A woman who stalked an ex-partner for more than six months after he ended their relationship was fined £1,000 in court.
Katrena Coulson’s victim eventually contacted police when she turned up at his new home in Dunfermline after her moved from Edinburgh without telling her.
The 48-year-old appeared at Dunfermline Sheriff Court to admit engaging in a course of conduct which caused the man fear or alarm, between June 25 last year and January 8 this year.
The court heard he had ended their year-long relationship early in May 2023 and made it clear he no longer wanted contact.
Coulson persistently made unwanted phone calls from a withheld number, left him voicemail messages, and sent emails.
Prosecutor Isma Mukhtar told the court that on one occasion in July she went to his office in Edinburgh but was denied entry and he later returned home to find her waiting on stairs outside his property.
In October last year he moved from Edinburgh to Dunfermline and did not tell Coulson of the move or his new address.
Stalking
Emails and text messages continued to be sent to him throughout October, November and December in which she said she missed him, loved him and wanted to get in touch.
On January 8 this year he answered a phone call from a withheld number and hung up when he realised it was Coulson.
Around 10pm that day he heard his dog barking and a knock at the door and found Coulson standing at the doorstep.
The fiscal depute said: “The complainer was shocked as he was not aware she knew his address.
“He attempted to close the door but was unable to do so.
“He did manage to get the accused out of the doorway and close the door before contacting police.
“He was in a state of shock”.
When police attended a short time later to take a statement he received six missed calls from a withheld number and two voice messages.
He answered one of the calls and identified Coulson, who said she was at a Tesco in Dunfermline.
He asked her how she knew about the address and she said she had seen it written down somewhere.
Accused handed herself in
Police later spoke to Coulson by phone and advised her to hand herself in as a stalking suspect and she did so.
The court heard she sent one final message to the complainer which read: “Please don’t do this to me, it will ruin my whole life. I honestly can’t cope.”
A defence lawyer said first offender Coulson, of Swanston, Edinburgh, had not contacted the complainer since she was charged.
The solicitor his client had found it difficult to cope with rejection, resulting in persistent contact with the complainer.
The lawyer said “other than the odd remark, the conduct could not be categorised as being abusive in the normal sense of the word”.
He added: “She accepts alarm was caused to the complainer.
“It’s perhaps unfortunate matters could not be discussed and resolved in some other way”.
Sheriff Wyllie Robertson fined Coulson £1,000, to be paid within one month, and banned her from contacting her victim for three years.
For more local court content visit our dedicated page or join us on Facebook.
