| The North East | News | Manfield | | Help | Site Map | Contact Us | Feedback | Archive |
 |
 | ||||||||
|
News
Sport Business Fish4 Jobs Homes Cars Other Content Fish4 Jobs Homes Cars Columnists Commercial |
|
|
|
|
||||
| ||||||||
|
||||||||
Guilty of poisoning heart of a villageDawn Turnbull10/08/2001 More than a dozen years of suspicion and fear in a tiny village finally ended yesterday with the conviction of the man who waged a hate-mail campaign against his neighbours. Retired university lecturer James Forster was warned he could face jail after being found guilty of carrying out the poison pen letter campaign and being unmasked as the scourge of Manfield, near Darlington. Forster, 68, was convicted of sending a barrage of obscene letters, leaflets and posters, including a pornographic magazine to a 13-year-old girl and threatening to bomb an elderly female neighbour. But the former Open University academic was cleared of allegations that he poured paintstripper on a neighbour's car and threw paint bombs at his house as well as putting glue in a pensioner's door locks. He had denied all charges against him. During the trial he was exposed by prosecutor Michael O'Neill as a man with an "unhealthy interest" in his neighbours, a "snoop" and someone "intelligent and careful but almost obsessed with the practice of writing letters that are undetected". At Teesside Crown Court, Judge David Bryant adjourned sentencing to an unspecified future date and bailed Forster to allow the preparation of psychiatric and pre-sentence reports. He also ordered health assessments to be carried out on Forster and his wife Elizabeth who, the court was told, had been ill. The judge told Forster, of Kirklea, Grunton Lane, Manfield, North Yorkshire: "All sentences, including a sentence of imprisonment, remain an option in this case." When defence barrister Tim Roberts said Forster had never suffered from a mental illness or seen a psychiatrist, Judge Bryant said if he had, "he might not be here at all". The jury took four and a quarter hours to convict him on seven of the ten counts he faced. Forster remained expressionless as he was convicted on three counts of threatening to destroy or damage property, three of sending indecent or obscene mail and one of incitement to commit burglary. Forster, a former church warden and parish clerk in the village, refused to comment as he left court after his conviction, and an unidentified relative told the Press there was "no comment" to be made on the verdict or whether there would be an appeal. During the eight-day trial, the jury heard how Forster mounted a campaign of hate against his neighbours in the picturesque village. The court heard Forster's first victim was his next-door neighbour, pensioner Molly Christian, who was sent three letters, one of which threatened to put a bomb down her chimney. He was accused of scratching her windows and putting glue in her locks, but was cleared of this by the jury. Forster tried to buy her home when she put it up for sale in 1989 but pulled out of the deal after three months. He said he wanted to buy it for his father and told the court that he had been frightened off buying the Meadowcroft home by the so-called Manfield letter writer who, he claimed, threatened him and his wife. Forster then turned his attentions to the family who bought the house. Roy and Val Kellett and their daughter Joanne, a teenager when the onslaught began, received scores of abusive letters. Posters branded Joanne a prostitute, and calling cards were distributed around the village and further afield. The court heard during the trial that Forster sent an anonymous letter to a man in Darlington inviting him to burgle his neighbours' home while they were on holiday. Manfield Neighbourhood Watch coordinator Eric Collin had been friendly with Forster, but became the next victim of the poison pen letter writing lecturer when he helped the Kelletts install a security system. Letters were sent to villagers claiming Mr Collin had "shopped" them to the police and to social services. Forster kept a "Gossip List" under the heading "People Gossiped About By Collin" which contained names of local people - many of whom received letters saying Mr Collin had spoken behind their backs. Due to the intense media interest in the case, Judge Bryant said he would not impose bail conditions forcing Forster to live in Manfield. • Back
|
|
|
|
|
||||
 Email page Start Here Contact
Us Subscribe Other sites Map Help Feedback Home Archive |
Regional News | Campaigns | Columnists | The Advertiser | National news | Personal Announcements | |
|||||||
Privacy Policy © Copyright 2009 Newsquest Media Group - A Gannett Company This site is part of Newsquest's audited local newspaper network |