Re: Mail: Internet troll who targeted McCanns found dead in hotel room

**bb1** Tue Oct 07, 2014 12:16 pm

http://www.stopthemyths.info/viewtopic.php?f=115&t=7098&sid=c302b51265a5d0916a0ea0a036ef2081&start=325

e: Police investigate McCann trolls
Postby scoobydoo » Tue Oct 07, 2014 9:01 am

None of the media seem to be mentioning what she did to the poor nanny, posting her workplace details online as long with claims she was a prostitute. I wonder if that was being investigated by police hence the silence.

Quite.

One hopes that the authorities are keeping a close eye on the hounders' despicable activities, and their efforts to exploit this woman's death for their own ends.

**Lamplighter** Tue Oct 07, 2014 12:19 pm

From Myths with thanks.

The grieving son of a woman who took her own life after being branded a troll says “no-one has a clue” what she was really like. 

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/son-madeleine-mccann-troll-defends-4393728#ixzz3FSNnBRax
Follow us: @DailyMirror on Twitter | DailyMirror on Facebook

tigerloaf » Tue Oct 07, 2014 11:41 am
A slightly unfortunate choice of words by the son in that article.

The truth is that people do have a clue as to what his mother was like. The thousands of tweets she posted are a very significant clue.

It is rather sad now for the son and his relatives, though, that other haters (being led once again by Tony Bennett, the disgraced, convicted ex-solicitor from Harlow) are using his mother as a totem for hatred and trolling. They have determined that the kind of posting she was involved in online is perfectly acceptable and are creating monuments to the woman which celebrate those nasty posts under the pretence that they are perfectly acceptable.

Absolutely nothing else in the woman's life is of concern to them. Only the use they can now make of her in their continued and vile attacks on the McCanns.

What is the real motive for the obscene way in which Tony Bennett latches onto those who are suffering and tries to inveigle himself into investigations which are none of his business? He has spent the last decades of his life feeding off the suffering and misery of others. As he has no other obvious source of income does he simply leech off these cases for financial benefit or is it some kind of addiction? His own family suffer but he simple does not care about that.

**bb1** Tue Oct 07, 2014 12:31 pm

I see from that Mirror story that her son hasn't yet arrived in the UK. My heart goes out to him; not only does he have to deal with his mother's death, vultures like Bennett are already circling. I doubt if he has any idea of the kind of creatures his mother was associating with in cyber-space, and he is in for some very nasty shocks.

If the haters and hounders had a shred of decency, they would leave the guy alone and STOP exploiting his mother's death for their own ends. Unfortunately, none of them are capable of genuine sympathy or empathy, let alone decent behaviour.

**bb1** Tue Oct 07, 2014 12:58 pm

http://davidbretisagod.forumotion.co.uk/t975-sykes-take-on-the-vulture-is-circling

**bb1** Tue Oct 07, 2014 1:08 pm

http://www.stopthemyths.info/viewtopic.php?f=115&t=7123&sid=823d777b8b6f7e429349b1e921f40f77

will anything change now?

Unfortunately, I suspect the answer is 'No' - not as long as people imagine they are entitled to spew abuse at anyone in the public eye, and big businesses like twatter and farcebook couldn't give a flying one as long as the $$$$$$$ keep rolling in.

Those currently in full, faux-outraged shriek would do well to wait until more is known about all this, which may not be made public until a full coroner's court sits. They would also do well to consider that it was Sweepy that made first contact with Brunt, not the other way around.

And as Laffinarse claimed to have a phone call from Sky, the same protocol may well have been followed with Sweepy, hence her lack of surprise at finding Brunt on her doorstep.

We don't know anything much right now. Which is just one of many reasons why the display being put on by the circling vultures is so tasteless and disrespectful.

**bb1** Tue Oct 07, 2014 1:35 pm

PS - why are the vultures ignoring the fact that the deceased invited Brunt into her home? Scarcely the act of someone being 'hounded'?

**bb1** Tue Oct 07, 2014 5:49 pm

http://www.stopthemyths.info/viewtopic.php?f=115&t=7098&sid=2b286ea297dc03f58a7f34d07fdf3710&start=350

Shy Keenan @ShyKeenan · Oct 6
...we just don't have the resources to deal with the troll aftermath that comes with daring to mention that missing child's family
Reply0 replies Retweet3 retweets3 Favorite2 favorites2
More

It's no secret that the haters attack ANYONE that doesn't fall into line with their sick vendetta, we've seen it time and time again.

They can now be seen trying to get Sweepy's family onside; what is going to happen if they don't play along, indeed, blame the internet lynch mob for egging their mother on? If the hotel staff don't give testimony that fits the haters' world-view? Will they then be targets for stalking and 'research'?

We all know the answer to that.

And suppose the coroner rules her death a suicide, with no great mystery attached to it? He and his family are then going to be in the firing line for abuse and conspiraloon garbage.

The haters need to leave their own nasty corner of the internet, and see the contempt the general public has for them and their horrible cause.

**bb1** Tue Oct 07, 2014 6:34 pm

According to a hounder:

The McCanns aren't stalked and neither are their children.

No-one turns up to the workplace of Gerald McCann to distress him and no-one turns up at their childrens' school either. Kate isn't hounded at the supermarket etc.

They'd better ask Head Hounder about that; he's the one that boasted about eating in the Glenfield canteen. He's also the one that hung around outside their house at twilight taking photos.

And it's not that long since the hounders were desperately trying to 'research' the route of the twins' school bus, is it?

What, pray tell, do they imagine this, taken from one of the Truthseeking FB groups is?

Mail: Internet troll who targeted McCanns found dead in hotel room - Page 3 Doogue10

Mail: Internet troll who targeted McCanns found dead in hotel room - Page 3 Doogue10

They really should stop kidding themselves and see themselves as the rest of the world does.

**lily** Tue Oct 07, 2014 6:45 pm

In my opinion Head Hounder has so much to answer for. He agitates people.

He swallowed Amoral's carp hook, line and sinker and then ran with it in any direction he could via whatever medium he could.

That message posted by Doogue is unforgivable. What kind of person writes things like that?

**bb1** Tue Oct 07, 2014 6:59 pm

http://www.stopthemyths.info/viewtopic.php?f=115&t=7098&sid=53ee1f1b8d6321bb78e5a40da23e6b82&start=350

Concerning some of the people the deceased was in touch with. I shudder to think what the police will find on her computer, and I am heart-sorry for her family. It's bad enough having to deal with a death; what it must be like when horrible revelations are made, and a media circus is ongoing, I can't imagine.

And the haters exploiting Sweepy's death for their own ends should be ashamed of themselves; sadly, that isn't an emotion they are capable of feeling.

**bb1** Tue Oct 07, 2014 7:12 pm

In my opinion Head Hounder has so much to answer for. He agitates people.

He and his chums also tried to intimidate the McCanns in their home town - in their own street, FFS. He sneaked around other people's property photographing their security systems, which he then posted on the internet, and bewailed the fact that the barn extension of one of his victims didn't have enough windows for him to peer in.

A young, black guy caught doing that would have been in jail before he knew it.

He stalks ANYONE he feels like, and calls it 'research' to validate his anti-social behaviour. The less-bright and more easily influenced are impressed by this, and forget he's just Mr Nobody from 666 Harlow.

He has a great deal to answer for, as does Amaral, in giving this hate campaign false legitimacy.

**lily** Tue Oct 07, 2014 7:18 pm

We here on this forum have been aghast at so many of the appalling and vicious acts he has done.

He's another one with entitlement issues. mad

**bb1** Tue Oct 07, 2014 7:30 pm

They really all should leave their comfort hate zones and see what's being said about this on non-McCann discussion sites, Lily. The general public is disgusted by them, not supportive, as they imagine.

**bb1** Tue Oct 07, 2014 7:36 pm

Jerry Lawton ‏@JerryLawton 3h3 hours ago
Kate #McCann returns to gym despite knowing one fellow fitness fanatic is a secret troll who posted online abuse about her

Quite; I seem to recall that was one of the horrible numties?

**lily** Tue Oct 07, 2014 7:45 pm

They don't want to read what decent society say about them, Bonny. Somehow it goes over their heads.

There are a few horrible ones who live in the area around Leicester?

**bb1** Tue Oct 07, 2014 8:13 pm

Yes, and I think that is of some concern, knowing how obsessed these people are.

**bb1** Wed Oct 08, 2014 9:04 am

Joana Morais ‏@xklamation 11h10 hours ago
The spectacle of vultures using #sweepyface death to self promote themselves is as sickening as the one that lead to Brenda's death #McCann

Yes, it is. I hope she was looking in the mirror when she said that? A coven of harpies appear to be competing to make this all about them; one wonders where they were when Sweepy appears to have needed a friend?

**bb1** Wed Oct 08, 2014 9:10 am

http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/people-troll-Professor-Brian-Brown-Montfort/story-23056313-detail/story.html

Why do people troll? Professor Brian Brown of De Montfort University discusses the issue after McCann abuse and Brenda Leyland death
By DavidWOwen | Posted: October 07, 2014

Sending abusive messages to people over the internet - or ‘trolling’, as it is known - has made headlines over the past few days following reports of vitriolic abuse aimed at the parents of missing Madeleine McCann.

It was revealed last week that police are investigating people using the anonymity of the web to target the Rothley family, whose three-year-old daughter went missing in Portugal in 2007.

As reported in the Mercury, another tragic twist came on Sunday when Brenda Leyland, of Burton Overy, who is alleged to have tweeted 4,220 offensive messages to the McCanns, was found dead in a Leicestershire hotel room.

Professor Brian Brown, of De Montfort University, specialises in interpreting “human experience” across a variety of different disciplines, including education and the mass media.

The Mercury asked him why some internet users chose to troll others online.

“I think the subject of internet trolling, particularly with the extraordinary growth in the everyday use of social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook is an interesting but complex one,” he said.

“There has been very little research into trolling, but a recent Canadian study, published in Personality and Individual Differences, the journal of the International Society for the Study of Individual Differences (ISSID), makes interesting reading.

“What they did was to survey a few thousand internet users asking them about their behaviour and interactions while online.

“It discovered that many people who troll, which they define as the practice of behaving in a ‘destructive, or disruptive manner in a social setting on the internet with no apparent instrumental purpose’ share similar characteristics.

“Many show traits of narcissism, Machiavelli-like manipulation, psychopathy, sadism and other antisocial personality disorders.

“Although these were essentially self-reporting questionnaires, the answers can be very revealing.

“It seems a lot of people who troll take great pleasure in manipulating others and have a very well developed sense of their own importance.

“But often, in reality, they are quite vulnerable individuals themselves, probably very isolated who don’t have much positive interaction with people in the real world, and who spend most of their time online.

“The cloak of anonymity afforded by the internet can be quite empowering for these people.

“Real life is difficult – finding a good job and keeping it is hard; raising a family is hard; relationships are difficult, especially romantic ones that quite often don’t go the way we would want.

“However, on the internet people can create their own identity anew, often several ones, where they can compensate for their feelings of inadequacy. And whilst they wouldn’t say boo to a goose, face-to-face, they can indulge their alternative persona online.

“The anonymity of the web means that, more often than not, they will not be exposed.

"We can see this extreme behaviour in other forums, for example, when someone enters a football stadium or wrestling arena, the rules of engagement are different, and some of the interaction between fans, and performers, can be viewed as extremely abusive.

“Similarly, with incidents where someone is threatening to commit suicide from a building or bridge and crowds gather, you sometimes hear reports of them shouting, ‘jump! jump!’, to the individual.

“Research has suggested that this is more likely if it is dark and the crowd is large.

“As far as targeting celebrities, many people feel they are fair game, as does the tabloid media.

“And when you hear of famous people shutting down their Twitter accounts, for example, after just a few days, due to abuse, those responsible realise how their cruel behaviour can have a powerful effect.

“They can make someone cry, make them upset, get them to react.

“This almost instantaneous result feeds and reinforces the antisocial behaviour and there is instant gratification.

“They say, ‘Hey, I am powerful, look what I’ve done’.”

**Jean-Pierre.t50** Wed Oct 08, 2014 9:16 am

bb1 wrote:Jerry Lawton ‏@JerryLawton 3h3 hours ago
Kate #McCann returns to gym despite knowing one fellow fitness fanatic is a secret troll who posted online abuse about her

Quite; I seem to recall that was one of the horrible numties?

So long as they remain a secret troll, that is fine. I wonder if they would be brave enough to say to her face what they say (apparently) online?

**bb1** Wed Oct 08, 2014 9:21 am

I saw that creep posting about it on one of the contronumty groups, Jean-Pierre; the obvious worry is that these nutjobs are physically close to the McCanns. Let us not forget that the deceased Sweepy occupied herself making up stories about the McCanns and spreading them around the internet; many of her tweets are pretty vile, including ones directed at the twins.

Meanwhile:

An inquest into the death of Brenda Leyland, who sent abusive Tweets about the parents of Madeleine McCann, will open today.

Ms Leyland, 63, from Burton Overy, fled her home after being confronted about the online abuse by Sky News reporter Martin Brunt on Thursday.

It has emerged that she had sent more than 4,000 tweets about Kate and Gerry McCann blaming them for the disappearance of their daughter.

Ms Leyland's body was discovered at the Leicester Marriott Hotel, in Enderby, at the weekend and police confirmed it was the mother-of-two on Monday.

Leicester coroner Catherine Mason will open the inquest at midday today.

Read more: http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Inquest-death-Brenda-Leyland-open-today/story-23061084-detail/story.html#xgKgvxhAoyfayawT.99#ixzz3FXWEvlpi

I hope the haters aren't expecting anything too dramatic today, like a repentant Brunt being dragged in in chains; this is likely to be purely a formality.
Follow us: @Leicester_Merc on Twitter | leicestermercury on Facebook
Read more at http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Inquest-death-Brenda-Leyland-open-today/story-23061084-detail/story.html#0wHoc5RK8xjlrixk.99

**bb1** Wed Oct 08, 2014 9:33 am

http://www.stopthemyths.info/viewtopic.php?f=115&t=7129&sid=27c033f5031e63347d203fa51ea4868a

The dishonesty of the anti/haters

Excellent posts.

**bb1** Wed Oct 08, 2014 11:42 am

http://www.standard.co.uk/business/markets/doorstepping-troll-brenda-leyland-was-justified-so-lets-not-bully-skys-martin-brunt--roy-greenslade-9781575.html

Doorstepping ‘troll’ Brenda Leyland was justified, so let’s not bully Sky’s Martin Brunt - Roy Greenslade

DE

Published: 08 October 2014 Updated: 10:28, 08 October 2014
A Sky News journalist has been subjected to an online bashing because he doorstepped a woman accused of “trolling” the parents of Madeleine McCann.

The woman, Brenda Leyland, was later found dead.

We need to pick our way carefully through the farrago of claims, counterclaims and details to make a sensible analysis of competing grievances. First, vastly experienced Sky News crime correspondent Martin Brunt did nothing wrong by knocking on Leyland’s door.

Doorstepping is part of the methodology and culture of journalism, and not just in Britain. The fêted Watergate reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward did just that, as the movie All The President’s Men portrays. It is a necessary part of the verification process that underpins all responsible journalism.

The unusual aspect in the Sky News case is that it took place during a live broadcast. Although Brunt did not reveal Leyland’s identity or the location of her home, her face was, of course, seen on screen. That’s identification enough.

The case raises ethical problems because the broadcaster could not have known her mental and emotional state. It would surely have been better to have run an edited version rather than carry it live.

That said, the result would not have been very different unless Sky News’s editors had decided, given the time to debate the matter, that it would have been appropriate to pixellate her face.

It is not fair to say that Brunt had stalked or hounded Leyland, as his critics have claimed. He properly reported on Leyland’s vitriolic Twitter campaign against Kate and Gerry McCann. And she told him she was “entitled” to attack them.

Brunt in turn could argue that he was “entitled” to report on her activities. Disclosure is the point of journalism, and the facts of her tweeting are not in dispute. If people insult other people in a public forum, they must accept that they are open to public exposure, even if they use aliases.

It is, of course, fair to defend Leyland’s right to freedom of expression, but collectively, her tweets — all of which were unpalatable, and some of which I found appalling — surely amounted to a form of bullying. They are a classic example of what we mean by “trolling”.

Other people who believe in the complicity of the McCanns in the death of their missing daughter, Madeleine, have tweeted worse, arguably illegal, comments. But that’s irrelevant to the overall argument about the media’s right to reveal Leyland’s attacks. She just happened to be the first to be identified.

The digital world is all about transparency. Leyland may have thought that by hiding behind her Twitter handle, @sweepyface, she could evade responsibility and public embarrassment for her actions.

I concede that the circumstances were unfortunate, and I have a feeling that Sky News will think again about live doorstepping. It may not amount to trial by media, a knee-jerk reaction to the incident, but it does smack of unnecessary intrusiveness.

Then again, I can’t help feeling that it is a bit rich to accuse Brunt of being a bully for having revealed the existence of a genuine bully. He is a sensitive man, quite unlike the stereotypical foot-in-the-door reporter of yesteryear legend, and I am sure he is upset at her death.

Roy Greenslade is Professor of Journalism, City University London, and writes a blog for the Guardian

**bb1** Wed Oct 08, 2014 1:05 pm

A reminder of the lengths the hounders have gone to, to stalk the McCanns and get physically close to them:

http://www.stopthemyths.info/viewtopic.php?f=115&t=7129&sid=28a274dcbc7ca15d4fa4cf570d443e00

Bennett is actually boasting about his efforts to intimidate Gerry McCann. The police should have taken action against these obsessive nutjobs long ago; they have absolutely NO respect for the most basic human rights of others, the rule of law in a democracy, nothing.

**bb1** Wed Oct 08, 2014 2:12 pm

http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Inquest-death-Twitter-troll-Brenda-Leyland-opened/story-23062156-detail/story.html

Inquest into the death of Madeleine McCann 'Twitter troll' Brenda Leyland is opened at Leicester Coroner's Court
By PA_Warzynski | Posted: October 08, 2014

An inquest into the death of a woman who is believed to have sent more than 4,000 abusive tweets about the parents of missing youngster Madeleine McCann has been opened at Leicester Coroner’s Court.

Brenda Katheryn Gabrielle Leyland, 63, of Burton Overy, was found dead in a hotel room in Enderby, on Saturday, October 4.

She was named on national television as an internet 'troll' two days earlier, accused of targeting Kate and Gerry McCann with vile messages on Twitter.

Following a confrontation at her home on Thursday by a Sky News reporter, Ms Leyland left her home and rented a room at the Leicester Marriott Hotel, where she was found dead a short time later.

It is not yet known who discovered her body.

Sergeant Kevin Taylor, of Braunstone police station, was the first officer at the scene and found Ms Leyland's body in the room.

Giving evidence at the inquest today, he said that her body had been taken to Leicester Royal Infirmary on Sunday and formally identified by family member Michael Leyland.

Sgt Taylor confirmed that a postmortem examination had taken place yesterday, but no cause of death had been determined and the results were not yet complete.

He also said that police inquires had not yet been concluded.

Coroner Catherine Mason asked if foul play had been involved, to which Sgt Taylor replied: “There did not appear to be. No.”

The inquest has been adjourned until December 18.

==============

I suggest the harpies stop shrieking and the vultures stop circling, and consider the possibility that Sweepy died of natural causes, as nothing is obvious at this point.

It didn't escape notice that the vultures were indulging in their favourite hobby - ghoulish speculation - yesterday, and discussing the means by which women were most likely to kill themselves. Thus demonstrating their usual lack of respect for anyone, living or dead.

**bb1** Wed Oct 08, 2014 2:25 pm

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/pa/article-2784499/Inquest-open-McCann-troll.html

New tests over McCann 'troll' death
By PRESS ASSOCIATION
PUBLISHED: 14:14, 8 October 2014 | UPDATED: 14:14, 8 October 2014

Police are awaiting the result of post-mortem tests carried out on the body of a housewife who was accused of directing online abuse at Madeleine McCann's parents.
An inquest at Leicester Coroner's Court was told a post-mortem examination conducted yesterday had failed to establish the cause of Brenda Leyland's death.
The body of Mrs Leyland, 63, was discovered in a Leicester hotel room last Saturday, two days after she featured in a Sky News report exposing internet "trolling" of Kate and Gerry McCann.

Opening the inquest, Leicester Coroner Catherine Mason was told there was no evidence of foul play or third party involvement in the death.
Police Sergeant Kevin Taylor told the coroner he was informed that Mrs Leyland was dead after being sent to the Marriott Hotel in Enderby.
The officer said: "At the scene I was joined by another officer and a county ambulance first responder unit.
"I was then informed by the paramedic and the other officer that there was a deceased female within the room."
Sgt Taylor added that officers were awaiting the results of additional post-mortem tests and were still undertaking inquiries into the death.
Adjourning the inquest until December 18, Mrs Mason said: "It's quite clear from the evidence before me that I am not in a position to conclude (the inquest) today.
"The cause of death is still not known and police inquiries are rightly ongoing.
"Therefore, with the sergeant still tasked to complete the police inquiries and the pathologist still to provide a cause of death, I am adjourning the inquest."
Mrs Leyland, from Burton Overy, Leicestershire, is reported to have posted thousands of messages on Twitter attacking the McCanns, whose daughter Madeleine disappeared in Portugal in 2007.
Officers from Leicestershire Police, who are not treating the death as suspicious, were alerted to the discovery of Ms Leyland's body at 1.42pm on Saturday.

Sponsored content