20: Everything Was Caught On Camera | The Case Of Molly McLaren

At a busy shopping centre in Kent, a young woman climbed into her car after the gym, unaware she was being watched. Minutes later, 23-year-old Molly McLaren was dead, killed in an attack so brutal it stunned even seasoned investigators. Her ex-boyfriend had been watching, waiting, and when the moment came, everything changed in an instant. What led a young man to such a frenzied act? And how could warning signs go so tragically unnoticed?. If you’re new here, don’t forget to follow the show for weekly deep dives into the darkest true crime cases! To watch the video version of this episode, head over to youtube.com/@annieelise. .🔎Join Our True Crime Club & Get Exclusive Content & Perks..🎧 Need More to Binge? Listen to both of my weekly true crime series 10 to Life & Serialously with Annie Elise wherever you get your podcasts on the Annie Elise Channel!🍎 Apple Podcasts | Where you can also unlock access to 100+ and growing extra exclusive deep dives.💚 Spotify🔴 YouTube🎙️ All Other Platforms.📸 Follow Annie on Socials Instagram: @_annieeliseTikTok: @_annieeliseSubstack: @annieeliseFacebook: @10toLife.👗 Shop Annie’s Must-Haves! ShopMY: bit.ly/AnnieElise_ShopMy Amazon: bit.ly/AnnieElise_Amazon.🫵🏻 Get Involved or Recommend a CaseAbout Annie: www.annieelise.comFor Business Inquiries: [email protected].📚 Episode Sources Deadly True Crime | ITV News | KMTV | Kent Online | Maidstone Crown Court | See No Evil | Tango Sierra Media | The Average Joes Podcast | The Guardian | The Law Pages | The Molly McLaren Foundation | Violent Hill••••••••••••••••••🚨Disclaimers1️⃣ Some links may be affiliate links, they do not cost you anything, but I make a small percentage from the sale. Thank you so much for watching and supporting me. 2️⃣ Sources used to collect this information include various public news sites, interviews, court documents, FB groups dedicated to the case, and various news channel segments. When quoting statements made by others, they are strictly alleged until confirmed otherwise. Please remember my videos are my independent opinion and to always do your own research. 3️⃣ The views and opinions expressed in this video are personal and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer, or company. Assumptions made in the analysis are not reflective of the position of any entity other than the creator(s). These views are subject to change, revision, and rethinking at any time and are not to be held in perpetuity. We make no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, correctness, suitability, or validity of any information on this video and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an as-is basis. It is the reader’s responsibility to verify their own facts.

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• 0:00Speaker 00

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• 1:15Speaker 02

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• 1:40Annie Elise?

  On June 29, 2017, Benjamin Morton was driving through a parking lot next to a gym, just going about his day, when he saw something that would stay with him forever. Now, at first, it looked completely normal. A young woman finishing up her workout, walking to her car, just going about her day. But then, in a split second, everything changed. A young man suddenly walked up to her, ripped open the driver's side door, and began stabbing her over and over again, just as she sat there completely defenseless. No warning, no argument, just immediate brutal violence. Now Benjamin did not hesitate.

• 2:23Annie Elise?

  He ran toward this car, trying to help, trying to stop this attack. But when he reached the vehicle, the attacker was so consumed by the assault that he was practically inside the car already with only his legs sticking out. So Benjamin grabbed a hold of his legs, trying to yank him out of this car and yank him away from this girl, but there was so much blood that his hands just kept slipping right off. Desperate in that moment, with no other option, he slammed the car door on the attacker's legs, just trying to do anything he could think of to get this guy to stop. But it still didn't stop him.

• 3:04Annie Elise?

  This man was absolutely determined to hurt this girl. No matter what anyone did, no matter who intervened, he would not stop. Now Benjamin would later learn that this woman's name was Molly and that she had been stabbed more than 75 times in this attack. Seventy-five. And somehow, as horrifying as that is, the most devastating part of this case isn't just what Molly endured, but it's the fact that this never should have happened. This attack was almost entirely preventable. So who is Molly? And who is this person who attacked her with such unimaginable violence?

• 3:49Annie Elise?

  My name is Annie Elise. This is Tend to Life, and today we are reopening the case of Molly McLaren. Let's jump right in.

• 4:08Annie Elise?

  Twenty-three-year-old Molly McLaren was born on May 26, 1994, in Kent, England. Molly had beautiful blond hair and bright blue eyes, which perfectly just matched her bubbly and kind personality. Her mother, Joanne, who goes by Jo, compared Molly to "a ray of sunshine," due to her outgoing, helpful, and caring nature, and she was always very, very close with her family. Now, in addition to having a very close family, Molly also had a tight-knit main group of friends, and they all loved going shopping together and getting dressed up and going out. They liked to dance at the local bars and at the local clubs, and Molly especially loved going to music festivals. Every year, she would try to go to as many festivals as she possibly could.

• 4:50Annie Elise?

  However, even though Molly always seemed happy on the outside, she actually dealt with a lot of internal struggles as well. Growing up, Molly suffered from panic attacks that were brought on by anxiety, and she also battled with an eating disorder. Like many people who suffer from similar issues, Molly was able to hide it from her loved ones for a while, and pretty well. Her friends and family were completely unaware of what she was going through. But eventually, Molly gained the courage to open up about it, so that she could get the help that she needed. With the strong support of her family and friends, she was able to overcome her eating disorder and learn how to cope with her anxiety as well. And Molly was said to overcome any barrier that was ever put in her way, no matter how difficult it was.

• 5:35Annie Elise?

  She was able to completely turn her life around and started becoming interested in healthy eating and also fitness. Now, her parents at first were a little bit worried and a little bit trepidatious that this would make her relapse and obsess over food again, but that ended up not being the case. She surrounded herself with positive, like-minded people, and they all encouraged each other to just live this healthy but balanced lifestyle. Molly's best friend, Amy Lee, has said that even after Molly recovered from her eating disorder, staying healthy wasn't something that just happened for her. It was a conscious choice that she had to make every single day, and it wasn't easy, but it was a choice that Molly showed up for every day.

• 6:17Speaker 04

  Every day, she would have to make conscious decisions to stay on track and not allow this disorder to take over her. And she was really good about it. Everyone has bad days, but she was honest. You know, I'm having a bad day. Everyone has a bad day, but this isn't the end.

• 6:35Annie Elise?

  Molly's personality always led to her wanting to help other people as well. So she thought that by sharing her struggles that she overcame, that she might be able to help other girls who are dealing with similar situations. So Molly decided to create a blog where she would tell her story, how she developed a healthier relationship with food, and how she also started a fitness journey. Now, her main goal in this was to promote acceptance, self-confidence, and loving your body. In addition to her blog, she often would post her workouts on social media with the goal of helping others just start an active lifestyle like she had.

• 7:09Speaker 04

  Get to the sangre every day. I feel like I'm lagging. Everyone gets that bit. Just got this through. It is not pressing.

• 7:20Annie Elise?

  Through all the various activities that she was doing, Molly was a very hardworking and popular person. She had a very busy social life. She worked several jobs. And at just 21 years old, she started attending Kent University. On top of everything else, she made sure to keep excellent grades while majoring in exercise science. You see, Molly's passion for leading a healthier lifestyle also inspired her to want to become a fitness trainer. And since Kent University was so close to home, she was able to save money by living with her parents while still attending classes. In 2016, Molly had everything going for her. The only thing that was missing in her eyes was a relationship. Molly had never really had a serious boyfriend and hadn't even dated anyone for longer than six months.

• 8:03Annie Elise?

  She didn't want to mess around either. She wanted something real with a future. She wanted to start planning her life. So Molly did what many people do nowadays, and she decided to download Tinder to hopefully meet someone. She would match with a few guys and start some conversations, but nobody ever really stood out to her. That was until July 31, 2016, when she matched with 24-year-old Joshua Stimson. Joshua lived with his father in Woodham, which is about an hour away from where Molly lived in Kent. His parents got divorced when he was young, and his mom was out of the picture for most of his life. Because of this, Joshua had developed some abandonment issues, also some anxiety and some depression at a very young age. And it apparently was so bad that his dad tried to get him help,

• 8:46Annie Elise?

  and Joshua was in and out of treatment facilities through most of his childhood. He also told people that he had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Now, aside from being able to relate on dealing with mental health struggles, Josh also loved to exercise and stay in shape as well. He had also never been in a serious relationship, just like Molly. So from their conversations, it seemed like they had a lot in common. They bonded over their love for fitness, but also their shared experience with anxiety and depression made them bond even more. Joshua and Molly kept their relationship strictly online for the first few months, because like I mentioned, Molly was serious about finding a long-term relationship. So before she committed to meeting anybody in person, she wanted to get to know them and see if they truly had an emotional connection.

• 9:32Annie Elise?

  The longer they talked, the more Molly started to feel this way toward Joshua. He was sweet, they liked the same things, and online, Joshua really did seem perfect for Molly. So after a few months of talking, they finally decided to meet in person in the fall of 2016. And it wasn't long after that that they ultimately made things official. They were in a new budding relationship. When Molly first told her parents about this new relationship and about Joshua, her mom, Jo, was initially nervous about meeting him. Molly had told her that Joshua was bipolar, and Jo worried that his mental health issues would be a lot for Molly, considering that she had her own struggles to deal with. But Molly said that they could be a support system for each other, and when her parents ended up meeting Joshua,

• 10:15Annie Elise?

  her mom, Jo, didn't notice anything abnormal or any obvious red flags. Joshua and Molly's dad, Douglas, sat down, drank a beer together, chatted, and even laughed. They would talk about football, or soccer, if you're in the US, and Molly's family even went to support him when he ran a marathon in the spring of 2017. Everything seemed pretty good. But as the honeymoon phase gradually started to wear off in this new relationship, Molly started to realize that Joshua was actually much different in person than he was online. From the beginning of their relationship, Joshua seemed to always want to be around Molly. However, it started to become excessive and kind of come off as him being a little bit possessive over her.

• 10:58Annie Elise?

  And when Molly's friends met him, maybe it was intuition, but they all had a feeling that something just was not right. He didn't have any friends of his own, and he didn't seem interested in talking to Molly's friends or getting to know any of her friends either. And if they were all out together, he would just try to pull Molly away from the group and kind of have him all to himself, all alone. He even started trying to convince Molly that her friends weren't good people and that she should start distancing herself from them. And this is a tactic that a lot of people do when they are abusive or manipulative and have these possessive tendencies. They try to isolate you, they love bomb you, they separate you from your friends. And it appeared that this is exactly what Joshua was doing with Molly.

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• 11:54Speaker 02

  Time for a quick break to talk about McDonald's. It's the tangiest time of the year. For a limited time, head to McDonald's and get a McRib sandwich. Make it a meal by adding a medium fries and a soft drink like an ice cold Diet Dr. Pepper. So grab a McRib sandwich and embrace the tang. Save time by ordering ahead on the app. At participating McDonald's for a limited time. Dr. Pepper is a registered trademark of Dr. Pepper, 7-Up Inc.

• 12:22Annie Elise?

  He had said that she was spending way too much time with her friends and that she needed to focus more on their relationship. Molly's friend Amy described how deliberate Josh's isolation of Molly really was.

• 12:35Speaker 04

  I think that's when the cracks started to show that a lot of this wasn't sincere, that it was all quite manipulative and it had an end goal. And that was to completely isolate her from her friends.

• 12:47Annie Elise?

  As time went on, Joe and Doug's opinion of him began to change. They too began noticing just how possessive Joshua was over Molly. On Father's Day, Josh spent the entire day with Molly's family. And her parents thought it was really weird, considering that his dad lived only an hour away and had raised Joshua all on his own. And this was really the first instance that they felt like something wasn't quite right. Then on another occasion, Molly was talking about how Joshua wouldn't let her watch his soccer practices and she didn't understand why. So Doug began to wonder if it was because Joshua didn't get along with his teammates. Maybe he was so possessive over Molly that he didn't even want the team to look at her. Maybe it was something like that. So ultimately, Molly started to feel really suffocated by Joshua,

• 13:33Annie Elise?

  because he would basically never leave her alone. Molly had school, a job, and friends, all these people and all these things that she wanted to spend time doing and spend time with. But according to Joshua, she should be spending more time with him. He said that Molly struggled so much with her anxiety and eating disorder, that she needed him there to care for her and support her. But that actually wasn't the case at all. Before Joshua, Molly had been doing really well. She had a handle on her mental health, and she was managing her life. But after Joshua came into the picture, she started having a lot of anxiety again, and her eating disorder began creeping back into her mind. With Josh there, Molly seemed to be getting worse, not better. Josh even quit his job working at a warehouse to spend more time with Molly,

• 14:17Annie Elise?

  even though she had told him that she needed her space. She needed to study for school and had other things to do other than spend every single waking minute with Joshua. She tried to tell him that she couldn't be with him all of the time, and that she needed time for herself, time to work, time for school, and time with her friends. But Joshua did not like this. He tried to make Molly feel guilty for thinking this way, and said that she was taking his kindness for granted and throwing it back in his face. Things then started getting more concerning, when Joshua just started randomly showing up to places that he was not invited to. Molly would plan a get-together or a night out with her friends, and Joshua would just randomly appear. She didn't tell him where she was going, though, and she didn't tell him what time she was going.

• 15:02Annie Elise?

  But somehow, he knew exactly where she would be and when she would be there, and he would just show up. Even if she was just out studying in the library, boom, he would magically appear. He'd show up.

• 15:14Speaker 04

  If she wanted to have a day of studying, he would tell her that, you know, he needed to be there for her and was very manipulative in his approach for them to spend time together. He would often turn up unannounced at her house.

• 15:31Annie Elise?

  So Molly felt like no matter where she was, around every single corner, Josh would be there. And it really started to creep her out. So after multiple instances of Joshua just showing up unannounced, Molly decided it was time to end their relationship. But Josh wasn't going to just accept this decision. It was like he wouldn't take no for an answer. He was constantly texting her, calling her, and literally wouldn't leave her alone. One minute he was apologizing, saying everything was his fault and he would do better. And then the next minute, he turned angry and yelled at Molly that it was all her fault. After that didn't work, he eventually started doing what he did when they first met. And he tried to love bomb Molly.

• 16:10Annie Elise?

  By Joshua showering Molly with so much love and attention, she actually did start to consider giving him another chance, too. It seemed like it was working. He kept saying that he was going to do better and even got a new job at a window company as an operations assistant. So to Molly, it seemed like Joshua was maybe turning his life around and trying to change because he really did love her. She talked to her friends about possibly taking him back, but she promised that she would be more careful and that she would leave again if things went south. So soon Molly and Joshua were back together. Now unsurprisingly, though, the happiness didn't last long and things went from bad to worse. Things hadn't really changed at all. And once again, Joshua started showing up to places that he was not invited to.

• 16:54Annie Elise?

  And again, Molly had no idea how he knew that she was there. Her friends weren't happy at all because they felt like Josh was trying to once again isolate and manipulate her. Even Joshua's new coworkers thought he was weird because he would be happy one minute and then he would suddenly turn angry and irrational the next. Even Molly's extended family were able to see how controlling Joshua was. One time Molly brought him to her aunt's 60th birthday party and she thought it would be a fun and relaxing weekend that would kind of just like reset their relationship and bring it back to a good place. But unfortunately, that didn't happen. The entire time Joshua was hovering and watching Molly like a hawk. At the party, she would be dancing with her nieces and her cousins,

• 17:37Annie Elise?

  and Joshua would just glare at her in anger, almost as if he was silently telling her to stop and sit down. Now, you probably know the look because you've probably have received it once or twice in your life, unfortunately, like I have, where they're just kind of staring at you. And if looks could kill, it's almost like that's where the expression came from. So family members noticed this, and they thought that it was super weird and also very controlling. And like her friends, they just didn't get a good feeling about Joshua. So after the party, Molly and Joshua returned to their hotel room, and a huge fight between them ensued. Joshua was yelling and going absolutely batshit crazy. And it got so bad that Molly texted her mom to come to their room and help her. So as Joe was walking to Molly's room,

• 18:22Annie Elise?

  she could hear Joshua yelling. He was so loud that Joe could hear him all the way down the hallway. When she arrived at the room, Joshua started trying to convince Molly's own mother that this was all Molly's fault. He even started showing her videos that he had secretly taken of Molly during some of their arguments. And Molly, of course, had no idea that he was doing any of this, and it was obviously a huge violation of her trust. But Joshua acted like it was no big deal. So they were able to cool off. But after that weekend, Molly's family became very worried for her safety. They didn't trust Joshua, and they didn't want Molly to be with him. They weren't sure what he was capable of or what he would do to her if they kept their relationship going. So as people who loved and cared about Molly,

• 19:07Annie Elise?

  they feared the absolute worst. But Molly, being the understanding person that she was, she still wanted to give him one last chance. Now, some of you might be wondering why she would continue taking him back. But if you have never been in an emotionally or mentally harmful relationship, watching someone continually go back to a horrible partner can be frustrating and confusing. But that is unfortunately what happens in many of these types of relationship like this one. I personally have been in one and it is very difficult to get away. When things are good, they are really good. Your partner showers you with love, attention, and makes you feel incredibly special. You become so dependent on them and find ways to explain away and rationalize their bad behavior. And after a while, it starts to

• 19:52Annie Elise?

  feel like this is just how normal relationships are, and like you have to accept the good with the bad. So in one last ditch effort to try to attempt to save their relationship, Molly booked them a trip to Spain. She hoped that having a private and romantic vacation together would again reset their relationship and get them back to a good place. But almost as soon as they arrived in Spain, Molly was once again texting her friends, saying that things were not going well. They were arguing and they were fighting and Molly felt like Joshua was just always lurking around and watching her. She could barely get any time to herself to even send a text message. She was sending messages to her friends that said things like "help me" and that the relationship was not getting better

• 20:36Annie Elise?

  like she had hoped. Molly couldn't wait to get back home, and when she did, she knew she had to end things with Joshua once and for all. She couldn't handle being in a relationship with him anymore, but she was nervous to end things because the last time they had broken up, it had been such a bad experience. So after being back on June 17th, Molly was going out with some of her friends. But this time, she did invite Joshua. She asked him to put their problems aside for the night and to just chill and have a good time together. But of course, Joshua had to start an argument, had to start an argument for something. And Molly finally just could not take it anymore and she broke up with him right then and there, right on the spot. Joshua turned around to Molly's

• 21:17Annie Elise?

  friends and he screamed at them, "She's just done with me," as if he thought he was gonna get some sort of sympathy from her friends, or like they maybe had put her up to it. So he started getting really loud and really aggressive, but eventually, he left the bar. However, that wouldn't be the end of Joshua for Molly. The next morning, he sent her tons of messages, doing exactly what he did the last time they broke up, just like Molly had feared. He was being overly sweet, saying things about how he would change and that he wanted her back. But this time, Molly didn't care. She was completely done with him, and she could see through all of his bullshit, all of his lies. She wanted nothing to do with Joshua. And once again, his texts then started becoming aggressive.

• 22:01Annie Elise?

  So she blocked him on her phone and blocked him on all of her social media accounts. Now, as you can imagine, this enraged Joshua, and his behavior only escalated. He was so mad at Molly that he wanted to ruin her entire life and her entire reputation. Molly had built a pretty big following on social media for her health and fitness lifestyle and journey. So Joshua decided that he was going to take it into his own hands, and he was going to show the world that Molly wasn't as healthy as she claimed to be. He started making posts saying that the only reason that Molly stayed then was because she used cocaine. He also started posting videos of their arguments, the ones that he had recorded of her in secret.

• 22:44Annie Elise?

  Now, because Molly had blocked him on social media, she was initially unaware that he was posting all of these crazy things. But Joshua started tagging all of her family and friends in these posts so that it could further humiliate her and to make sure that she got the message, that she was aware of what was going on. One of Molly's cousins called her to tell her what he was posting, and since Molly had blocked Joshua's phone number, he downloaded a messenger app and began sending her threatening texts that way, still just not allowing communication to be broken off. A clear psychopath and like this entitled feeling of, "I have to talk to her, it's my right." It is not your right, bro. It is not your right. So obviously, this started making Molly get very, very scared.

• 23:27Annie Elise?

  She thought Joshua was going to hurt her, and she was afraid to be home alone. Texts to her friends actually show Molly saying, "I am actually scared of what he might do." When her friends asked Molly if she thought Joshua would ever physically harm her, she said that she did. After Joshua kept making these horrible posts about her, Molly finally had enough, so she and her mom printed out all of the evidence that they had of Joshua harassing her, including those text messages and the posts that he was putting out online, and they brought them to the police station.

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• 24:46Annie Elise?

  It was June 22nd, and they go into the police station, and they ask these officers to help her because she was literally becoming afraid for her life. They looked up Joshua, and they didn't see any reports about him. And they told Molly that there wasn't really much that they could do. The police decided to call Joshua, and they put him on speakerphone to just ask for him to take the post down. But Joshua kept saying that he hadn't done anything wrong, and I quote, "If you think this is bad, wait until you see what's coming." This only made Molly more terrified because now Joshua knew that she had reported him to the police. However, the police didn't even log this incident. So Molly and her mother left the station feeling even more helpless than they did before. And to make things worse, two days later,

• 25:31Annie Elise?

  Joshua went to the police station and said that Molly was the one damaging his reputation. The police just repeated what they had told him before: "Take down the posts and stop trying to talk to her." But that really had no effect because a few days later, Molly called the police again, this time to tell them that Joshua was still posting about her. They finally logged that incident, and eventually called Molly back to tell her that Joshua agreed to take down the posts, but still said that there was legally nothing that they could do. Completely frustrated, Molly and her mom decided that they now needed to take things into their own hands. Since she was scared to be home alone, they printed out pictures of Joshua and started posting them and handing them out around the neighborhood. They were warning neighbors about Joshua,

• 26:15Annie Elise?

  telling them what he did to Molly, and asking them to be on the lookout for him in the neighborhood. They basically kind of formed their own neighborhood watch in all of this because they couldn't think of anything else to do. Put everybody on high alert of this creep in case he starts lurking around. He's dangerous, clearly. Molly was trying to get back to her normal life. And on June 28th, 2017, she made plans for a night out with her friends. Molly had enrolled in her first personal training course and another friend recently got a promotion, so they wanted to all go out and celebrate. Now, as you can imagine, everything had been so stressful and she really just wanted to have some fun with her friends and take her mind off of everything. Earlier in the day, Molly posted on her Instagram story that she and her friends were going to a bar later that night called Ship and Trades.

• 27:00Annie Elise?

  And she assumed posting this was okay and that it was safe because remember, she had blocked Joshua on all forms of social media. Therefore, he should have had no way of being able to find out where she was going or see the post, right? So that night Molly and her friends were drinking, dancing, and having a good time. Until low and behold, Joshua walked in. And this time with another girl. Now Molly didn't feel one ounce of jealousy, which really solidified to herself that she was definitely not in love with this guy anymore. But Molly and her friends still thought that him showing up there was a very odd coincidence. And she got that feeling that something was just off. She felt like he was there on purpose to try to make her jealous or try to get her attention. So after Josh walks in, he goes and sits at the bar.

• 27:44Annie Elise?

  And Molly and her friends were sitting at a table a ways away. But the entire time, Josh was just watching them and trying to catch Molly's eye. When he ended up ultimately leaving with his date, he purposefully walked by Molly's table to exit the bar. And the bar had multiple exits and one was way closer to where he was sitting, but he wanted to go out of his way to walk by her. Now Molly was a little freaked out by this, rightfully so. And she wanted to just go home and relax. She wanted to watch Love Island. She wanted to just chill, get her mind off of things. But after Molly left, she had no idea that Joshua was actually following her the entire time. Molly woke up the next day and decided to go to the gym around 10 a.m. When she got there, she found an empty room, like one of those where they hold the group

• 28:29Annie Elise?

  exercise classes, and she started her workout on her own. Now, at first, she was all by herself. That was until Joshua came into the room and set up his exercise mat right next to her. The gym was practically empty, and he could have put his mat literally anywhere, but instead, he came and sat right next to her. Surveillance footage showed Joshua walking up the stairs and peeking in the door of the room where Molly was working out. He walked away for a second before turning back around and going into the room with her. He was in the room for a bit before leaving again, and then he came back to look through the door at Molly. Now Molly was really freaked out, and I think anybody would be in this moment. First, she saw him last night at the bar, and now he's at her gym?

• 29:14Annie Elise?

  So Molly started texting her friend Amy and also her mom about what was happening.

• 29:18Speaker 04

  Did you post anywhere that you were going to the gym? Was my first reaction. She'd said that she hadn't put anything on Facebook or Instagram, that she was filming stuff for uni. No one could have known she was there. The human instinct in you wants to be wrong, and you want to feel as though it is just a coincidence. And I'd said to her, "I don't think that's right. First of all, he'd turned up at dinner last night, now he's at the gym."

• 29:44Annie Elise?

  So, she decided to confront him. She asked him why he wasn't at work, and he told her that it wasn't any of her business. So Molly decided to move her things to a different area of the gym, but she kept texting Amy and texting her mom. She didn't know what she should do, but she was scared. Finally, she saw Joshua leave out of the entrance, and she started to feel a little bit of relief. Both Amy and her mom told Molly that she needed to go straight home, get the heck out of there. So at around 11 a.m., Molly started walking to her car in the parking lot. She didn't see him outside, but Joshua had apparently never actually left. He was sitting, watching, and circling the parking lot, waiting for her to come outside.

• 30:27Annie Elise?

  Molly got inside of her car, but before she could even lock her doors, Joshua ripped open the driver's side door and he began attacking her with a knife, stabbing her over and over and over. That's when Benjamin realized what was happening and without even thinking twice, he ran toward this car. He tried to intervene in any way that he could, even slamming the car door on Joshua, just desperately trying to make him stop. But Joshua just pulled himself further into the car and he started trying to cut Molly's throat. Benjamin didn't know what else to do, so he got in his own car and he blocked Joshua in so that he couldn't leave. But Joshua didn't even care and he didn't even try to leave.

• 31:10Annie Elise?

  When he decided he had stabbed her enough and he had done enough, he got out of Molly's car and he just calmly waited for the police to arrive. When they got there, they saw that Josh was covered in blood and he simply stated, "You want me." He was arrested and eventually brought to a psychiatric hospital. Paramedics tried to revive Molly, but Joshua had stabbed her over 75 times and had also tried to slit her throat. So she was pronounced dead at 11:43 a.m. on June 29th, 2017. Molly's friends and family started seeing the news about something going on at the gym and that a girl had been attacked and killed in the parking lot. The news didn't say who the girl was, but her friends could see Molly's location on

• 31:54Annie Elise?

  Snapchat and it said that she was still at the gym. Her friend Amy started putting two and two together and she called Molly's mom to tell her what had happened, what was going on. Molly's mom called her father, who was out on a boat hundreds of miles away at the time, and he rushed back as fast as he could to be with his wife and be with Molly's brother, Tom. A couple of days later, on June 30th, 2017, Joshua was charged with murder, but instead, he only pleaded guilty to manslaughter. He claimed that he had multiple personality disorder and therefore couldn't be charged with murder because he wasn't in the right state of mind. And this is something we have seen with many murderers before. They try to claim this. If you remember the case of Letitia Stalk, the woman who brutally murdered her stepson

• 32:37Annie Elise?

  Gannon, she also tried to claim that she had multiple personality disorder in order to escape the charges. Joshua's trial for the murder of Molly began on January 23rd, 2018. He was still sticking to his manslaughter plea with diminished responsibility due to his multiple personality disorder. While Josh was awaiting trial, two different mental health professionals visited him, but they disagreed on his diagnosis. One professional who testified on behalf of the defense said that he had borderline personality disorder. He said that Josh had abandonment issues from his mother leaving when he was young, and that he wasn't functioning normally at the time of Molly's murder. The other mental health professional testified on behalf of the prosecution and said that

• 33:19Annie Elise?

  Josh did not have any signs of a personality disorder that would have caused him to murder Molly. This professional said that Josh was vain, immature, a narcissist, and showed no remorse for the murder. However, it was also revealed through these evaluations that Joshua didn't even actually have bipolar disorder, and he had been lying to Molly about it all along. And the prosecution presented even more damning evidence. Remember when Joshua had initially told Molly that he had never been in a relationship just like her? Well, that too was a lie. Two women, Leah Huber and Alexandra Dale, came forward to testify about their past interactions with Joshua.

• 33:59Speaker 04

  So in court, it was quite difficult to listen to some of Simpson's previous encounters with women. He was known to the police for threatening behavior. He had sent messages to one of the girls saying that he would fly to where she was on holiday and drown her. He'd been suspected of slashing her tires outside her house. He'd also had another encounter with a local girl around turning up at her flat unannounced and being in the same nightclubs that she was in and waiting outside for her. And he'd also spat in her face in a nightclub.

• 34:40Annie Elise?

  Leah stated that she briefly dated Josh before breaking up with him because of his creepy behavior. Like with Molly, he would just show up randomly to these random places, and the only way that he could have known that she was there is if he had been following her. He would even send her pictures of herself and ask her why she was wearing certain clothing. Shortly after breaking things off with him, Leah was in a nightclub with her friends when Joshua arrived and threw a drink in her face. He was escorted out by security, but when Leah left the club five hours later, Joshua was still outside waiting for her. On another occasion, Joshua knocked on her bedroom window at 2 a.m. saying that he needed to charge his phone. She contacted the police about this, and they once again said they couldn't

• 35:24Annie Elise?

  do much. Like with Molly, they messaged Joshua asking him to stop, but never filed an official report. Now Alexandra, the other woman, said that she and Josh went out a couple of times, but she just felt that something was off about him. She ended up telling Joshua that she wasn't interested in him romantically, which apparently made him extremely upset. He called her 25 times in a single night and sent her pictures of her own backyard, even though she had never once told him where she lived. One morning, she woke up and found that the tires on her mom's car were slashed. She also went on a vacation and Joshua sent her texts saying that he was going to fly out to where she was and drown her. Alexandra,

• 36:06Annie Elise?

  too, reported these instances of stalking to the police. In fact, she reported them three times. But again, they never did anything about it. All they did was send him a text to ask him to stop, and they never filed a police report. The prosecution also found out many other odd things about Josh. They discovered that he had convinced another girl on Tinder to follow Molly on Instagram, which is how he was able to find out that she was going to be at Ship and Trades on the night of June 28th. They also found that Molly had applied for a receptionist job at a gym on June 20th. This gym was different from the one that she and Josh usually went to together. So

• 36:48Annie Elise?

  on June 27th, Joshua bought a membership to that exact same gym. And on that same day, Josh was seen on CCTV footage buying a pickaxe and a paring knife from the local hardware store. Police found these items in Josh's possession on the day of Molly's murder, along with a box cutter he had on him as well. They also spoke about Josh's strange behavior at work. After Molly broke up with him, coworkers said that his behavior was more erratic than usual. He was constantly crying and even told them that he was going to do something stupid, but he never went into further detail. Eventually, his supervisor spoke to him and they agreed that he would start working part-time instead of full-time. The first day of his part-time work schedule was the same day that he attacked Molly.

• 37:34Annie Elise?

  The prosecution argued that Joshua killed Molly because he couldn't control her. And on February 6th, 2018, after deliberating only for a few hours, the jury unanimously found Joshua guilty of first degree murder.

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• 38:37Annie Elise?

  He was eventually sentenced to 26 years to life in prison. The judge who sentenced him said that he was a highly dangerous man who posed a threat to women in the future and would likely never be released. Joshua is currently in jail, serving his sentence. But we all know that no matter how much justice is served against Joshua, it will never bring Molly back. Her family is still left carrying an unimaginable loss, one that no verdict, no sentence, nothing could ever undo.

• 39:08Speaker 07

  The verdict has brought us a small measure of comfort, but it seems that nothing will take away the pain or allow us to come to terms with our Molly being taken from us. We are serving a lifetime of pain, anguish, and loss. Thank you.

• 39:24Annie Elise?

  Now, if you're like me, one of the most frustrating things about this case is that it could have been prevented. If the police had filed reports when Alexandra initially called them, those reports would still have shown up when Molly reported Joshua to the police. It would have shown a history of behavior, a pattern, escalation, and maybe the police would have taken it more seriously. And if they took it more seriously, Molly might still be alive. Unfortunately, we know that nothing can be done to change the past. But the local police department knew that they had done many things wrong. So they hired an auditor to help them figure out how they can improve. And eventually, the department changed its policies on stalking, which is now considered a crime that must be officially

• 40:06Annie Elise?

  reported to create a paper trail. July 10, 2018 was supposed to be Molly's graduation day. Her parents attended the graduation ceremony to accept her diploma on her behalf, and they received a standing ovation from the crowd.

• 40:19Speaker 08

  Most Honorable Chancellor, it is with great sadness that I now invite Doug and Joanne McLaren to accept the award of undergraduate diploma in sports and exercise for health, awarded posthumously to Molly McLaren.

• 40:34Annie Elise?

  The other hero in this story is Benjamin, the witness who stepped in and did everything humanly possible to try and save Molly. He later even received a special award for his actions, and Molly's parents were there to thank him. Thank the man who, in that moment, did more to protect their daughter than the police ever did. Molly's parents also set up the Molly McLaren Foundation to help those with eating disorders and hold a music festival called Molly Fest, and this is on her birthday every year.

• 41:05Speaker 09

  It's basically music, food, drink, people getting together. At Molly's wake, it was so lovely having all family and friends together. And a few of her friends said, wouldn't it be lovely to do this once a year? And that's where we got the idea from. Let's have a Molly Fest, because Molly loved festivals.

• 41:22Speaker 10

  We formed the foundation after Molly died. Molly had suffered with bulimia.

• 41:32Speaker 10

  But she largely overcome it. And she showed us and she showed other people that you can beat it.

• 41:41Annie Elise?

  In the seven years after Molly's death, Molly Fest and the Molly McLaren Foundation helped turn unimaginable grief into real tangible support. They funded full courses of therapy and recovery programs for 25 people struggling with eating disorders. And they provided education and resources to their families as well. And honestly, what an incredible way to take so much pain and to turn it into something meaningful, while also just continuing to honor Molly's legacy. But unfortunately, after seven years, the foundation lost its funding and they were forced to shut down. Now, for Molly's parents, that loss just layered on top of everything they already had endured.

• 42:24Annie Elise?

  I mean, losing their daughter and then losing the organization that they built in her name, that has been devastating for them. Even so, they've continued to speak out, calling attention to a system that they believe too often protects perpetrators, while simultaneously failing victims like Molly and the families who are left behind.

• 42:46Speaker 10

  It's just bad memories and

• 42:50Speaker 10

  the more you think about it, the more you hate it.

• 42:53Speaker 09

  She would want us to try and be happy together for the rest of our lives, but we're finding that really tough. The only time I go out is now I will go to the supermarket once every, once a week or once every two weeks. People have said, let's go for a walk around the village. I can't do that. I find it hard to, uh, I suppose, go to places that I went with Molly because

• 43:24Speaker 09

  although I love the memories, I don't need to physically.

• 43:30Speaker 09

  Go there to have the memories. If man or woman goes to the police frightened about someone, even though that person might not be arrested, but there should be a notes, there should be a database with their name on it. Had there been one then with his name on it for things he did up in Staffordshire, then when Molly went to the police, they would have seen his name.

• 43:56Speaker 10

  The perpetrators seem to get the better deal.

• 43:59Speaker 09

  Hmm. He's going to be looked after for all the time he's in there. They're going to make sure he's safe. We're not all right. Who's looking after us?

• 44:09Speaker 10

  Hmm.

• 44:09Speaker 09

  I feel I always need to know what prison he's in. But we're not allowed to know. And it just seems to be he always gets the better deal. Do you think about him day to day? I try not to, but he creeps into my thoughts.

• 44:27Speaker 09

  Especially because of the effect he's having on Doug and I now.

• 44:32Speaker 09

  I don't want to give him the pleasure.

• 44:37Speaker 09

  And I'm determined he's not going to get the better of us.

• 44:40Annie Elise?

  And honestly, Molly's parents really have a valid point here. Even with the changes that have been made since her death, stalking is still a massive problem, not just in the UK, but worldwide. In 2022, it was reported that two people in the UK are killed by their stalkers every single week. Let that sink in for a moment. So my hope is that the more that we talk about cases like this, the more that we can learn to recognize the warning signs and take them seriously. Because even if one life can be saved, if one person doesn't lose their life the way that Molly so tragically did, then telling these stories truly does matter. So I just want to thank you.

• 45:22Annie Elise?

  Thank you for listening to Molly's story today, keeping her voice alive. And please share this episode, the audio episode or the video episode with a friend on your social media with a group chat because. It's not talked about enough. This is such a common problem. And the more that we can educate on the warning signs, the signs to look for, to be aware, to be aware if it's happening to a friend or a family member, the more than we can hopefully intervene and people won't ultimately lose their lives. I mean, I know that that might be wishful thinking, but I think that knowledge is power. So please take a moment, share Molly's story, share her voice and keep her voice alive because it may save somebody else. Molly will always be missed by her family and her friends,

• 46:07Annie Elise?

  but her story has brought a lot of awareness and policy changes for the horrible crime of stalking. And this will no doubt help other people in the future, which is what Molly always wanted to do. It's just heartbreaking that this is what had to happen in order to make that dream a reality. Thank you so much for tuning in to another reopened episode of 10 to Life today. I will be back with you with a brand new case next week. So make sure if you're not subscribed yet on YouTube, subscribe to the channel. If you are not following the podcast yet, follow the podcast on whatever app you're listening on so that you do not miss new episodes. Until the next one, stay safe. Bye.

• 46:50Speaker 05

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• 47:03Speaker 11

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