I'll kill your family, Staffordshire painter told ex
A painter and decorator threatened to kill his ex-girlfriend's family after being taunted with claims she had a new lover.
Daniel Stone sent the 18-year-old a series of menacing text messages on January 13 this year. The couple's two-year relationship had broken down with the birth of their first child, who was three months old when the threats were issued.
Wolverhampton Crown Court heard on Tuesday that the messages from Stone, aged 24, included one sent shortly after midnight that read: 'I have got a gun and am going to shoot your entire family'.
Another declared: 'I will have the last laugh when me and my shotgun pay a visit to your family. It's a promise. Bang Bang. You are going to know what it is like to lose everyone you love.'
The terrified teenage victim, who was living in Bloxwich, called police at that point.
Stephen Cadwaladr, defending, said: "These were two young people, both emotionally immature. He acted in response to text messages from her that said she was being unfaithful to him and things got out of control."
Stone, now living in Sheffield, pleaded guilty to making threats to kill and was given a 12-month prison sentence with supervision suspended for two years.
He was also made the subject of a restraining order banning any contact with his former partner for five years. Judge Nicholas Webb told him: "These were nasty, vicious messages."
