This is what Rhiannon Davies and Richard Stanton were forced to go through when they found themselves on the receiving end of online abuse and criticism from internet troll Michael Murphy.
The couple’s daughter, Kate, was born with anaemia in 2009, and sadly passed away just six hours later. An inquest into the child’s death in 2012 heard that she died after doctors failed to detect that blood was leaking into the foetus. The jury at the inquest found the Baby Kate would have survived, had her mother been given life-saving treatment.
The couple went on to share their story, even going on an ITV show to criticise the medics who treated them, but not every response to their ordeal was sympathetic.
Shortly after, Michael Murphy went online and posted a YouTube video attacking the parents for ‘fabricating’ their story, accusing the couple of using their child’s death as an excuse to attack the NHS.
He also went on to write a series of blog posts about the distraught parents, asking why they were so ‘embittered’.
Murphy was reported to the police, who spent six weeks trying to track him down, as the blogs had been posted anonymously. When he was eventually located and asked to remove the offending content, he refused, leading to him being arrested and charged with harassment.
This week, Murphy was cleared of harassment at Telford Magistrates Court, but judges handed down a restraining order to prevent him contacting Ms Davies and Mr Stanton for life.
Describing the impact of Murphy’s actions as ‘grave’, the grieving parents said that life has become a ‘daily struggle’ as they often see Murphy in their locality.
