A Welsh dentist has been secretly stalked for four years by a disgruntled patient wearing a “murder kit” – including a ski mask, knife, hammer and even a crossbow, according to prosecutors.
Thomas Baddeley, 42, took close notes when he counted after “the incident” – what officials believe was a plan to kill his target, orthodontist Dr. Ian Hutchinson, according to the Telegraph.
He was busted after an alarmed neighbor in Gwent saw him see a balaclava while sitting in one of more than 30 cars he had bought to remain incognito during sinister surveillance, Cardiff Crown Court heard Friday when Baddeley was sentenced to 16 months in prison.
Officers then found a crossbow, black ski mask, kitchen knife, torch, gloves, lighters, hammer, dust sheets, bleach and cloths hidden in his car, the court heard, according to the UK paper.
“It may not be hyperbole to call that a murder kit,” prosecutor Nigel Fryer told the court, according to The Telegraph.
Baddeley’s comments included details about local CCTV cameras, how they did not leave fingerprints and what to tell police when he was caught, the report said.
Dentist Hutchinson, a 52-year-old married father, knew no idea he was being stalked – and was “extremely saddened” when police told him of the plot.
“He’s been having nightmares about Baddeley with a knife to his throat since last night,” Fryer told the Welsh court, saying he had considered naming his dental business, the ‘Smile Lounge’.
In his statement to victim, he said he would probably “look over my shoulder and expect Mr. Baddeley to be nearby for the rest of my life.”
He reminds his former patient that he accused him of ‘poisoning him’ during treatment for recurrent gums, and became angry when he refused the ‘bizarre request’ to put two teeth back in his mouth.
Baddeley, from Bristol, admitted stalking and possession of a knife and an offensive weapon, with his lawyer admitting that he was ‘obsessed’ in the dentist’s follow-up. He insists the crossbow was for a hobby and no one to hurt, the court heard.
Judge Jeremy Jenkins called the case “cool” because he had sentenced him to 16 months in prison and also imposed an indefinite restraining order.
“You stalked him like a hunter steals his stone growth,” the judge told him, according to the Telegraph.
‘I’m sure you intend to do something hr. Hutchinson to harm. It is difficult to imagine a serious matter other than this in its kind. ”
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