A woman who has been jailed three times for harassing her childhood best friend continued to hound her as soon as she was released from prison.
Keelie Murphy had been friends with Gemma Ellison since the pair were 10 but the relationship soured after Murphy developed an "infatuation" with her friend and would bombard the Ellison's family business with calls that made it difficult for it to function.
Murphy, from Woolton, was convicted of harassment and handed a restraining order barring her from contacting her former pal or attending her Widnes-based company Ellison Motors for five years. But Murphy, of Halewood Place, has repeatedly breached this ban since, reports the Liverpool Echo.
Liverpool Crown Court heard how Murphy's harassment varied from "expressions of love and romance to threats of violence and abuse". Her calls to Ellison Motors would leave lines jammed, with customers unable to get through. She told the mother-of-three she was going to "take the consequences into her own hands" and warned "watch what happens".
In 2020, Murphy made five breaches of her restraining order, resulting in her being jailed for 12 weeks. Liverpool Crown Court heard how Murphy called Ms Ellison more than 200 times over three days in July 2020 alone. In January last year, she was handed 10 weeks for another breach.
Soon after her release from this stretch, Murphy ignored the order a further five times in contact. After being given two years behind bars in September 2021, the defendant was released in December but recalled on licence in April. Freed again on the 29th of that month, Murphy "immediately started contacting her again at her place of work".
The garage began receiving a string of phone calls from withheld numbers, persisting from opening time at 9am until the end of the work day. Ms Ellison would recognise her harasser's voice upon answering and hang up without speaking to her.
Murphy also exhibited "troubling behaviour" during her "relentless attempts to speak to Ms Ellison", where she would "talk about her children and relationship". Appearing via video link to HMP Styal, she was heard to say "that's a lie" as this was said in court.
The police advised the complainant to record the barrage of calls, and she did so with one on the afternoon of May 26. In it, Murphy told her "she had ruined her life" and called her "derogatory names", including a "d******d".
After her arrest, she claimed in interview that Ms Ellison had set up a "fake TikTok account and was watching her videos". She also said she "does it when she is drunk".
A statement read out to the court on Ms Ellison's behalf said: "I get constant migraines after a day of her ringing. I go home to the kids feeling sad and deflated. She turns horrible so quickly if you tell her to stop ringing. I wonder what it will take her to stop.
"It's be going on for years and years now. It's having a huge effect on me and the business. Every time Keelie is let out of prison, she starts back up immediately on her release. Keelie would not just call up once, she would call from the minute we open up until we close.
"It's caused me nothing but stress and anxiety. I constantly think about what's next. It makes me feel mentally drained when all I want to do is come to work and run my business."
Murphy, who is a carer for her mum, has five previous convictions for 15 offences. All but one of these are related to Ms Ellison, the other being for drunk and disorderly behaviour and assaulting an emergency services worker in 2008.
Stuart Nolan, defending, said: "It's a very distressing case. One can only feel for the victim in this matter. There are serious mental health issues here. At the root of all this is this woman's obsession, which seems to have become troubling to society when she's in drink and drugs.
"She has an appalling record, but only for this sort of behaviour. There are deep seated problems here which, unless addressed, look like they're going to continue. She does regret her behaviour, it just seems she is not able to control it when in drink and drugs - a combination which is explosive. I fear for her in the future."
Murphy admitted harassment and was jailed for 30 months. The restraining order was also extended indefinitely, while she was told to pay a victim surcharge.
Sentencing, Recorder Tim Harrington said: "Previous sentences, whether they be suspended sentences or prison sentences, have not deterred you. You were on licence and knew you were prohibited from contacting her, yet you persisted.
"This was a very serious and persistent breach, and it did cause serious distress. This was part of a persistent pattern of conduct.
"It's up to you. If you do what the order says you must do, you won't get into trouble again. If you breach that order, you will undoubtedly be prosecuted again and the sentences are just going to get longer and longer."
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