A former psychiatric patient styled herself on Kathy Bates’s obsessive character in the horror film Misery to stalk a male nurse with whom she was infatuated.
Holly White, 27, created a Facebook account under the name of the Hollywood star and sent sinister messages to Daniel McCann and his trainee nurse girlfriend Eva Hegarty.
Mr McCann initially brushed off the messages, but contacted police when White threatened to kill Ms Hegarty. White wrote: ‘Hope you can run because if I ever see you, you are dead.. I hate you, you dirty little paedo. Good luck getting a fella if you ever break up with Daniel.’
White also sent topless selfies to Mr McCann’s mother.
The couple were so disturbed by the threats they moved away from their native Liverpool and are now living at an undisclosed address.
Sefton Magistrates’ Court heard that White, of Tuebrook, Liverpool, became besotted with Mr McCann in 2019 when she was a patient at the city’s Clock View mental health facility – where he was a nursing assistant.
She claimed to have fallen in love with him ‘at first sight’ but began using the Kathy Bates alias when he ignored her.
Holly White, 27, (pictured) created a Facebook account under the name of the Hollywood star and sent sinister messages to Daniel McCann and his trainee nurse girlfriend Eva Hegarty
Pictured is Daniel McCann with girlfriend Eva Hegarty. The couple were so disturbed by the threats they moved away from their native Liverpool and are now living at an undisclosed address
Ms Bates won an Oscar for her portrayal of murderous former nurse Annie Wilkes, who holds a best-selling author captive while claiming to be his ‘number one fan’, in the 1990 film
Ms Bates won an Oscar for her portrayal of murderous former nurse Annie Wilkes, who holds a best-selling author captive while claiming to be his ‘number one fan’, in the 1990 film.
White admitted one charge of harassment against the couple between February and June last year and sending a communication threatening death or serious harm to Ms Hegarty. She was jailed for 16 weeks.
In statements read to the court, Mr McCann and Ms Hegarty said White had left them ‘extremely anxious and stressed’. Ms Hegarty said: ‘She threatened to hurt me and she even stated that she hoped I would get raped.
‘I wouldn’t stay on my own in my own home. I was constantly looking over my shoulder. At one stage, I was too afraid to walk down the street in daylight hours in case she was around. She has really changed the way we are living our lives.’
Mr McCann added: ‘I am constantly stressed and paranoid about any contact from Holly. I felt intimidated by her. Eventually I had to move away from Liverpool, a city I was born and raised in.’
This was a decision he said they were forced to make ‘for our own peace of mind and quality of life’. The court heard that White, who was also banned from contacting the couple for ten years under the terms of a restraining order, had spent two months in hospital for various mental health issues, including bipolar disorder, allowing her to cross paths with Mr McCann.
She first messaged him on Facebook, claiming she wanted to thank him for his help and told him: ‘You are a credit to the NHS.’
Ms Hegarty also received messages from the Kathy Bates account saying, ‘Does Danny being fat make you uncomfortable’ and ‘No engagement ring yet sexy’
But when Mr McCann ignored more messages saying she ‘fancied’ him, White’s actions escalated to setting up Instagram pages with fake names and a Facebook profile as the Misery star.
Angela Conlan, prosecuting, said: ‘Using the Kathy Bates account, the defendant commented on a picture of his mother being “fit” and messaged, “Where is she going dressed like that? Not bad for an old boot”.’
Ms Hegarty also received messages from the Kathy Bates account saying, ‘Does Danny being fat make you uncomfortable’ and ‘No engagement ring yet sexy?’
White falsely told probation officers there had been ‘numerous sexual interactions’ between herself and Mr McCann at the hospital.
Steve Charters, defending, said White was having relationship issues, has since reduced her medication and is now in a ‘better place’.
