Publications
Partners
David Beckham (47) has spoken of feeling agonisingly “helpless” after a stalker spent years harassing his family and terrifying his 11-year-old daughter, Harper, who became too scared to leave their home.
The Beckhams' days of living in fear came to an end this week when a London judge ordered Sharon Bell (58) to be detained under the UK's Mental Health Act after she was charged with harassment.
The stalking began in 2016 when Bell would send the former footballer “chilling letters”. She believed she was in a relationship with him and that he and his wife, Victoria Beckham (48), had conspired to steal her ovaries.
In one particularly disturbing incident last year, she arrived at Harper’s primary school trying to pass herself off as Victoria. “I’m Harper’s mother. I’m here to pick her up,” she allegedly said.
When the cops arrived to take her away, she was described as looking “vacant”.
In a statement read in the Westminster Magistrate's Court, David, who's currently on a break in Croatia with his family, said, “I felt like the language in the letters was escalating and becoming more emotional and threatening to me and my family – and this worried me.
“She appeared with no warning, making the threat more targeted and intimidating. I felt helpless and angry that there was nothing I could do.”
In her statement to the court, Victoria spoke of her concern for her daughter.
“I'm worried about her safety. I'm very concerned and anxious about Harper going to the park or being taken on school trips.”
In one handwritten letter sent to the Beckhams’ Oxfordshire home in July last year, Bell said she planned to visit David there and would “appreciate it” if Victoria “wasn’t there”.
“I've got your address from a detective agency. I hope you don’t mind. I have feelings for you, David,” she wrote.
“Victoria owes me some money, David, as she said she’s been robbing my bank account for years, which isn’t very nice. I'd appreciate it if she wasn’t there.”
She wrote another letter, which was sent to the Beckhams’ home in Holland Park, London, before turning up there one day in September.
“You said if I write to you first and I’m unarmed (which I will be), then I can come in for a chat and a tea (Earl Grey is my favourite tea). I really want to chat to you, so please can I come in for a chat?
“I just want to talk to you. You owe me that, David (PS I would like to be with you when you have brain surgery to give you a few new brain cells) and your friend Tom Cruise has really upset me, David. He's done some terrible things to me.”
In a third letter, sent in October, she spoke of her infatuation for the former England skipper. “I do love you and have done since we were children.”
David told the court he’s never met Bell and became increasingly concerned about her erratic behaviour.
“The letters were becoming increasingly threatening and obviously the female knew where I lived.”
Bell will not be facing a criminal trial as she's been diagnosed with a mental disorder.
Sources: dailymail.co.uk, newsky.com
