she didn't want to see him but Richard couldn't
keep himself away Ella hadn't seen Richard for almost six months but there he suddenly was at the ceremony sitting
directly in front of her she tried to swap places with the person next to her putting as much distance between him and
herself as possible Richard saw this and reflected on his behaviour so far for the first time
Richard admitted to himself that he wasn't just an admirer he was a stalker Richard mulled over this revelation yes
he was a stalker but he's stalking came from a place of love he was a benevolent
stalker he convinced himself benevolent stalking was different to malevolence talking he believed the Lada was
intended to cause harm or induce fear that the former was purely an expression of affection
once again the lyrics of the beta was spoke to him I'll get you I'll get you in the end yes I will I'll get you in
the end well there's gonna be a time when I'm gonna change your mind so you might as well resign yourself to me
[Music] after the graduation ceremony Richard recommenced calling Ella and leaving messages on her voicemail he
sent her a Valentine's Day card you know he drew her as a fairytale character he
proposed to her there was imagery of LR and Richard and their two fictional children holding
hands he wrote a poem in fluorescent gel pens and put their initials in a heart Ella had been careful not to leave any
hints about where she was living in Exeter and made sure everyone knew not to tell Richard but he was able to find
her address by tracking down her mother on the electoral roll Ella panicked and once again went to the police again they
didn't seem to take her situation seriously and she left in tears however a policewoman did visit Richard
and told him to stay away but Richard was now focused on a new project to win over Ella he was going to write a novel
a fairy tale a beautiful homage to their love his heroine had to be named after his muse but he turned her surname into
an anagram her name was Ella tundra and she was the protagonist of his life work
his opus the book he was going to call the world rose and so started one of the happiest periods of Richard's life even
though he couldn't see Ella in a way she was with him every day as he wrote his masterpiece Richard neglected his
studies barely ate and to listen to The Beatles religiously unable to hold down a job Richard started gambling again it
didn't go well so he took on a job at a souvenir store in Westminster selling fridge magnets to
tourists he liked his manager who was gruff but pleasant after two days he thought he might have found a job he
could stick with the other workers warned him to wait until he met the business owner before he decided that
he'd found his forever career Richard met Gina on the third day and hated her on sight
she was shoddy and unreasonable and found fault in everything he did she confused him with contradictory messages
such as he must never leave his post but if he ran out of stock he must go into the storeroom and replace it immediately
when a customer asked for a magnet design that had sold out Richard ran to the storeroom to check for replacements
Gina followed him in to scream at him for leaving his post frustrated he threw a box of magnets at her head told her to
[ __ ] off and quit he told himself he had done a service to all the faceless people who would work for her in the
future she would think twice about ever being that unreasonable again after that he
he worked for a landscape gardener he paid ten pounds Pirela Richard liked the boss Lawrence even
though he seemed constantly stoned but when Richard opened up about being countdown champion Lawrence didn't call
him for any further work that job was followed by a stint as a leaflet distributor Richard enjoyed the exercise
but not the paltry wage of five pounds per hour the jobs weren't working out so in July Richard decided to leave London
to be a wandering Nomad for the summer he bought a tent for ten pounds and traveled with his laptop and of little
else he took a train 50 miles southeast the Faversham where he met with a friend
the pair walked three hours to Whitstable a seaside town on the northern coast of Kent from there
Richard just walked exploring the southeastern parts of England he had no mattress
so finding fields and parks with ideal grass the pidgeys tent was a priority he also needed places that were just the
right balance between being not too obvious but not so remoteness to be dangerous one night he was woken by
someone unzipping his tent the person ran away when he started shouting but they stole his shoes creeped out he
packed up his tent and started wandering shoeless in the middle of the night until he met some homeless people who
told him where he could pitch his tent safely when he slept on private land or in a public park he had to ensure he
woke early before anyone would discover him and tell him to move on but worse caught the poise when he got to
Canterbury he traded his tent for a youth hostel and spent his days at a pub feverishly writing editing and polishing
his novel the world rose he continued wandering further south and got into a pattern of two nights camping followed
by one night in accommodation like a hostel or a cheap bed-and-breakfast he made it to Folkston on the south
coast where he could sleep on the beach write his book and to listen to music on
his laptop he had discovered Moby and to listen to his albums on repeat which had been left
England and flew to Belgium where his mother lived his book was all but finished so he started an online blog he
wrote of his travels his wanderings and adventures he enjoyed the rambling flow of thoughts that could be poured out on
a blog as opposed to the structured discipline of writing fiction he called it Richard Britain's blog musings from
the author and countdown champion his novel the world rose was 60,000 words believing he had written a best-seller
Richard tried to get an agent interested in it but they told him and needed to be
at least 70,000 words to meet the industry standard Richard pointed out the 60,000 words put him in the company
of great authors HG Wells Mark Twain Ernest Hemingway Charles Dickens and F scott Fitzgerald all who had written
classics that were shorter than the world rose the agents weren't convinced unwilling to bend to their demands
Richard joined Wattpad a site where people could upload their writing to be read and critiqued by millions of users
it was mostly used for those who wanted to share fanfiction for self publishers testing the water for a new story
Richard felt his writing was far superior than any other content on the platform but he thought it would be a
good way to bring attention to his work and prove its worth the publishers so he
uploaded the prologue for the world grows with a note saying that if anyone wanted the rest of the book they had the
boy in his blurb he called his book an epic fairytale romance set in a semi-fictional ancient world and claimed
that it was a stunningly original piece of literature the central character was already under Beauty the rose of the
world Richard claimed critics had compared his work to Dickens Shakespeare rolling fast
and Roberts finally he wrote I shall be relentless in promoting my work for the neck
several months annoy intend to try some novel techniques so don't be surprised if you see me in the news what pad at
its best can be a wonderful supportive community of writers sharing their work encouraging each other providing
thoughtful useful critique or it can be a cesspool of wannabe writers massive egos bolstered by sockpuppet accounts
jealousy and people trolling for reactions soon after Richard had uploaded his prologue to the world grows he was
pleased to note that it had garnered a healthy number of downloads some people stated that they liked it and provided
positive feedback others offered critiques Richard would respond to them believing
less intelligent people didn't understand the themes and nuances of his work perhaps you could be more specific
and let us know which words you didn't understand he said to someone who had commented that the author loves using
big words but hates using them correctly another reader commented on what they considered odd the word choices Locke
referring to a bulldog as a tenacious talk that has talent like claws they accused the author of over using a
thesaurus and called it the sort of writing they would expect from a precocious young team he get to impress
his English teacher Richard responded when I won countdown I got a 20 volume dictionary but have
never owned a thesaurus naturally my vocabulary is bigger than yours a talk means a dog and particularly Fitz this
dog because he also acts like a small child int some words have multiple meanings he is acting tenaciously and
tenacity is a well-known feature of Bulldogs a bulldog with unkar nails has a Talon white claw
meanwhile Ella quietly moved to Glasgow in Scotland for a new job in August 2014
even though she hadn't seen richard britain for six months putting 500 miles between them men she could relax a
little more breathe a little easier that month ella received a message via twitter from someone using the handle at
the world rose it was Richard he asked her to read he self-published masterpiece and let him know what she
thought ella blocked him but didn't go to the police the English police had dismissed her
concerns several times and she didn't want to get rebuffed in a similar manner by the Scottish police she believed
Richard wouldn't be able to find her in Scotland but Richard trolled through her
Twitter and Instagram feeds to find clues of her whereabouts eventually he was able to figure out where her
workplace was on August 26 Richard tweeted to the world I think I might move to Scotland
by September 2014 Bella had settled into her new home and job when she finished up one shift she walked out of the store
and her stomach dropped sitting on a bench outside was Richard he waved at her and motioned that she should stop
and talk to him fear rendering her speechless Ella took off down the street Richard gathered his belongings and
followed he wanted to tell her of his amazing plan to get publicity for his book Richard had cooked up a plan to
kidnap Ella but it would be a ruse she would be in on it they were going to the hills and camp out while the nation
searched for her then when the media interest was at its peak they would return and she would tell the world that
they were in love best of all Ella who loved drama while they are at university would play the
lead role when the world Rose was made into a movie that would both be famous and live happily ever after on the sales
of the book Richard had the necessary supplies the carry out his plan with him in his bag Ella called triple nine the
emergency number and headed to a crowded area by the time police met with her Richard had disappeared they took a
statement and drove her home they waited but he didn't appear Richard went to Ella's workplace the next day but she
didn't show instead Ella had spent the day barricaded in her flat terrified the Ridgid had found where she worked she
had no way of knowing if he knew where she lived two days later Ella hesitantly returned
to work after her shift Richard appeared again carrying his duffel bag obstructed her path and insisted he
needed to talk to her this time Ella found her voice and screamed at him loudly making sure to cause a scene so
people would turn and look she pulled out her phone until his photograph for evidence then she ran back into a
workplace where he couldn't follow and a phone to the police when police arrived
Richard had disappeared again enabled by toffee anti-stalking legislation Scottish police agreed to charge Richard
with engaging in a course of conduct causing fear or alarm once they found him Richard returned to London on the way
home he fired up his laptop and wrote a blog post and he called the benevolent stalker in a he wrote of his unrequited
love for Ella and all the things that he had done to try and make her love him back he wrote of it as a great love
story quote every great romance is about two partners who are utterly obsessed with each other
Romeo and Juliet are people who are so passionate liam powerfully in love then nothing else matters to them but what if
that feeling was felt on only one side what if Juliet had rejected Romeo would he become a stalker it seems that modern
society drools over depictions of this intense obsessional love but only when it's mutual when it comes from just one
side had suddenly gained a terrible theme when I was listening to the Beatles I realized that a lot of their
early music suited ma nood much of it is about being utterly obsessed with a particular woman are the Beatles creepy
stalkers of course not he went on to say I think our relationship is finished you know I gave
it my best shot and he ended the blogpost with but alas I'll have to find another way
Richard resumed his nomadic lifestyle although now he called it living as a [ __ ] he found a spot on a golf course
where he could pitch his 10 H naught every morning at 7 a.m. and men would come by on a lawnmower which would be
Richards cue to pack up and find somewhere to write for the day the lawnmower man didn't mind him being
there and sometimes acknowledged him with a cheery greeting London was a great place for the starving tortured
artist lifestyle as there were any number of places with free Wi-Fi and where Richard could plug in and charge
up his laptop he spent his days in libraries pubs Starbucks McDonald's and Waterstones bookstores
he wrote blog posts for his website almost daily when he saw homeless people he would lecture them and give them
unsolicited advice telling them that they could live like him just by spending ten quid on a ten
he felt like famed author George Orwell who he recalled lived as a [ __ ] when he
wrote down and out in London in Paris yet Richard was not getting the kinds of reviews that all well did on Wattpad
things were getting worse for the world rose as more negative feedback piled up Richard simply didn't understand that
every time he lashed out at critics he was attracting more negative attention he was firm in his belief in
his own brilliance and his self-importance grew rather than receded he was unable to take even
well-intentioned criticism from successful authors dismissing their opinions as meaningless in a very short
time Richard had acquired quite the reputation on the side and what Pat users wanted to punish his arrogance
somewhat paid users went to Goodreads and gave the world Rose a one-star rating even though they hadn't read
beyond the prologue Goodreads is the English language's premier site for independent public reviews of all books
it's one of the top 500 websites of the world with tens of millions of members good reads reviews carry the same sort
of weight for authors as TripAdvisor does for hotels or Yelp for restaurants [Music]
one frequent Wattpad user called herself page e leu or sometimes page e rants page e Liu spent a lot of time on the
site where she declared herself to be a writer reader critic and artist in her profile she wrote writing is my only
bias don't care what I'm writing so long as I'm producing words and some kind of
story and building characters to my in to your satisfaction I am constantly striving to be better
and to thus constantly live with the urge to edit in turn this causes me a great deal of stress I am learning to
chill a photograph of a slim redheaded teenager and de links to several other social media platforms that she used the
company paid you lose profile she had sassy quotes and rules for people interacting with her such as don't ask
me to follow you and don't ask me to read your stuff in her description of herself she said I have the worst luck
and I'm sure if he stayed long enough you will see this for yourself seeing the reactions of new author Richard
Britton to critiques of the book he had uploaded page II Luke downloaded the prologue to the world Rose for herself
then she wrote a review of it on Goodreads page II lose 1500 word one-star review of the world Rose was
skating the prologue she called just awful adding it was bland and bored her out of her skull she hated the cover the
blurb the writing the characters and the story she wrote it's filled with many writing no notice way to much telling
pretentious prose and a main character that I already hate she provided patronizing advice to the author stating
that he should have given his book away for free and to pointed out many so-called writing rules that she
considered he had breached finally she turned to an assessment of the author himself quote and Britain has the
audacity to say to continue reading please purchase the book you may not have to pay to read something that's not
being professionally edited no thank you I wouldn't even download a free version at the book to be perfectly
honest with you Britain's infamy on Wattpad means that we Wattpad is no he didn't bother to
invest in a professional editor for this which means he has little respect for his readers it also means he's
incredibly stubborn and arrogant if he thinks this kind of material is worth money
I strongly feel that had this undergone a round of edits from a professional and
if Britain had opted to make friends on Wattpad instead of enemies he could have
found himself some lovely readers who would have helped him sort out all of these rookie mistakes it's a real shame
because there is plenty of potential here but nobody wants to read a potentially good book we want to read
books polished to perfection and sadly I think the world Rose is far from perfection
Paigey Liu signed at the review with her real name Paige Rowland one of the throwaway lines in her review was
unfortunately mr. Britain has gained a bit of infamy on what that where he's known for threatening users who don't
praise him pray for me the more Richards work was attacked and ridiculed the more he fought back making
things worse for himself when critics spoke about writing rules he called the media --ts and wrote the following as
any artist will tell you there are no rules when he read page Rowland's Goodreads review every seething emotion
he had came to the fore she had not only attacked him and his writing she had attacked Ella the love of his
life he saw that the teenager was prolific on social media and had no problem finding her Facebook profile
that listed her workplace as the Asda superstore in of all places busco two weeks after leaving Scotland
Richard hopped on a train headed back to the home of the object of his affections
this time he was ruled by burning hatred instead of the love that led him there the last time when he arrived that night
he found a camp spot and played the acoustic version of the song God by John Lennon I had a message from above and
I'm here to tell you that this message concerns our love the Angels must have sent me
to deliver this to you the next day Richard calmly entered the as the superstore he selected a bottle of white
wine from the alcohol section and walked to the breakfast oil he saw the familiar redheaded teenager
kneeling down before the shelf want with cereal boxes distracted in her work Richard walked up behind Paige Rowland
and slammed to the bottle as hard as he could against the petite teenager's skull
[Music] Paige was rushed to hospital her head wound was deep and required many stitches at first she had no idea why a
random person would attack her in such a way but once she was shown CCTV footage
of her attacker she was able to identify him as the world rose author Richard Britton Paige knew what he looked like
from his pictures on the internet and had no doubt it was him she knew it was payback for her scathing review of his
book after the attack Richard immediately fled Glasgow for England the next day he joined in the
global March for elephants and rhinos in London not because he cared about stopping the ivory trade but because a
lot of girls went to these things he eluded police spending his days exercising and riding until he was
traced by his mobile phone signal and was promptly arrested his phone signal also placed him in Glasgow at the time
of paid Roland's attack richard britain was charged with the attack on Paige Rowland and finally with stalking
elector and upon pleading not guilty richard was released on bail pending trial he started seeing a psychiatrist
as per normal procedure in the UK the police did not publicly release Richards name in connection with the attack on
Paige Roland therefore the media in public were unaware he was charged in connection
with that crime meanwhile Richards blog posts the benevolent stalker which he wrote right after the last time he
accosted a larger and had gone viral after being shared on social media by members of the Wattpad community it
spread like wildfire it was picked up by popular female focus to news and gossip
site Jezebel the post gave such an incredible insight into the mind of a deranged stalker that some people
couldn't believe it was genuinely autobiographical one reader wrote in response to the article I don't believe
this is real if this were a true story that would be utterly terrifying but something about it reads fishy most
readers however were sickened and frightened by the delusional rambling and were horrified by the utter
disregard the author had for the woman whom he knew didn't return his feelings but continued to harass anyway some
people warned that the behavior of the delusional author might escalate at some point without anyone realizing that it
already had one commenter wrote this thing reads is some sort of over-the-top parody I mean it just sounds so utterly
batshit insane that no rational person would have a problem thinking that this kind of behavior was wrong he needs some
very intensive help because if this escalates someone is going to lose their life at his hands
we have been warned Richard was more prolific with his blogging whilst out on bail he claimed his psychiatric
treatment allowed him to develop awareness and insight into the delusional thinking that previously
enveloped him in his blog post a revaluation of romance he said honey I recognized that my behavior was vile
selfish and deluded he wrote another about how any psychotics were making him a better person in that blog he wrote
you were probably going to hear about the terrible things I've done because they are likely to make the news once my
trials are over all I can say is I'm sorry genuinely in November 2015 Richard Britton pled guilty to the
assault on Paige Rowland and to the stalking of Ella tear and he was sentenced to 30 months in prison with an
indefinite order that prevented him from using any electronic device to monitor the movements follow communicate contact
or approach either of his victims Paige Rowland has told reporters that the attack had left her fearful afraid of
meeting new people and too nervous in big crowds the once opinionated young woman became frightened to share her
views not just online but even in a supportive classroom environment a few months before he was sentenced Richard
Britton published a palm online called apology to Scottish Lu a reference to page Rowland's Wattpad username page he
Lou dear Scottish Lu many things you said left me black and blue I thought that I
was dead to me you were a shrew a rascal raging red but if only I knew it was all
inside my head now my mind is true I feel no more dread I apologized to you this poem I hope you've read elegy rant
told a stalking seminar quote I feel incredibly let down by the police I can't believe it's taken three years to
get any sort of justice if someone had listened to me and acted sooner then what happened to page might not have
happened and I would not have been subjected to as long an ordeal ella was no longer the bubbly friendly barmaid
ready with a smile and a chat the three years of living in fear took their toll and she became reclusive roots in
Britain was released after serving just fifteen months of his sentence in early 2017 he was posting online again on a
blog he called putting new wine in new bottles he recounted some of his experiences in prison including watching
the entire series of Dexter and befriending rapist George Cameron bridge with Britain's
books remain available for sale including his deluded fantasy opus 2 his victim and princess Ella tundra audio of
Richard Britain reading the introduction of the world Rose is still online once upon a time there was a great
forest realm high up on a hill among the yew trees stood a castle in that castle lived a
princess and her name was Ella tundra her hair was golden brown and her eyes were blue like the ocean her smile could
melt the hearts of knights and her voice was delicate like a leaf in the wind she was tall an elegant slender yet well
endowed Thundra was in her name but not her nature for she was neither cold nor bleak like Tundra but warm and vibrant
like a meadow in summer at twenty-three years of age the princess's world renewed word of her loveliness had
spread around the globe to distant lands and far-reaching empires [Music] you [Music]

Case 89: Ella Tundra

On October 3 2014, Paige Rolland was working her regular shift at Asda supermarket, in Glenrothes, Scotland. She was in the breakfast aisle...

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Episode researched and written by Eileen Ormsby, author of ‘The Darkest Web – Drugs, Death and Destroyed Lives: The inside story of the internet’s evil twin’ Production, scoring – Mike Migas Additional scoring – Andrew Joslyn

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RESOURCES

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Brief Summary

Richard Britton attacked Paige Rowland in a supermarket after obsessively stalking another woman, Ella Rant, leading to his arrest and conviction.

Key points

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Paige Rowland's Attack. An unexpected attack on a supermarket worker leaves her seriously injured.
Richard's Countdown Fame. Richard Britten's rise to fame on a game show leads to unexpected challenges.
Richard's Infatuation with Ella. Richard becomes infatuated with a barmaid, leading to an awkward relationship.
Ella's Love Declaration. Ella's tweet sparks confusion for Richard, leading to a heartfelt but unreciprocated confession.
Ella's Frustration. Ella takes to Twitter to express her frustration with Richard's harassment.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

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Tension

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