Possessive South Shields criminal told Café Nero woman he'd 'kill her' when she was on holiday

Mark Smith was 49 when he developed a friendship with the woman who was in her mid-twenties after they met while she was working at a Café Nero. Newcastle Crown Court heard the pair began chatting last September but he began to become "pushy" and possessive over her.

While away on holiday in December, Smith sent messages threatening to kill her if she was with another man and then gave further communications telling her he had weapons. Prosecutor, Gurjot Kaur told the court the pair met through the woman's job at the café where Smith told her that colleagues had been criticising her behind her back.

The court heard the woman was initially grateful for his intervention and over time they went on car rides and out for meals together. Smith had written his phone number on a napkin but the victim chatted to him on a no caller ID before she later gave him her real number.

But matters came to a head in December when she was going on holiday. Ms Kaur said Smith even offered to cover the cost of the trip to stop her from going but while she was away he called to threaten her. He told her he would "f****** kill" her.

Ms Kaur told the court: "(The complainant) thereafter received a flurry of text messages and calls of the next few weeks. On the 30th of December last year she received texts where effectively the defendant says he would send somebody to her door for the money."

Smith said he had "one serious weapon" on him and also included reference to the woman's dad in one of the messages. Ms Kaur added: "She perceived these calls and messages as a threat to her life and feared for her father's safety."

In an impact statement, she said: "My sense of safety both inside and outside my home has been completely taken away. I no longer feel safe doing the basic of things like going to the shop or answering my phone because I don't know what's going to happen next.

"I've lost over 20lbs in weight purely because of stress."

Smith, now 50, of Benton Road, South Shields, South Tyneside, pleaded guilty to two counts of sending threatening communication. Nick Cartmell, defending, told the court: "In that plea he expresses his total regret over how he behaved.

"He was a 49-year-old man at the time who met a much younger lady who showed him some substantial affection. She went on holiday and putting it perfectly frankly he couldn't cope. He was possessive, he accepts that now."

Mr Cartmell said there was "no real prospect" of the threats coming true but added: "He is remorseful entirely for what he has done." Judge Robert Spragg sentenced Smith, who has been in custody since his arrest, to two years and one month behind bars.