After being jilted by a former boyfriend, a woman has been put on trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court, accused of faking her own kidnapping.
Jessica Nordquist of Whitechapel, east London, sent her ex emails and pictures of herself tied to a bed and dressed in nothing but her underwear, claiming she had been kidnapped and raped by a group of hackers, the court heard.
Nordquist is accused of emailing clients of her former boyfriend, Mark Weeks, who broke up with her in November last year. She allegedly set up an email account in his name and falsely “admitted” that Weeks had raped her, reports Metro.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Jurors were told Nordquist had bought a “fake baby bump” from Amazon in order to “fool her ex she was eight-weeks pregnant with his child”, says the newspaper. The couple then attended an abortion clinic. Nordquist claimed she didn’t go through with the abortion, later saying she had suffered a miscarriage.
On 19 April, Weeks received an email saying: “Jessica Nordquist is the one who has been protecting your children from us. We raped and stole her tonight.”
The “kidnapper” insisted that Weeks respond directly to the email by the next morning but instead he called the police, The Times reports. Weeks then received a follow-up email reading: “We warned you to get in touch with us today. You didn’t, so we broke two of Jessica’s fingers.”
The same morning he also received several messages from an email address that appeared to belong to Nordquist’s sister, saying: “You better save her. I know how much you hate her but you better save her.
“Please save my sister, she has sacrificed everything for you. You better save her f****** life.”
Nordquist attended Bethnal Green police station on 26 January this year, where her phone and iPad were confiscated by the authorities. Police found evidence of internet searches about sending fake emails and stalking on her devices. The police also found evidence of further searches for “fake babies”, reports The Times.
Nordquist denies the charges of stalking, sending malicious communications and perverting the course of justice.
-
Delhi's dogs earn Supreme Court reprieveIN THE SPOTLIGHT After an outcry from the public and animal rights activists, India's Supreme Court walks back a controversial plan to round the city's stray dog population into shelters
-
8 hotels with ace tennis courtsThe Week Recommends Bring your A game
-
Abrego released from jail, faces Uganda deportationSpeed Read The wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego García is expected to be detained at an ICE check-in and deported to Uganda
-
English literature: is it doomed?Speed Read Arts and humanities courses are under attack thanks to a shift to ‘skills-led’ learning
-
Are UK classrooms a new political battleground?Speed Read Government has issued new guidance on political neutrality in schools
-
Kathleen Stock resigns: the ‘hounding’ of an academic on the front line of transgender rights debateSpeed Read Sussex University students claim ‘trans and non-binary students are safer and happier for it’
-
How 100,000 ‘lost children’ disappeared from UK school systemSpeed Read Experts warn that vulnerable pupils may be recruited by gangs after failing to return to education post-lockdown
-
Why is the government planning to cut arts education funding by 50%?Speed Read Proposal described by critics as ‘catastrophic’ and ‘an attack on the future of UK arts’
-
Schools do not spread Covid-19, multiple studies findSpeed Read Reports from Germany, Norway and the WHO conclude schoolchildren are not vector of infection
-
Universities must consider refunding students hit by Covid disruption, regulator warnsSpeed Read Institutions under investigation as thousands of undergraduates remain locked down amid coronavirus outbreaks
-
Coronavirus: will UK schools have to close again?Speed Read Thousands of teachers are self-isolating - but the government is determined not to order new closures
