Barnard Castle woman to stand trial accused of stalking

Appearing at a Durham Crown Court plea hearing, Catherine Brennan pleaded not guilty to a single count of stalking, involving serious alarm or distress.

Between December 1, 2024, and February 24, last year, she is accused of making unwanted calls, sending numerous text messages, posting comments on social media and sending messages to the complainant’s family about him.

Ellen Wright, for the defendant, said during the period of the alleged offending she was suffering with psychosis, which was undiagnosed at that time, but which was subsequently diagnosed, and for which she now has medication.

Miss Wright asked the court to adjourn for preparation of a psychiatric report on the defendant to assess the issue of psychosis.

Judge Nathan Adams agreed and said the report should be served on the court along with the defendant’s signed defence statement, by April 30.

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A further case management hearing will follow two months later, with a trial date provisionally pencilled in to start on August 10, 2027.

Adjourning the hearing, Judge Adams told Brennan: “There’ll be a hearing back here in late June and if there needs to be a trial, it will be at the back of a long queue, I’m afraid, in August next year.”

He granted the 38-year-old defendant of Startforth Park, Barnard Castle, bail to attend the further case management hearing at the court, on June 29.