A terrified woman has revealed how her stalker ex spied on her using an Amazon Alexa - before taking her car and deliberately crashing it on a motorway.
Shelby Laidlaw, 30, has spoken out after news broke that Coronation Street actor, Nicola Thorp, 34, has been stalked and terrorised for two years- by someone calling himself the ‘'grim reaper''.
Mum-of-two, Shelby says she can ''totally understand'' how the soap star feels, after being subject to a campaign of harassment by Hassan Mehmet, 35.
The pair had been together for 13 years but ended things in April 2022, which is when Hassan started his plethora of abuse, including threatening to throw acid in her face.
In a space of a month, he showed Shelby a knife and threatened to use it on her male friend, listened into private conversations in her home after hacking into her Alexa and smashed up her car on the M20.
Despite being arrested on May 5, 2022, Hassan was released 10 days later and continued to threaten to stab Shelby and to pay someone to beat up her boyfriend.
He was eventually remanded into custody after sending messages in which he threatened to ''plunge a knife'' into her throat.
On Friday, January 13, 2023, Hassan Mehmet, from Southwark, south London, appeared in the Old Bailey and pleaded guilty to stalking, dangerous driving, driving without insurance and driving without a licence and was handed a two-year suspended sentence and a 10-year restraining order.
Shelby, a carer, from Greenwich, London, said: "I sadly know exactly how Nicola feels because I've been through it myself- it's both frustrating and terrifying.
"The whole thing was awful and left me terrified. This was a man I'd known since I was 17 years old.
''We practically grew up together. The only good thing to come out of our relationship is our children and I feel for them too.
"I urge anyone else who is in a toxic, controlling relationship -if they can- to leave and never look back."
The former couple met when Shelby was just 17 years old through mutual friends in 2009.
After hitting it off at a house party, Hassan took Shelby's number and the pair went on to date.
The mum-of-two said: "He seemed really taken with me and he was older than me- it was all a bit exciting at 17. But his behaviour would especially change under the influence of alcohol.''
In December 2011, the couple had their first child and their second in April 2016. Despite being a "good father at first", Hassan slipped back into old habits and Shelby found herself having to look after the children as well as work part-time as a hairdresser.
"I really thought he'd get his act together when we had our first child," Shelby continued. "But he'd prefer to go out drinking with his mates after work then come home and be with his family.''
In April 2022 the couple called it quits but Hassan didn't let that stop him from controlling Shelby's life.
On April 19, she found via Hassan's sister that he was spying on her via the Alexa.
Not content to just eavesdrop, he would even hijack the technology and play loud music at ''inconvenient times as another means of control''.
Despite this, Shelby allowed him to accompany her to a hospital appointment- but in the car afterwards, he showed her a knife and threatened to use it on her male friend.
On April 22 Hassan sent her 118 messages, came to Shelby's address and threatened to throw acid in her face before driving off in her car.
Later that day, Mehmet drove Shelby's Jaguar on the M20 and deliberately crashed it in a suicide attempt.
Despite being arrested shortly afterwards, Hassan was then released 10 days later and continued to threaten to stab Shelby and to pay someone to beat up her boyfriend.
In October 2022 he pleaded guilty to stalking, dangerous driving, driving without insurance and driving without a licence .
Following the provision of psychological and probation reports, Judge Philip Katz KC said he was “just persuaded” to avoid handing out a prison sentence.
He said: "It’s an appalling course of conduct against your partner between April and July 2022.
"You were repeatedly messaging, calling, threatening, posting on Facebook, spying on her with an Alexa device.
"It is appalling. 'The whole thing was simply a disgusting course of conduct."
Speaking now, Shelby said: "If I could tell 17-year-old Shelby anything I would tell her to have the strength to leave sooner rather than later."
Anyone affected by this story can reach out to Women's Aid on 0808 2000 247 or by visiting www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk
