A nurse was left ‘living in fear’ after a possessive artist spray-painted love hearts on her driveway during a stalking campaign.
Barry Mulroney, 66, has been jailed for three years after a judge condemned his obsessive behaviour and his ‘quite despicable’ stalkingof nursing assistant Mandy Walker, 58.
He even made heart shapes with his fingers and mouthed: ‘I love you’ asMs Walker stood up tell the court of her fear after he gave her an engagement ring and set himself up at her home.
The pair began dating in September 2023, and by November 2024, he had moved in with her despite her reluctance.
Mulroney claimed to have spent £29,000 renovating Ms Walker’s home, which included a £4,000 bed and multiple holidays during their relationship.
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Ms Walker, who had five children and five grandchildren, rejected the sums of money he claimed to have spent.
When she ended their relationship, he sent her unwanted emails and texts.
He also used spray paint to create love hearts over her driveway, pavements and roads outside her home.
In June this year, he gained entry to her house via a window where he stole items and switched off the electricity.
When she arrived home, Ms Walker thought there had been a power cut, until she realised the next morning that the electrical switchboard had been tampered with and various items were missing.
During the break-in, Mulroney had stolen her engagement ring, $140, eight bikini bottoms, a house key, and a set of 18-carat pearl earrings.
In one incident, Mulroney checked the name of an Egyptian resort hotel she was due to stay in with friends before secretly booking himself a room there.
Ms Walker subsequently cancelled the £1,800 trip and booked to go to Turkey instead – but he tracked her too.
In a statement, she said: ‘What shook me most was that Barry – someone I once loved and trusted – could violate my space like that.
‘After the break in I couldn’t sleep or function properly. I lived in constant fear and every noise sent me into a panic. That fear became part of my everyday life.
‘Emotionally, I have felt completely overwhelmed. I’ve been feeling depressed, low in mood and really struggling with day-to-day living.
‘I lost interest in all the things I used to enjoy like going to the gym.
‘Even simple tasks have become difficult – I started doing my food shopping online because I couldn’t motivate myself to leave the house.
‘Just the thought of going out felt exhausting and unsafe.
‘That one act alone stripped away any feeling of stability I had. The place where I should feel most secure no longer feels safe.
‘The stalking and harassment made me feel like I lost my freedom. I’ve felt emotionally upset, scared and worn down. No one should ever have to live like this.’
From the dock, he mouthed: ‘I love you’ at Ms Walker as she prepared to give a statement in the witness box, telling how she no longer felt safe leaving her home due to his behaviour.
Also in evidence, she provided 1,442 pages of chat logs which showed her repeatedly telling him to leave her alone.
She also submitted a phone call recording in which she confronted him about the break-in, to which he responded: ‘I’ll find you wherever you go. It’s not that difficult.’
It was revealed that he had a previous conviction for stalking a former girlfriend who broke up with him.
After admitting to stalking and burglary, Mulroney, from Hampton in Malpas, Cheshire, was jailed for three years at Bolton Crown Court.
An indefinite restraining order has been placed on Mulroney, which forbids him from contacting or approaching Ms Walker ever again, except through solicitors in relation to belongings.
In mitigation, Mulroney’s counsel Jane Miller said: ‘He loved the complainant very much and says that she was the love of his life.
‘I am sure that the complainant does not feel that as a result of events unfolding thereafter.
‘He helped with improvements to her property and took her on foreign holidays.
‘He tells me the amount spent on improvements on the house was £29,000 or thereabouts and on holidays, there were six in total, he spent about £20,000.
‘He was surprised that she was unhappy in the relationship. They had been engaged and there was £6,000 in a wedding fund. He thought they would spend the rest of their life years together.’
Judge Nicholas Clarke KC told Mulroney while sentencing: ‘I am sorry for your victim in that she had the misfortune to enter a relationship with you.
‘I have no doubt that she was not aware or your history with women and it was unfortunate that she sought to engage in a relationship with you.
‘At the start it was a wholesome, happy and romantic relationship.
‘There were dinner engagements and it was hoped that over time it may be a friendship that may develop into a wholly loving relationship that could make you both very happy.
‘That was not to happen because of your behaviour. You have stalked her over a significant period of time, declining to cooperate with her wishes, withdrawing her autonomy of movement.
‘She could not even go away with friends to enjoy holidays abroad away from you. Your behaviour towards her has been quite despicable.
‘She has sought to make her life independent from you, but the way in which you have messaged her and harassed her over a significant period of time has completely undermined any love she may have felt or you.’
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