The Horrendous Story Of Joshua Stimpson

On June 29, 2017, 23-year-old Molly McLaren, a University of Kent student, was stabbed to death in her car in the Dockside Outlet shopping centre car park in Chatham, Kent, England [citation:1][citation:3]. Her killer was her ex-boyfriend, Joshua Stimpson, a 26-year-old warehouse worker. He inflicted at least 75 knife wounds on her in a "frenzied attack" that shocked the United Kingdom [citation:1][citation:3][citation:4]. This is the horrendous story of a relationship that began on Tinder and ended in brutal murder.**The Relationship Begins**Molly McLaren and Joshua Stimpson first made contact on the dating app Tinder in July 2016 before meeting up that November [citation:1][citation:3]. They dated for approximately seven months and even went on a holiday to Tenerife to celebrate Molly's birthday [citation:5]. However, the relationship was troubled. Molly eventually ended it on a night out in Maidstone in March 2017, approximately 12 days before her death [citation:1][citation:3]. Though they briefly reconciled, Molly ended things for good on June 17 [citation:3].**The Stalking Campaign**What followed was a terrifying 12-day campaign of stalking and harassment. Stimpson posted derogatory comments and photographs about Molly on social media, falsely claiming she had been using drugs [citation:1][citation:3][citation:5]. He discovered she had blocked him on Facebook and told a female friend: "Don't worry, we can stalk from mine if we need to" [citation:3].Molly was terrified. In text messages to friends, she wrote: "I am scared he might hurt me. I don't know how on edge he is." When a friend asked "Physically hurt you?" Molly replied: "Yeah. He knows my parents are going away for two weeks. I am going to the police tomorrow" [citation:1][citation:3].On June 27, just two days before the murder, Stimpson joined the Nuffield Gym at Medway Valley Park in Rochester—the same gym where Molly had applied for a job as a receptionist [citation:3]. The following day, June 28, police spoke to him about his behaviour, but he was not arrested [citation:4].**The Murder**On the morning of June 29, 2017, Molly went to the PureGym at the Dockside retail outlet. While she was working out, Stimpson entered the gym and put his exercise mat next to hers [citation:4][citation:9]. She texted her mother, Jo, at 10:45 am: "Mum he's turned up at the gym and come next to me" [citation:1][citation:3].Her mother told her to leave immediately. But as Molly sat in her blue Citroen C2, trapped in the driver's seat, Stimpson pulled up beside her. A witness described seeing him "yank the door open" before launching his attack [citation:3].Stimpson had purchased a Sabatier paring knife from Asda two days earlier [citation:3][citation:9]. He used it to stab Molly repeatedly—at least 75 times—in the head, neck, and chest [citation:1][citation:6]. A witness, Benjamin Morton, tried to pull Stimpson off and attempted to shut the car door on his leg, but the attack continued [citation:1][citation:3]. The attack was so ferocious that Stimpson nearly sliced off one of his own fingers, which later had to be amputated [citation:5].When police arrived, they found Stimpson covered in blood, pacing back and forth in the car park [citation:3][citation:9]. In his car, they recovered two Stanley knives and a pickaxe, indicating he had come prepared for violence [citation:1][citation:3].**The Trial and Diminished Responsibility Claim**Stimpson admitted manslaughter but denied murder, claiming diminished responsibility [citation:6][citation:8]. His defence argued that he suffered from a "borderline personality disorder," rooted in childhood abandonment after his mother left when he was 12 years old [citation:4][citation:8]. Psychiatrist Dr. Shahid Majid testified that Stimpson was "desperate to avoid abandonment" and had a "hypersensitivity to any rejection" [citation:8].However, the prosecution's psychiatrist, Dr. Philip Joseph, argued Stimpson was not suffering from any recognized medical condition [citation:1][citation:3].The jury took less than four hours to reject his defence and convict him of murder [citation:6][citation:7].**Sentencing and Judge's Words**On February 6, 2018, Judge Adele Williams sentenced Stimpson to life in prison with a minimum term of 26 years before he could be considered for parole—warning him that he may never be released [citation:1][citation:4][citation:7].The judge described the crime as "a cruel, calculated and cowardly act" and "an act of wickedness" [citation:5]. She told Stimpson: "You were determined to punish her for finishing the relationship with you. You were seeking revenge" [citation:6][citation:7].She further called him "supremely selfish and callous," adding: "You are a highly dangerous young man and you will pose a very considerable risk to women for a very considerable period in the future" [citation:1][citation:4].Molly's family cried as the sentence was read. One relative shouted at Stimpson as he was led to the cells: "Go on, you bastard" [citation:6][citation:7].**The Police Failures**In the aftermath, serious questions were raised about police handling of the case. Molly had reported Stimpson's harassment before her death, but police only gave him a warning. An officer had told Stimpson: "We wouldn't want Molly to come to the police station again about you, would we?" He replied: "Wouldn't we?" [citation:4].Furthermore, it emerged that Stimpson had a history of stalking other women, including Alexandra Dale, who he threatened to "fly out and drown" in 2013. Police at the time failed to properly investigate her complaint, sending Stimpson only a text message warning [citation:2]. Staffordshire Police later admitted that their investigation "was not up to the required standards" [citation:2].**The Aftermath**Molly McLaren's family set up the Molly McLaren Foundation to raise awareness about the dangers of stalking [citation:5].In a statement released after the sentencing, her family said: "We are serving a lifetime of pain, anguish and loss. We feel that there needs to be more awareness over the dangers of stalking and the need for people to report any concerns over stalking to the police" [citation:5].This overview presents documented facts from investigative records, court transcripts, and news reports.