Dr Angela Jay is 28 and “definitely” believes in love. “It’s that magical feeling you get when you know you have a deep connection with someone,” she told Channel Seven’s Sunday Night.
She believed in love when she took her new boyfriend home to meet her parents and sister in the middle of last year.
“This tall, good-looking, very confident, well-presented man walked in with the most amazing bunch of flowers I’ve ever seen in my life,” Angela’s mum Susan also told the program.
She believed in love when she ended the relationship after six weeks of dating, thinking he “ticked all the boxes” but his “intensity” was smothering. “I felt guilty… Have I lead him on?” Angela wondered.
Her father was the only one to sense the danger. “Something’s not right,” he told Susan at the time.
No one could have guessed 36-year-old insurance manager Paul Lambert used to be known as Paul Scales. That he’d been deported from the US after stalking his ex-girlfriend. That he’d been arrested for beating his previous wife. That he wasn’t supposed to be in New South Wales and that he had been diagnosed by a Brisbane psychologist with borderline personality disorder.
It escalated quickly. He started to message and call incessantly. Paul couldn't handle the rejection and threatened to kill himself by walking in front of a truck.
Angela tried to placate him by inviting him to her high school reunion. The night ended at 1am when Paul started abusing her on the street.
Angela's sister Danielle was called for help and the two women went directly to the police station. "We were told, 'This guy is known to police very well. But he's more of a threat to himself than he is to you'," Danielle told host Melissa Doyle.
Top Comments
What an absolutely horrifying ordeal for this woman to have to go through.
And what a worm of a man he was. I feel terrible for police when they have to fire their weapons and take a life, but in this situation they can feel as guilt free as is possible for the individuals involved.
I watched this story in awe of the hero neighbour and Angela's strength. I hope she continues to heal. I'm so sorry anybody has to go through stories like this.