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Dunedin cyber stalker messaged woman through 20 fake …

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Dunedin cyber stalker messaged woman through 20 fake …

‘I hope the dirty little s**t kills herself’: How a teenage cyber stalker created 120 fake online profiles to send horrific messages to an innocent woman who started dating her ex-boyfriend

  • Ella Gouman was the victim of ‘relentless’ cyber bullying over a two year period
  • She believes the bullying began over an obsession with her boyfriend 
  • Tahlia Cochrane created 120 fake accounts to constantly continue the bullying
  • Ms Cochrane pleaded guilty with the judge saying it was ‘the worst in my recall’  

Ella Gouman deleted the messages from her phone but can’t wipe them from her head no matter how hard she tries.

‘DRINK BL3ACH’. ‘DO IT W***E’.

The vile messages poured in for two years as an evil cyber stalker created 120 different profiles to transmit a torrent of hate to the New Zealander from the small town of Milton, 50kms south of Dunedin. 

‘I hope the dirty little s**t kills herself’. ‘Tell her to overdose on pills’.

The horrid texts came from multiple directions as the glamorous 21-year-old’s Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and Trade Me accounts exploded for all the wrong reasons. 

‘She was relentless,’ Ms Gouman said, while adding ‘the fact someone could get satisfaction from something so nasty is disturbing’.

Ella Gouman received disgusting messages from 120 different fake social media accounts over two years with some telling her to kill herself

Ella Gouman received disgusting messages from 120 different fake social media accounts over two years with some telling her to kill herself 

Tahlia Cochrane messaged Ms Gouman (pictured) on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and Trade Me staring in 2018

Tahlia Cochrane messaged Ms Gouman (pictured) on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and Trade Me staring in 2018

The woman Ms Gouman is referring to is Tahlia Cochrane who was so persistent that each time one of her fake accounts was shut down, she would create another to continue her evil campaign.  

Cochrane pleaded guilty to two charges under New Zealand’s Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015 in Dunedin District Court on Wednesday, March 10 with the judge saying it was the worst cyber abuse case he had ever heard. 

‘Some nights I would go to bed and hear Tahlia’s messages repeating in my head,’ Ms Gouman wrote in an emotional victim-impact statement.  

She told Daily Mail Australia this week that the abuse started over a boy they had both dated.

‘It started out of pure jealousy. She had an obsession with my boyfriend, but the obsession soon moved to me,’ she said.

The first message landed in her Instagram account in 2018 calling her a ‘flat chested, bung-eyed frog’. 

Ms Gouman’s memory of the initial abuse is hazy as she didn’t begin taking screen shots of the messages until police began investigating. 

‘I didn’t know it was Tahlia behind the accounts. I didn’t know it would kick off from there,’ she told Daily Mail Australia.

Ms Gouman, through her own detective work, eventually discovered it was  Cochrane but without proof there was little she could do about it.

‘When I first went to the police and was told nothing could be done it was pretty upsetting, and made me pretty mad,’ she said.

‘I knew it was her, but there was no proof. Nothing was serious enough back at the start to look into it further.’

The 21-year-old (pictured) said the abuse started over a boyfriend she and Cochrane had both dated

The 21-year-old (pictured) said the abuse started over a boyfriend she and Cochrane had both dated 

The abusive messages included pictures mocking her body and face calling her 'disgusting' and 'ugly'

The abusive messages included pictures mocking her body and face calling her ‘disgusting’ and ‘ugly’

The messages, and by now even pictures and memes, flooded her inbox from mystery accounts.

A beautiful picture of Ms Gouman holding a dog was captioned ‘AHAHAH 2 MUTTS’ with the words ‘look at your fat pig nose’ and ‘potato head’ printed on top.

‘Hey piggy how’s your life in the mud’ followed with emojis of a pig and ‘Oink oink, oink oinkkkkk oink’.

A closeup image of her face was brutally mocked telling her to wax her ‘caterpillar brows’ while pointing out the size of her chin and forehead.

Ms Gouman said she initially found ways to cope with the abuse but was eventually overwhelmed during coronavirus lockdowns.

‘The whole time from when it begun has been really difficult, but I dealt with it anyway,’ she said.

‘It wasn’t until we had lock down, when her offending become a lot worse, that I really begun to struggle. 

Cochrane was so persistent that each time one of her fake accounts was shut down, she would create another to continue her evil campaign.

Cochrane was so persistent that each time one of her fake accounts was shut down, she would create another to continue her evil campaign.

Cochrane was so persistent that each time one of her fake accounts was shut down, she would create another to continue her evil campaign (some of her messages pictured)

‘This is when the police become more involved, and when she was first arrested on May 1, 2020.’ 

Ms Gouman said she resorted to shutting down all her social media accounts to avoid seeing the hurtful messages but that simply made Cochrane change her target as she began contacting Ms Gouman’s sister. 

At one point Ms Cochrane said: ‘How’s your mental health?’ with a laughing emoji. 

Cochrane even stole the victim’s clothes, make up and cut the cord on her hair straightener while she was on bail waiting for sentencing which resulted in two more theft charges.

Defence lawyer, Ann Leonard, said Cochrane was addicted to social media, had a personality disorder and a tough upbringing.

‘She told me it was like somebody flicking a switch and she can’t stop,’ the court heard according to the NZ Herald.

‘She becomes so angry she has to lash out.’

Cochrane began messages Ms Gouman's sister after she shut down her social media accounts to escape the torrid of abuse

Cochrane began messages Ms Gouman’s sister after she shut down her social media accounts to escape the torrid of abuse

Judge Kevin Phillips said he did not believe Cochrane was sorry for her actions but felt jailing her was not ‘justifiable’.

Cochrane was handed six months’ community detention and banned from social media for 12 months.

Ms Gorman said she hoped Cochrane would get the help she needed.

‘I feel pity towards her, that she’s obviously so unhappy with herself that she has to try and bring someone else down with her, out of pure jealousy,’ she said.

‘There is no excuse for what she’s done to me, and as I said to the judge, I hope she gets the help that she clearly needs.’ 

Ms Gouman said Cochrane should have received a harsher sentence as a deterrent. 

‘I feel the punishment was rather light for the extent of the offending she had actually done, but she is clearly unwell,’ she said.

‘A prison sentence could have made this a lot worse, and I would fear for myself more when she got out’

Ms Gouman said victims of cyber harassment should contact police immediately and persist until they investigate.

‘Don’t be afraid to reach out! If you’re not getting any action, keep pushing! Keep every little piece of evidence. Don’t let it get under your skin!, she said.

‘If someone is bullying you, it’s only showing more about them as a person, and not you. If it is really affecting you mentally, speak up! You’re not alone.’ 

Published at Sun, 14 Mar 2021 07:44:00 +0000

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