A woman who posted dead mice through her ex-partner’s letterbox during a terrifying stalking campaign has been jailed for nearly two years.
Eleanor Hepburn, 22, tormented her victim so much she was left feeling as though she was trapped in ‘a real life horror movie’.
She ‘wouldn’t leave it’ after her relationship with the woman ended in September 2023 and bombarded her with calls, texts and emails.
In August last year, she drove four hours from her home in Portsmouth to her former partner’s flat in Warrington where she started banging on the door and hurling abuse in the early hours of the morning.
The following month the woman got home to find her door barricaded by a handful of wheelie bins.
Hepburn’s behaviour then became even more unpredictable, Liverpool Crown Court heard.
When the victims went to answer a sound at the door on September 19, they found a dead mouse had been posted through the letterbox.
Hepburn’s victim later told police she and her partner ‘were finding dead mice all over the stairs’ to her flat for the rest of that day.
Several more were scattered outside.
Hepburn continued making the long drive up to Warrington ‘every weekend’ and ‘stared through [the victims’] window, tried her door handle and messed about with her letterbox’, the court heard.
She also filmed herself throwing eggs at the home of a relative of her ex’s new partner and uploaded the clip to Snapchat story.
In a victim impact statement, Hepburn’s former partner said: ‘This experience has changed me so much that I no longer recognise who I am.’
She went on: ‘My sleep is disturbed every night. I have nightmares about being killed or something bad happening to me or my family.
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‘I’ve experienced sleep paralysis on more than one occasion, convinced that Eleanor is in the house with knives or fireworks. I thought I was going to die in a fire due to the threats arising from Eleanor.
‘I felt traumatised every day, wondering if I would find something dead in my letterbox, inside my home or outside my front door.
‘Eleanor has destroyed the safe space I created with my partner. Despite my new home, I continue to feel, deep inside, like I made a horrible decision reporting her crimes, like I have something to owe her still.
‘Eleanor has caused me serious stress, a lot of anxiety, severe depression and made my life feel like a real life horror movie. Unlike a movie, I can’t just turn the TV off.’
During her interview, Hepburn told police she bought the mice frozen from Pets at Home and posted them because she was ‘pissed off’.
She appeared in court via video-link and read out a letter she had penned for the hearing, saying: ‘It’s something I deeply regret.
‘I’m extremely sorry and wish I could turn back time. I completely understand that she would have been upset and scared by this.
‘I’ve used my time in custody in a positive way and taken every opportunity given to me. I’m not trying to make any excuses for my behaviour. I just want to convey that I’m sorry and capable of change.’
Defending, Daniel McLoughlin told the court Hepburn was ‘extremely remorseful for what she has done’.
‘Quite frankly, the details of this case do show a young woman in the midst of her first serious, proper relationship and the breakdown of it,’ he added.
Hepburn admitted stalking and was jailed for 22 months, having previously been handed a five-year stalking protection order.
Judge David Swinnerton told her: ‘Like any 22-year-old, you are capable of change. I accept that much of what lies behind this is immaturity and emotional immaturity.
‘What you did stems from your inability to deal with a relationship breaking down. It was an on, off sort of relationship. It may be that you and her had a different view of how serious or otherwise that relationship was. As you mature, you learn that sometimes you discover that is the case.
‘You cannot demand that any other human being should love you or want to be with you. That is sometimes sad, but it is true. That is what you have to learn. Sometimes you have to put it down to a bad experience and move on.
‘You are still very young. You have your whole life ahead of you. If you want that to be a happy life and avoid prison, you need to learn from this and think very carefully about how you need to behave when you come out.’
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