A groom’s mother tried to take the blame for his extensive stalking campaign, a court has learned.
Beaumont Bricka, 26, reportedly used a network of fake social media accounts to message Eve Taylor, a makeup artist he was obsessed with, in a plot to frame her boyfriend as the stalker.
In addition to sending “horrific” messages to Ms Taylor, he sent threats to himself from the fake profiles to look like a “victim” and even tried to fire Ms Taylor’s father from his job as a doctor, the court found told.
Prosecutor Brent Martin said Mr Bricka’s strategy was initially successful when Ms Taylor broke up with her boyfriend, Tim Dobson – who was subsequently arrested on suspicion of waging a “vendetta” against his girlfriend.
The police soon found no evidence against him and instead turned their attention to Mr. Bricka, the jurors were told.
But after Mr Bricka’s arrest, his 63-year-old mother, Tonia, stepped forward and claimed she was behind the stalking, Mr Martin said. Prosecutors allege she is “lying” to protect her son, Portsmouth Crown Court heard.
Mr. Bricka is on trial and charged with 10 counts of stalking and perverting the course of justice, while his mother is charged with perverting the course of justice. They deny the allegations.
Jurors were told that Mr. Bricka set up multiple fake social media accounts, used at least 34 different phone numbers, six email addresses and three mobile phones during his year-long campaign.
He is accused of stalking a total of 10 victims – terrorizing Ms. Taylor and nine other people associated with her, including her father Dr. Tim Taylor.
He campaigned against Mrs Taylor after they met at the stables where he lives near Chichester, West Sussex, and continued the behavior when she refused to go for a walk.
Mr. Bricka is said to have worked all over the world as a groomsman and attended international show jumping events to help groom horses.
Prosecutors allege his harassment began in early 2019 when Ms Taylor received a Facebook message from an account named Rosie Hart telling her “can you leave my boyfriend alone you ugly little freak”.
In June 2019, Mr. Bricka’s stalking allegedly escalated when he used a fake profile named Olivia Summers to tell her that Mr. Dobson was dating other women. Over the next few weeks, Ms. Taylor was bombarded with messages and calls from various numbers and accounts, the court heard.
Mr Bricka also sent an email to Dr.
The court heard Mr Bricka would “comfort” Ms Taylor, who was unaware he was allegedly behind it and whom she considered a friend.
Prosecutor Brent Martin described Mr Bricka’s alleged campaign as a “twisted and twisted plan”, adding: “[It was] all part of the Defendant’s plan, to not only break up Eve and Tim, but make sure Tim goes to jail for something the Defendant did, clearing the way for him.
Mr Bricka, who lives with his family in Aldingbourne, near Chichester, was arrested in April 2020 after police caught him on CCTV upgrading a pay-as-you-go phone used to send messages to send.
Mr Martin said Bricka’s mother “complicated a complicated investigation” by making a ‘false confession’ in October 2020.
The process continues.