Ex-patient stalked dentist with 'murder kit' including bleach and crossbow, used 30 cars to plan 'The Event'
A dentist was secretly stalked by a dissatisfied patient who carried with him a "murder kit" that consisted of a ski mask, a knife, a hammer, a crossbow, and more, prosecutors told the court during the latter's hearing.
On Friday, August 7, the Cardiff Crown Court heard how Thomas Baddeley, 42, started stalking Dr. Ian Hutchinson after going to his private practice in Chepstow, Gwent, called the 'Smile Lounge,' around four years ago. Having seen Hutchinson regularly to tighten his braces, Baddeley accused the dentist of "poisoning him" via the treatment he was receiving for his receding gums, the Telegraph reported. He also bizarrely asked him to put two of the teeth he had removed back in his mouth.
After that row, Hutchinson, who thought he would be the subject of a formal complaint from Baddeley, did not hear from him again. However, behind the scenes, the 42-year-old was building an extensive stalking operation and was likely drawing up plans to kill him.
But his over-the-top measures would also prove his undoing. Baddeley had bought 30 different second-hand cars so he wouldn't be spotted as he stalked his victim's home and work routine to plan his revenge. He was caught after a neighbor spotted him sitting in one of these cars with a black balaclava hood and alerted the authorities.
Officers subsequently found a crossbow, a black ski mask, a pack of bolts, a kitchen knife, a torch, gloves, lighters, hammer, dust sheets, Dettol bleach, sunglasses, and surface wipes – prosecutor Niger Fryer said: "it is perhaps not hyperbole to call that a murder kit."
"Meticulous" and detailed surveillance logs" recovered from his Citroen car and his home showed he had stalked Hutchinson for years and had been keeping the dentist under "systematic surveillance."
The court heard that Baddeley even made a "chilling" timetable for "The Event" which included notes about how to avoid leaving fingerprints and what he should say to the police if he got caught. As for "The Event" itself, he had planned what he would be doing the week before, the day before and that morning.
"In the context of what was found in the vehicle it is disturbing," Fryer said. "'The Event' appears to have been planned meticulously. There is no specific reference to murder but there is strong circumstantial evidence that this was 'The Event.'"
Hutchinson, former chairman of the British Lingual Orthodontic Society, said he had been left "extremely distressed" and "utterly shocked" when police knocked on his door to tell him that Baddeley had been stalking him for so long.
In his victim impact statement, he said he thought his former patient was looking for "some sort of revenge" and that he "will be looking over my shoulder expecting Mr. Baddeley to be nearby for the rest of my life." He said he has considered giving up the job he loves but has "staff and patients who rely on him."
Baddeley insisted that the crossbow was for a hobby and not to hurt anyone but ended up admitting to stalking and possessing a knife and an offensive weapon.
Sentencing him to 16 months in prison, Judge Jeremy Jenkins said, "The facts of this case are chilling. You stalked him like a hunter stalks his quarry. You tracked and recorded his movements and followed him around. You are a highly intelligent man which makes this all the more sinister. I am in no doubt you intended to cause some harm Mr. Hutchinson. It is difficult to envisage a more serious case than this of its kind."