A stalker husband used an Amazon Alexa to torment his estranged wife while bombarding her with dozens of unwanted phone calls every day.
Philip Shipp, 43, of Darby Road, Folkestone, had struggled to accept the end of his marriage and launched a campaign of torment which included showing up at his former partner’s home and barraging her with emails and text messages.
Shipp even went as far as accessing an Alexa device in the woman’s property and saying ‘Wakey, wakey’ through the connected microphone.
On another occasion he called her 72 times in the space of three hours.
The woman, who ended the 15-year marriage, reported the stalking as Shipp was ignoring strict bail conditions where he was not allowed to contact her.
Folkestone Magistrates’ Court heard the offences took place between April 23 and May 19.
Prosecutor Lucie Fish said: ‘This case is of a domestic nature – they are an estranged husband and wife.
‘They were together for about 15 years but have been on and off since 2019. She became a foster carer and the defendant’s behaviour changed, and she wanted to cease all contact, but he seemed to challenge that.’
Philip Shipp (pictured) had struggled to accept the end of his marriage and resorted to showing up at his ex-partner’s home unannounced and sending her an abundance of emails and messages
Shipp went as far as accessing an Alexa device in the woman’s property where he said ‘Wakey, wakey’ through the connected microphone (Stock Image)
Folkestone Magistrates’ Court (pictured) heard the offences took place between April 23 and May 19
Ms Fish continued: ‘He was saying “wakey, wakey” (through the speaker) and it stressed her out. She also got 40 calls that day.’
Shipp was arrested on May 8 and bailed with strict conditions not to contact the woman or go near her property.
Ms Fish said he breached those conditions and added: ‘There was surveillance when he turned up at her home address, and multiple voicemails were left. He then said he would kill himself. He’s unpredictable.’
Defending, Jack Stewart said Shipp had no previous convictions and that he was struggling after losing his relationship, his job and dealing with drugs issues after the death of his daughter.
Mr Stewart said: ‘He has one caution, but has not been in court before. He has breached his bail, but it was in desperation, and he didn’t understand the consequences.
Shipp, of Darby Road, Folkestone was arrested on May 8 and bailed with strict conditions not to contact the woman or go near her property (Pictured: a general view of the street)
‘He’s struggled with cocaine since the death of his daughter 19 years ago. He can’t cope properly. He’s also epileptic and fell (while having a fit) and lost his teeth.
‘He’s had to leave his work. He was a retail manager and has worked for EE and Vodafone, but he’s had hospital appointments and is in pain.
‘Things have been too much for him over the past couple of years. The relationship ended out of the blue and he struggled to cope with that, and there were other problems.
‘It was stupid to make contact again, but it was a desperate attempt to get closure. His mental health has deteriorated.
‘I’d asked for an adjournment for a pre-sentencing report to be completed.’
Shipp was remanded in custody due to his breach of bail conditions and he is due to be sentenced at Margate Magistrates’ Court on June 10.
