Woman relieved over stalker verdict (From The Northern Echo)

Woman relieved over stalker verdict

6:56pm Wednesday 15th February 2012 in National News © Press Association 2011

A doctor has spoke of her relief after her stalker ex-boyfriend was found guilty of orchestrating a campaign of harassment against her and her mother.

Former City worker Al Amin Dhalla, 42, moved in with Dr Alison Hewitt, 35, in Brighton, East Sussex, months after meeting her through an elite online dating agency for professionals.

But their relationship soured after Dr Hewitt's family voiced concern over his "unseemly haste" to marry her and over lies they uncovered about his past.

The couple split after a year, triggering a terrifying four-month campaign by stalker Dhalla in which he tried to burn down her mother and stepfather's home and hired a private investigator to snoop on her.

After seeing Dhalla convicted of a string of offences, Dr Hewitt said outside Lewes Crown Court: "I feel very relieved that it is all over now. I'm looking forward to getting back to my normal life."

At the height of the harassment, police airlifted Dr Hewitt's mother Pamela Hewitt and stepfather David Gray from their holiday home on Lundy Island off the Devon coast amid fears for their safety.

A senior detective believe they foiled Dhalla - described by Dr Hewitt's family as a "narcissistic psychopath" - from committing three murders.

Dr Hewitt told reporters that ministers should take note of her case as she called for harassment laws to be updated.

She said: "Stalking destroys lives and we need to take it seriously. If it is not, it will be somebody else tomorrow, maybe even yourself."

Judge Charles Kemp adjourned sentencing to April 16.