Stalking | Harassment

In recent years, the media has increasingly reported cases of stalking. No one is immune, as this criminal offence affects both celebrities and “ordinary” citizens. Well-known personalities are almost all affected to varying degrees: film and television stars, athletes, politicians, and many more. In most cases, it involves excessive infatuation with, or uncontrollable hatred of, a person they do not personally know. Almost always, stalking entails serious intrusions into the victims’ quality of life.

The private detectives of Kurtz Investigations Wuppertal assist you by collecting court-admissible evidence, enabling effective action against the perpetrator or perpetrators: +49 202 5289 0063.

Case Study: Stalking with Threats of Violence and Property Damage in Lüdenscheid

For ordinary people, the trigger for stalking is often of a personal nature. This can be a rejection, being ignored, or misunderstood kindness, as illustrated by the following case handled by our private investigators from Wuppertal:

Unexpected Encounters – Sometimes Too Frequent

Nicole from Lüdenscheid, 28, worked among other jobs as a flower seller at the weekly markets in Barmen and Elberfeld. One day, a man, around thirty years old, appeared at her stall and purchased flowers. She served him like any other customer, was friendly, and answered his numerous questions about her flowers and the day-to-day market work. Two days later, he returned, and they chatted about all sorts of things: the flowers, the pros and cons of market work, the weather, and so on. The following week he appeared again, first in Elberfeld and then another day in Barmen; each time he bought flowers from her. A little cheekily, she remarked that his flat must be full of flowers, to which he laughed and said that the flowers were for his mother. Nicole gave him an orange gerbera so that he would also receive a flower as a gift. He then said that no woman had ever expressed her affection to him so charmingly. Nicole was unsettled and realised that her friendly gesture had probably been a bad idea. At that point, she did not yet know that she would soon need the professional assistance of our private detectives for Lüdenscheid.

From Affection to Anger, Threats, and Stalking

From then on the stranger came not only whenever Nicole worked at the market, but often stayed for hours to talk with her. Where she had initially found him pleasant and entertaining, his persistence gradually became frightening. One Tuesday he suddenly asked when she would finally go out with him. Buying flowers all the time was not cheap, he said, and they got on so well they would surely be a good match. Nicole was perplexed and politely but firmly refused, explaining that she was already in a committed relationship. Immediately the man grew angry and shouted: “For weeks I give you my money and you turn me down! You’ll pay for that!” He threw the flowers he had just bought at her and stomped off.

That evening Nicole told her partner about the incident. He advised her to contact the police, which she did the next day, but the officer said nothing had happened and that the man had probably only been upset. He assured her the man would not return.

In the following days it seemed the officer had been right, because the stranger did not appear at the markets. But just as Nicole began to relax, he reappeared — not at her stall but at an observation point from which he watched her all day. When she finished work he followed her and tailed her car to her front door in Lüdenscheid. He only disappeared when she entered the hallway of the semi-detached house. As the police declared themselves not responsible, Nicole told her boyfriend about the tailing and asked what she should do. He recommended contacting a reputable private detective agency, and so she decided to call our detectives for Lüdenscheid the very next morning.

Night Attacks | Our Private Detectives for Lüdenscheid Take the Case

We arranged a personal appointment with Nicole for the same day. She took the rest of the week off and came to our detective office in Wuppertal-Barmen that afternoon to describe the case and discuss possible measures. We agreed to conduct a covert surveillance of her market stall on her next working day in order to document, in a manner admissible in court, how long the stalker observed her.

However, that plan did not come to pass because, the very next night at around 23:30, someone rang her doorbell. Nicole woke and wondered who could want anything at that hour. She waited to see whether it was a drunken prank or a wrong-door mistake, but shortly afterwards the bell rang furiously. She went to the window to see who was calling at night and saw the man from the market. He recognised her and shouted (parts paraphrased): “You stupid bitch, you think you can hide?! Not coming to the market any more? Think you can fool me?! You’ll never get rid of me! I’ll make your life hell, you scum!” When Nicole, through the closed window, told him to go away, he picked up a stone from the ground and hurled it at her, smashing the window. The noise woke neighbours and lights came on in several houses, whereupon the now clearly violent stalker vanished before Nicole could react.

Surveillance | Temporary Apprehension of the Perpetrator by Detectives in Lüdenscheid

Nicole called the police; officers attended, inspected the damage, made notes — and shrugged. A report was filed against an unknown person; the perpetrator could not be identified due to lack of information. A description was noted — and that was the end of the intervention. Nicole reported to our operations centre the next morning at 08:00 and recounted the night’s events. She told our detectives she intended to stay temporarily with her boyfriend; we strongly advised against this, as it would hinder a swift resolution. If the stalker knew where the victim was staying, he would likely find himself there sooner rather than later. We therefore agreed that that same evening one of our operatives, trained and experienced in close protection, would be stationed in her Lüdenscheid flat while two other of our more robust investigators took up positions outside the house to document any imminent criminal behaviour in a manner admissible in court and, if necessary, de-escalate the situation afterwards.

Said and done. However, the deployment demanded patience, because after nearly 13 hours of surveillance the subject reappeared at 01:45 in the morning, carrying a heavy plastic bag in one hand. As on the previous evening, the stalker rang the bell furiously; our client came to the window and signalled for him to go away while our exterior detectives recorded photographic evidence. The perpetrator hurled the most vile insults at our client and threatened that she would regret her behaviour. Before our detective inside the flat could prevent it, our client opened the window and shouted she would call the police if the stalker did not leave. The subject then took an object from the plastic bag and flung it towards the window. Our private investigator dragged Nicole aside to remove her from the line of fire while the stalker produced further projectiles from the bag. At that moment the outside detectives moved behind the subject to subdue him collectively in self-defence and effect a temporary arrest under section 127 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (StPO). It later emerged that the perpetrator had several large stones in the plastic bag, some wrapped in scraps of paper on which further threats were written.

Legally Sound Investigation Secures Court-Admissible Evidence

Subsequently our Lüdenscheid detective agency called the police; the perpetrator was guilty of threats, property damage and further offences. Thanks to the court-admissible evidence documented by our private detectives, the man was lawfully convicted and received a restraining order.

If you are affected by a stalker, prompt action is required in the interests of early de-escalation. If someone shows an unusual attachment, appears excessively often in your vicinity without cause, watches you and/or even makes threats, it is time to engage the investigators of our agency for the Bergisches Land and the Sauerland: +49 202 5289 0063.

Note

All names and locations have, of course, been changed beyond recognition in order to protect clients and subjects.