Stalker who threatened boyfriend and his ex jailed

A convicted stalker who repeatedly threatened to kill her ex-boyfriend's former partner has been jailed.

Sarah Scott, 41, said she was "dreaming of snapping" the woman's neck and that a "15-year sentence" would be "worth it for her not be on this earth", Leeds Crown Court heard.

Scott, of Corbett Drive in Wakefield, also threatened to make a false rape allegation against her ex, to whom she pleaded guilty to harassing earlier this year.

The woman subjected to the threats, who had never previously met or spoken to Scott, told the BBC she had been through "eight months of hell".

At a sentencing hearing on Friday, it was said that Scott had a history of similar offences against other ex-partners.

The court heard Scott began a relationship with the victim in April this year which "started positively" before taking a "downhill turn" and eventually ending.

It was said that she would "continuously" reference her boyfriend's former relationship and would become "aggressive", punch walls and lock herself in the toilet when the issue was raised.

In a stream of messages to her partner, Scott said she wanted the woman to be "ashes" and that she would "stab her" at her place of work.

The man passed these messages onto his ex to make her aware because he felt Scott was "unpredictable" and he could not be sure she wouldn't carry out the threats.

When the woman reported the threats to the police herself, Scott was given a caution and was ultimately only taken to court for offences against the man.

Despite that, His Honour Judge Neil Clark said there were "effectively two victims" in the case.

It was said the man had been left "destroyed" by the relationship and he'd been "terrified" by the prospect of her making a false rape allegation against him.

The woman was similarly "frightened" and "unable to go to work" because of the threats.

The court was told Scott had had "problems" in her childhood and life which had "carried forward" into her offending.

In mitigation, it was said she had taken "positive steps" while on remand in prison, where she had returned in October for having breached a suspended sentence, which was handed down for a separate stalking offence in February 2024.

Sentencing her to 30 weeks in prison, Judge Clark said Scott's behaviour was "persistent".

Both the victim and his ex-partner were granted indefinite restraining orders preventing Scott from contacting either of them.

Speaking after the case, the woman subjected to the threats told the BBC: "This has been eight months of hell.

"This was a woman I'd never met and yet she was threatening to kill me. My daughter's been scared to be alone in the house.

"I feel the court has recognised her previous conduct now and recognised the impact she had on my life with the indefinite restraining order.

"I hope she'll leave us alone now."

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.