Online Romance or Stalker/Catfish?

by Ericka Cherry

This week’s “Catfish” took a trip to Creepy Town when it appeared Nev and Max might be dealing with a stalker. The online romance between Ayissha and Sydney started off innocently enough, but things went south quickly when the latter avoided taking the relationship offline.

Sydney and Ayissha had developed a storybook romance from a chance Twitter encounter, but by the time Ayissha contacted N and M, Sydney’s stalkerish behavior had reached scary heights. A explained how S would never meet her in person when she came into town and kept blaming her second job for it. Because of the issue, the two lovebirds eventually ended their romance.

After the breakup, Ayissha went to a party and kissed another girl. Oddly enough, her now ex-girlfriend texted her that same night, saying only, “I have a feeling… Ur somewhere ur not supposed to be.” After an argument, Sydney admitted to being named Whitney and sent her ex an entirely new set of photos. Despite the admission of guilt, Ayissha still had a lot of love for Whitney and found it difficult to quit her, even though Whitney had already caused A to miss midterms and drop out of school. The tarnished love story had some big consequences.

The sleuths started by going through the catfish’s Facebook page. Immediately, they noticed that she and Ayissha shared mutual friends. Three of these pals — Markeith, James and Eric — also shared many mutual friends with Ayissha. Nev and Max reached out to the guys to find out if they knew Whitney; as they waited for responses, they discovered that Whitney’s phone number was associated with a Whitney Shanice Robinson.

The next day, one by one, each of the boys responded to Nev with variations on the same response: “I don’t know who Whitney Shanice is.” The similarity of their responses led Max to realize that Whitney was likely running the guys’ profiles to keep multiple tabs on her victim’s behavior by checking their mutual friends’ statuses.

At this point, there was nothing left for Ayissha to do but confront Whitney. Both sides were apprehensive about coming face to face but finally agreed to meet near W’s home in Texas.

As is typical with catfish, Whitney looked quite different from the two photo sets she sent Ayissha, but she wasn’t as vicious as expected. In a local park, she explained to an understandably distraught Ayissha that catfishing gave her a way to reach out and gain love from people after her mom’s negative reaction to her coming out.

It was a sad, potentially scary situation that seemed to find a good ending — even though the two women did not remain in touch: At the close of the show, Ayissha was back in school and Whitney had joined the Navy.




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Man She Met on Dating Site Beat and Raped Her

(USA) A petite, disabled Army veteran and single mother stoically told a judge how a man she met through an online dating site brutally beat, choked, raped and sodomized her after she invited him into her home.

She was testifying during a bond hearing for Corderell St. George, who’s charged with rape and false imprisonment in the Feb. 5 incident. He has been held without bond in the Muscogee County Jail since his arrest Feb. 28, and defense attorney William Kendrick tried to persuade Superior Court Judge William Rumer to set a bond so St. George could be released.

After hearing from the victim, Rumer declined.

The victim testified that after the assault, she helped police track St. George down by posting a fake profile to the online dating site “Plenty of Fish,” through which she first met him. She said he had deleted his old profile on that site and posted a new one, but had not changed his photograph.

Using the fake profile she’d created, she made contact with him, and not realizing who she was, he started making the same pitch he’d made to meet her before, she said.

Prosecutor LaRae Moore cited that testimony in arguing St. George would remain a danger to others were he released from jail. Having attacked the woman in her home, where she still lives, he presents a danger to her as well, Moore said.

The woman described what began as a pleasant meeting. St. George did not drive, and first invited her to his house, saying he had a roommate. His roommate turned out to be his girlfriend, who also testified Thursday, saying he'd been living with her since she met him in November 2013.

The victim said she hadn’t felt comfortable meeting St. George at his home, so as he walked toward her house Feb. 5, she met him halfway and gave him a ride there.

Around 11 a.m., while her teenage son was at school, she and St. George sat at her dining room table, played cards and had a few drinks. He seemed “mild mannered” and “quiet,” she said.

That changed abruptly: “From out of the blue, he hit me,” she said.

Screaming, she ran for her front door and unbolted one of its locks before he dragged her back, saying “Shut up, b---h,” she said. He ordered her to give him oral sex, she said. When she fought back, biting his hand and reaching for a bottle to hit him with, he beat and choked her, she said.
He choked her so hard she began to vomit, both on the pillow on her bed and the couch in her living room, she testified. He pulled a weave from her hair, and their violent struggle destroyed her flat-screen TV and an end table, she said.

Finally she persuaded him she had to use the bathroom, and as soon as she was free, she ran naked out the door to tell her neighbors, who went back in with her to confront him, she said. They found her home vacant and her back door standing open.

Clear to anyone in the courtroom was the disparity between the size of the victim and the suspect. She testified she was 5-foot-1 and weighed 135 pounds. Moore said St. George is 6-foot-6. He reportedly weighed 220 pounds when arrested.

Testifying on St. George’s behalf was a grandmother who said he’d lived with her most of his life, before moving in with the girlfriend. “I’ve never seen a violent side,” she said.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE FOUND HERE

Read more here: http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2014/04/10/3049777/woman-testifies-man-she-met-through.html#storylink=cpy

Facebook Romance Leads to Murder

(UK)  David Hoyle, of Idle Road in Bradford, hit Rebecca Bamber, 43, with wine bottles at her Widnes home in June then repeatedly stabbed her as she fled.

Chester Crown Court heard Hoyle left the scene calmly after the attack and smiled at a neighbour who was calling 999 while trying to help Ms Bamber.

Hoyle, 39, was given a life sentence and will serve at least 25 years.

Hoyle, who previously had a 15-year relationship with Ms Bamber, contacted her in May through the social networking site.

Screams
After they spent the night together at her Mersey Road home, he attacked her. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said Ms Bamber's neighbour raised the alarm after hearing screams coming from her house. He saw the 43-year-old at her window, covered in blood and mouthing "phone the police". The neighbour called 999 and went to the back of her house, where he found Hoyle in the garden standing over Ms Bamber with a knife.

He rushed back to his own house to find something to defend himself with but, when he returned, Hoyle had gone. He then saw Hoyle drive away in his van, who then "chillingly" smiled at him, the CPS said.

The court was shown CCTV footage of the scene, which showed Hoyle leaving calmly while Ms Bamber's neighbour was on the phone to the emergency services. A recording of the 999 call was also played to the jury, in which the man can be heard trying to comfort Ms Bamber, saying: "It's all right Becky, I'm here, the police are on their way, it's all right darling, stay awake."

Police caught up with Hoyle near Runcorn Bridge, but he rammed their vehicles and escaped on to the M56, where he was again stopped before being Tasered. Following his arrest, Hoyle made no comment at interview. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter, but the CPS insisted he be tried for murder. Speaking after sentencing on Wednesday, prosecutor Richard Riley said Hoyle's claim that he had not meant to kill Ms Bamber was "ridiculous".

"Hoyle subjected Ms Bamber to a brutal and sustained attack and clearly intended to do her really serious harm. "She'd been stabbed 11 times with two different knives and three broken bottles."

'No remorse'
He thanked the neighbour "for the courage he showed throughout this dreadful incident. His 999 call was the key to putting a very dangerous man behind bars," he said.

Det Insp Helen Spooner from Cheshire Police led the investigation. She said Hoyle had "shown no remorse". "We will probably never know the real reason behind Hoyle′s actions that day − only he knows why he subjected Rebecca to such a brutal attack in her own home," she added.

Ms Bamber's family issued a statement after the sentencing, saying: "We still find it difficult to believe that Rebecca has been taken from us in such a cruel and violent way. Not only has a mother been taken, but a sister and daughter too.

"It is difficult for us all to come to terms with what actually happened but, as a family, we hope that the conclusion of this court case will allow us some closure as we try to rebuild our lives and move forward."
original article found here