A Tragic Murder- A powerful force to improve the nation's response to stalking

In late February 2003, Debbie Riddle contacted the Stalking Resource Center of the National Center for Victims of Crime seeking help. Peggy Klinke, Debbie’s sister, had been brutally murdered two months earlier by a former boyfriend who had stalked her before killing her and then himself. Debbie wanted to translate her family’s painful tragedy into a force for positive change. In particular, she wanted to find ways to improve law enforcement’s response to stalking. She wanted to help save lives.

Debbie Riddle’s call set into motion a series of remarkable events that within four months resulted in a Congressional briefing, a concurrent Congressional resolution, and a national television program featuring Peggy’s story. On July 8, 2003, the National Center for Victims of Crime, in partnership with Representative Heather Wilson (R-NM) and Lifetime Television, brought Peggy’s story to the attention of Congress at a briefing on Capitol Hill.

Debbie Riddle and Mark Sparks (Peggy Klinke’s boyfriend at the time of her murder) described the terror of Peggy’s last months. They shared how Peggy worked with the police, obtained restraining orders, and even succeeded in having the case set for trial. Yet six days before the trial date, Peggy was killed.

The briefing highlighted ways law enforcement can strengthen its response to stalking. Speakers included Erin Brockovich, host of Lifetime’s Final Justice; Diane Stuart, director of the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice; Tracy Bahm, director of the Stalking Resource Center, National Center for Victims of Crime; and Mark Wynn, former police officer and stalking expert. Susan Herman, executive director of the National Center for Victims of Crime, moderated the briefing.

That same day, Representative Wilson sponsor of the briefing introduced a resolution to support National Stalking Awareness Month, which will focus a national spotlight on stalking every January. (A copy of the resolution and more information about National Stalking Awareness Month are available at www. ncvc.org/src.)

Through their powerful statements, Debbie Riddle and Mark Sparks urged both increased awareness and immediate action to help save lives. And Mark Wynn outlined steps law enforcement can take to prevent more tragedies like Peggy Klinke’s death. Lifetime, which aired the Peggy Klinke story on Erin Brockovich’s “Final Justice” show, has also producing a 15- minute training video called “Stalking: Real Fear, Real Crime.” The videotape is being distributed free to police departments around the country.

Stalking Myths & Realities Only celebrities are stalked. 1.4 million people are stalked every year in the United States. We may hear more about celebrity stalking cases in the media, but the vast majority of stalking victims are ordinary citizens.

If you ignore stalking, it will go away. Stalkers seldom “just stop.” In fact, behaviors can turn more and more violent as time goes on. Victims should seek help from advocates, law enforcement, and the courts to intervene to stop the stalking.

Stalking is creepy but not dangerous. Stalking is creepy and dangerous. Three out of four women who were murdered by an intimate partner had been previously stalked by the killer.

Stalking is annoying but not illegal. Stalking is a crime under the laws of all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the federal government.

You can’t be stalked by someone you are still dating. If your current girlfriend or boyfriend tracks your every move or follows you around in a way that causes you fear, that is stalking. Modern surveillance technology is too expensive and confusing for most stalkers to use. Stalkers can buy surveillance software and hardware for as little as $30 and can easily track victims’ every move on a computer. If you confront the stalker, he’ll go away. Stalkers can be unreasonable and unpredictable. Confronting or trying to reason with a stalker can be dangerous.