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Stalker who urged make-up artist to kill herself and mother who lied for him found guilty

Beaumont Bricka was convicted of stalking at Portsmouth Crown Court - Solent News & Photo Agency
Beaumont Bricka was convicted of stalking at Portsmouth Crown Court - Solent News & Photo Agency

A stablehand who created an elaborate stalking campaign against a woman he was obsessed with, and his mother who lied to police in an attempt to cover for him, have been convicted.

Beaumont Bricka, 26, was convicted of eight counts of stalking, and two counts of sending malicious communications, and perverting the course of justice, while his mother, Tonia Bricka, was convicted of perverting the course of justice.

Bricka used a network of fake social media accounts to message Eve Taylor, 24, a make-up artist with whom he was obsessed, to carry out an elaborate stalking campaign that turned her into "a complete mess", a court was told.

He created the fake accounts to send "appalling" messages to both Ms Taylor and to himself as part of a plot to frame the make-up artist's boyfriend as a malignant stalker and break the couple up.

Police arrested Tim Dobson, Ms Taylor's boyfriend, as part of investigations into the stalking, and the ordeal left him suicidal, the court was told.

Bricka was also discovered to have targeted Ms Taylor's father, the medical director of a NHS Trust, in his "twisted" campaign and attempted to have him fired by wrongly claiming he was a paedophile.

Bricka, described as "manipulative and corrosive", targeted nine other people connected to Ms Taylor as part of his plot, which he had hoped would bring her closer to him.

But when he was caught by detectives at home in the West Sussex countryside, his horse-owning mother stepped forward to claim that she had instead been the stalker.

Tonia Bricka was found guilty of perverting the course of justice at Portsmouth Crown Court - Solent News & Photo Agency
Tonia Bricka was found guilty of perverting the course of justice at Portsmouth Crown Court - Solent News & Photo Agency

However, Portsmouth Crown Court was told it was just an attempt by the 63 year-old to shoulder the blame for her son. Both of them now face jail.

Remanding the pair in custody, Judge Richard Shepherd told Bricka he was an "intelligent, manipulative and corrosive liar".

Bricka, who lives with his mother in a £530,000 cottage in the village of Aldingbourne, West Sussex, met Ms Taylor at the stables by his home and carried out his "twisted" year-long campaign from 2019 to 2020.

Their families were friendly and sometimes rode horses together, with Mrs Bricka and Miss Taylor's mother, Julie Taylor, both commenting that they would make a nice couple.

Bricka, who travels across the globe for international showjumping events, sent himself death threats from the fake accounts to make himself look like a victim to Miss Taylor and she grew "close" to him.

He made multiple fake accounts with girls' names on Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and WhatsApp, set up at least 34 different phone numbers, six email addresses, and used three mobile phones.

He spread lies about Ms Taylor, claiming she had sexually transmitted diseases, posting adverts claiming she is an escort, and branding her a "cheating witch".

Father investigated

Her father Dr Taylor even found himself being investigated by Sussex NHS Trust when Bricka made a false complaint he inappropriately messaged an 11 year-old girl.

'Chilling' photos of suicides, nooses and bloody knives were sent by Bricka to Ms Taylor and himself, encouraging them to kill themselves.

Ms Taylor said she unwittingly grew closer to Bricka and sent him over 3,000 texts, feeling "incredibly guilty" that he was getting death threats and worried that it was "her fault".

Bricka even went to the extent of visiting his doctor to be prescribed anti-depressants and spoke to a private investigator that the Taylors hired.

Ms Taylor said: "I was devastated, a complete mess. I felt really disturbed and stressed and guilty... It was horrible, the messages made me feel dirty.

Dr Taylor, medical director at Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, told jurors he was banned from meetings and seeing patients after false allegations were made against him.

Bricka was arrested in April 2020 after police spotted him on CCTV topping up one of the pay-as-you-go phones used to send messages.

Giving evidence, Bricka said he had a "lonely" upbringing and didn't have many friends, but claimed he was "shocked and horrified" by the stalking as he denied being behind it.

Mrs Bricka insisted she was the stalker, claiming she was "addicted to it", but was told her claims were "vague" and "nonsense".

The pair will be sentenced in May.