A stalker who made a woman’s life “a misery” with a relentless campaign of unwanted and threatening calls, texts, and visits to her home has been sentenced to 18 months in prison. Matthew Samuel bombarded his victim with calls, making up to 93 calls in one day, and threatening to burn her alive or harm himself at her children’s play centre. The Swansea Crown Court heard that Samuel has a history of stalking and harassing two former partners, with one incident involving him setting fire to an ex-partner’s driveway. The judge described his behaviour as “immature and pathetic,” more fitting for a 13-year-old boy than a 33-year-old man.
Regan Walters, the prosecutor, revealed that Samuel and the victim had known each other since childhood and were close. In June this year, Samuel started throwing stones at the woman’s bedroom window, yelling for her to speak to him. He then made threatening calls via Facebook Messenger, warning her of entering her house while she slept. Despite being arrested and bailed with a no-contact condition, Samuel persistently called and messaged the woman, even showing up at her house and threatening to ruin her life and spread false rumours.
The escalation of Samuel’s behaviour included Facetiming the woman, stabbing himself on camera, and threatening to harm himself at the children’s play centre she frequents. His continuous offensive actions led to his arrest on June 22. In court, Samuel denied wrongdoing, attributing his actions to being set up by the woman and her friends. Samuel, who has a history of 30 convictions for 51 offenses, including stalking, harassment, and breaching restraining orders, was sentenced to 18 months in prison with a one-quarter discount for his guilty plea.
Hannah George, Samuel’s defence, pointed out his chaotic childhood, exposure to domestic violence, and mental health issues. She mentioned that Samuel used substances and self-harm as coping mechanisms and had reflected on the harm caused to his victim while on remand. Judge Paul Thomas KC condemned Samuel’s persistent harassment, stating that his actions were disturbing and designed to make the woman’s life miserable. The judge highlighted Samuel’s failure to learn from previous prison sentences imposed for similar behaviour. Samuel will serve half of his sentence in custody and the remaining on licence.