72-year-old academic who wrote 'poison pen letters' in decades-long Frank Sinatra feud jailed after going on the run
20 November 2022, 22:13
An elderly academic, who made her neighbours lives a ‘misery’ by playing Frank Sinatra records at full volume in decades-long feud has been jailed after going on the run.
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Elizabeth Hall, 76, admitted two breaches of her restraining orders and was due to be sentenced earlier this month in Birmingham.
But instead the wheelchair user and Frank Sinatra fan wrote to police on the eve of her sentencing, announcing she would not be attending in order to highlight the alleged ‘false narrative’ against her.
Ms Hall then suggested she instead planned to take a trip to Derbyshire, saying: "This is unnegotiable and I am adamant I shall appear when this suits me."
It's a dispute that first began in 1996 when Hall accused her neighbour, Mrs Penny, of playing the 1968 Sinatra hit 'My Way' too loudly the luxury apartment block in Edgbaston, Birmingham.
It's then alleged the feud continued with Mrs Penny pushing dog food through the academic's letterbox and subsequently flooding the property.
A judge at Birmingham Crown Court issued a warrant for Mrs Hall's arrest after she failed to appear, with police arresting her on Thursday after it's believed she returned to her apartment.
Presiding judge, Judge Roderick, sentence Hall to 18 months and ordered her to pay Mrs Penny £500 in compensation.
The court heard how neighbours had seen a ‘change’ in Ms Hall's behaviour six years ago, which led to her ‘creating misery for your neighbours’.
Judge Roderick revealed that Ms Hall had been handed restraining orders that spanned the last three-and-a-half years, however, the academic is said to have breached them at least seven times.
On one occasion writing a 'newsletter' to neighbours targeting Mrs Penny, in what was described by the judge as a "poison pen letter", it was revealed that Ms Hall also sent 53 emails and letters in breach of the restraining order.
She also went on to make a number of false accusations against Mrs Penny - at one point, even targeting her plants.
The judge said: "You described it as a newsletter as if it was something neutral. That was very far from the truth.
"It was, in effect, a poison pen letter repeatedly referring to the complainant as framing her and perjuring herself in court. It is easy to underestimate how distressing and hurtful this conduct and continuing harassment can be.
"There is a real risk or real harm to the complainant from this behaviour continuing.’
Mrs Penny went on to describe how the prolonged harassment campaign had exacerbated her stutter, adding: "I feel like a prisoner in my own home. It has consumed my life."
Hall was initially sentenced to a 12 month jail term, suspended for 21 months, after being found guilty of harassment and breaching her restraining order in July last year.
Judge Henderson also issued a restraining order until further notice following her re-arrest.
