11 Feb 2025
A man who became fixated and obsessed with his ex-partner after she ended their relationship was sent to prison for relentlessly stalking her and petrol bombing her car.
Michael Miller, 38, of Cottonmill Lane, who was already on a Stalking Protection Order from a previous relationship, was sentenced to 27 months imprisonment for stalking with serious distress, 45 months’ imprisonment for arson and nine months for breaching his Stalking Protection Order at St Albans Crown Court.
The sentences will run concurrently and he was also given a 10-year restraining order.
Det Con Chloe Palmer from the Domestic Abuse Investigation and Safeguarding Unit (DAISU) said: “Miller is a dangerous man who was already subject of a Stalking Protection Order when he met his ex-partner.
“When she ended their relationship in July 2024, Miller relentlessly pursued her, messaged her, turned up at her workplace, leaving notes on her car overnight for days and even reported her to police for drug dealing. The stalking came to a head on September 29 when Miller used a petrol bomb to set fire to the victim’s car outside her home and messaged her to say ‘the car was just the start.’”
When he was arrested, he had a mobile phone, which he had not made available for inspection by his police offender manager under the conditions of his Stalking Protection Order.
Det Con Palmer said: “The victim is pleased he has gone to prison but the impact of his actions has left her frightened, insecure and worried all the time. She has said that the mental scars will remain with her for a long time.”
