A woman has revealed how her stalker ex-boyfriend spied on her using a hacked Amazon Alexa smart speaker – before taking her Jaguar and deliberately crashing it on a motorway.
Mother-of-two Shelby Laidlaw, 30, from Greenwich, London was subject to a campaign of harassment by Hassan Mehmet, 35, for which he was spared prison.
The pair had been together for 13 years but ended things in April 2022, which is when Mehmet started his campaign of abuse which included threats to throw acid in her face.
In a space of a month, he showed Ms Laidlaw, a carer, a knife and threatened to use it on her male friend, listened into private conversations in her home after hacking into her Amazon Echo and smashed up her car on the M20.
Despite being arrested on May 5, 2022, Mehmet was released 10 days later and continued to threaten to stab Ms Laidlaw and to pay someone to beat up her boyfriend.
Mother-of-two Shelby Laidlaw (pictured), 30, from Greenwich, London, has revealed how her stalker ex-boyfriend spied on her using a hacked Amazon Alexa smart speaker
Shelby Laidlaw (right), was subject to a campaign of harassment by Hassan Mehmet (left), 35, for which he was spared prison
On January 13, 2023, Mehmet, from Southwark, South London, appeared at the Old Bailey and pleaded guilty to stalking, dangerous driving, driving without insurance and driving without a licence. He was handed a two-year suspended sentence and a 10-year restraining order
He was eventually remanded into custody after sending messages in which he threatened to ‘plunge a knife’ into her throat.
On Friday January 13, 2023, Mehmet, from Southwark, South London, appeared at the Old Bailey and pleaded guilty to stalking, dangerous driving, driving without insurance and driving without a licence.
He was handed a two-year suspended sentence and a 10-year restraining order.
Ms Laidlaw spoke out after Coronation Street actor, Nicola Thorp, 34, told how she had been stalked and terrorised for two years – by someone calling himself the ‘grim reaper’ and said she can ‘totally understand’ how the soap star feels.
Ms Laidlaw, said: ‘I sadly know exactly how Nicola feels because I’ve been through it myself – it’s both frustrating and terrifying.
‘The whole thing was awful and left me terrified.
‘This was a man I’d known since I was 17 years old.
‘We practically grew up together.
‘The only good thing to come out of our relationship is our children and I feel for them too.
‘I urge anyone else who is in a toxic, controlling relationship – if they can – to leave and never look back.’
The former couple met when Ms Laidlaw was just 17 through mutual friends in 2009.
After hitting it off at a house party, Mehmet took Ms Laidlaw’s number and the pair went on to date.
The mum-of-two said: ‘He seemed really taken with me and he was older than me – it was all a bit exciting at 17.
‘But his behaviour would especially change under the influence of alcohol.’
In December 2011, the couple had their first child and their second in April 2016.
Despite being a ‘good father at first’, Mehmet slipped back into old habits and Ms Laidlaw found herself having to look after the children as well as work part-time as a hairdresser.
‘I really thought he’d get his act together when we had our first child,’ Ms Laidlaw said.
‘But he’d prefer to go out drinking with his mates after work then come home and be with his family.’
In April 2022, the couple called it quits but Mehmet didn’t let that stop him from interfering in Ms Laidlaw’s life.
On 19 April, she found Mehmet was spying on her via the Alexa.
Not content to just eavesdrop, he would even hijack the technology and play loud music at ‘inconvenient times as another means of control’.
Despite this, Ms Laidlaw allowed him to accompany her to a hospital appointment – but in the car afterwards he showed her a knife and threatened to use it on her male friend.
On 22 April Mehmet sent her 118 messages, came to Ms Laidlaw’s address and threatened to throw acid in her face before driving off in her car.
Later that day, Mehmet drove Ms Laidlaw’s Jaguar on the M20 and deliberately crashed it.
Ms Laidlaw (right) met Mehmet (left) when she was just 17 through mutual friends in 2009
![While on police bail, Mehmet used the Alexa to listen in on Ms Laidlaw's conversations, bombarded her with hundreds of messages and threatened to attack her new boyfriend. [File image]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/07/05/17/64279521-12266651-While_on_police_bail_Mehmet_used_the_Alexa_to_listen_in_on_Ms_La-a-4_1688575042990.jpg)
While on police bail, Mehmet used the Alexa to listen in on Ms Laidlaw’s conversations, bombarded her with hundreds of messages and threatened to attack her new boyfriend. [File image]
Despite being arrested shortly afterwards, Mehmet was then released 10 days later and continued to threaten to stab Ms Laidlaw and to pay someone to beat up her boyfriend.
In October 2022 he pleaded guilty to stalking, dangerous driving, driving without insurance and driving without a licence.
Following the provision of psychological and probation reports, Judge Philip Katz KC said he was ‘just persuaded’ to avoid handing out a prison sentence.
He said: ‘It’s an appalling course of conduct against your partner between April and July 2022.
‘You were repeatedly messaging, calling, threatening, posting on Facebook, spying on her with an Alexa device.
‘It is appalling.
‘The whole thing was simply a disgusting course of conduct.’
Ms Laidlaw said: ‘If I could tell 17-year-old Shelby anything I would tell her to have the strength to leave sooner rather than later.’
