Fanatic who stalked Shirley Ballas in terrifying 6yr ordeal because he believed Strictly judge was his AUNT avoids jail
A FANATIC who stalked Shirley Ballas in a terrifying six-year ordeal because he believed the Strictly judge was his “aunt” has avoided jail.
Kyle Shaw, 37, bombarded 64-year-old Shirley with messages between 2017 to 2023 – forcing her to beef up her security measures.
He also posted pictures of her home on social media and attempted to contact her friends and family.
At one point during the stalking campaign, Shaw arranged to attend her booked tour and told her “can’t wait to meet you Auntie Shirley”.
Shirley was left so terrified by the ordeal that she was forced to relocate her 86-year-old mother to a different home after he approached her in a supermarket.
Shaw wept as he was handed a 20 month sentence suspended for 20 months after pleading guilty to stalking the star and possession of cannabis.
He was later heard telling his family: “I thought I was going down”.
Sentencing, Judge Gary Woodhall said Shaw “engaged in persistent unwanted online contact”.
He continued: “I’m satisfied your motivation was a desire to connect with people you believed were your family. Whether there was any truth in that belief is difficult to determine.
“However, you then embarked upon a consistent campaign of contact involving implicit threats involving not only Shirley Ballas but those connected with her.
“This was a menacing threat against her and her family and involved intrusion of her privacy which caused her real concern for her own safety”
Liverpool Crown Court was told he first began contacting Shirley because he believed her late brother was his dad due to information his mum provided.
Prosecutor Nicola Daley said there was no evidence that his belief was incorrect, but there was “limited evidence” it was correct.
He accused the star of being responsible for David Rich’s death after he took his own life aged just 44.
Shaw also tailed Shirley’s elderly mum Audrey Rich and told her she was his “grandmother”.
Ms Daley said: “She felt scared, told him she didn’t want to speak to him but felt as though he continued to follow her and her sister-in-law around the shop for some time.
“That was a matter reported back to other family members.”
By 2020, Shaw began messaging Shirley on Instagram sending chilling threats and asking: “Do you want me to kill myself Shirley?”
She contacted police but the stalker continued his campaign and shared photos from outside Shirley’s home.
He branded the former dancer “Auntie Shirlie [sic]” and set up a profile in the name of her tragic brother.
Shaw told her: “You will ruin my life, I’ll ruin yours and everyone else around you.”
Ms Daley said: “Ms Ballas was understandably frightened and became worried for her own safety.
“As a consequence, she had to increase security both at work and at home and felt the need to speak to her neighbours.
“She was constantly worrying and looking over her shoulder.”
The nightmare came five months after Shirley said she called in police after a man took photos of her house and car,
He also “lunged” at her on one occasion – although it is not known whether that case is connected to Shaw’s.
Speaking about her ordeal, Celebrity Bear Hunt star Shirley said: “I like to be kind of like a free bird, but we’re coming into times now where you have to be more vigilant of yourself.
“You’re upping your level of alarms. And I always tell my mum, ‘I’m here, I’ve arrived’. I wouldn’t bother normally but it’s become a thing that we do.
‘‘I always like to say, ‘I’m safe, I’m in the right place, I’m where I should be.’
“Thankfully the BBC’s duty of care towards me has been one thousand per cent. They have been fantastic.
“So, in some of these instances, when it was difficult — this stalker came from the North of England — I had somebody walking me from the hotel. They checked in on me to make sure that I was OK. I just felt very well protected.”