The Molly McLaren Case: Gym Parking Lot Murder By Stalker Ex Boyfriend
[Kent, Chatham, England]
Molly McLaren (23) met Joshua Stimpson (24) in June of 2016 through a dating app called Tinder. It was Molly’s first real relationship and she felt comfortable with him.
Unfortunately, Joshua had a consistent pattern of toxic relationships and abusive behavior. He slashed one ex’s tires and threatened to drown her, as well as spit in another ex’s face. The girls reported his behavior, but police never pursued him. Molly broke up with him for a while, but Joshua’s persistent apologies made her take him back again. However, the red flags in the relationship never died down and she decided to leave him once again after a huge argument during her birthday celebration. Joshua took to social media to start berating Molly by claiming that she used cocaine. He tagged her family in the post to humiliate her even more.
On June 21st, 2017, Molly and her mother went to the police to get the slander removed from the internet. Molly, her friends, and family blocked Joshua on all social media to prevent him from seeing her activity or contacting her. However, he was one step ahead. He had already manipulated a random girl to send Molly a friend request so he would be able to access all of her posts again. A few nights later, Molly posted on her social media that she was going to eat dinner with friends and named the specific club. Joshua was able to see her plans through the female’s account and arrived at the same place. When Molly noticed him, she went to the bathroom and sent a photo to some of her friends captioned “that feeling when your ex shows up at the same club as you.”
On June 29th, 2017, Molly woke up early and went to her gym to post an Instagram video of her workout routine. Shortly after her arrival, Joshua shockingly made his way inside the same gym and positioned himself closely to Molly. When she noticed his presence, she paused her workout and texted her friend to notify her.
She eventually worked up the courage to ask why he wasn’t at work and he replied by saying it wasn’t any of her business. Joshua left the workout room before Molly which allowed her to gather advice from her mother and friends. Unbeknownst to her, Joshua headed to his case to arm himself with a knife and wait for her to leave.
They all advised her that it was safest to leave the facility. “I feel like I’m looking over my shoulder alll the time”, she texted to her friend. At 11:08am, her last text to her friend was: “I’m walking to my car now.”
Before Molly had a chance to drive away, Joshua ripped open her passenger door, hopped in, and stabbed her 75 times. A CCTV image captured Joshua right after the attack drenched in Molly’s blood.
He was arrested and convicted of manslaughter with diminished responsibility. This defense means that the defendant had an unbalanced mental state that is considered to make a person less answerable for a crime and is grounds for a reduced charge, but it does not classify them as insane. Joshua was sentenced to at least 26 years.
