Wedding planner jailed after trying to frame ex-husband for stalking

A wedding planner who launched an “elaborate plot” to frame her ex-husband for stalking has been jailed for 28 months – after Christmas-themed Wallace And Gromit stamps helped police establish the truth.

Emma Heys claimed she had been sent dead flowers with their heads cut off on Valentine’s Day, along with a note saying “b****”.

The 42-year-old sent herself threatening text messages and letters as part of a “web of lies” against her former spouse Christopher, who has been “significantly affected” as a result.

She fabricated evidence that led to a family court issuing a non-molestation order on 11 February 2019, banning her husband from contacting her and entering Lincolnshire.

Three days later, she made the first of 19 allegations and 15 false statements, police said.

Christopher Heys was arrested three times and spent more than 30 hours in police custody as a result of her claiming he was “abusive and violent”.

The letters, either delivered by hand or by post, implied the sender was watching her every movement – referring to CCTV cameras being fitted at her property.

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One letter mentioned her shopping at the Trafford Centre in Manchester while another observed that she had visited Great Yarmouth.

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Wallace And Gromit stamps spark suspicion

Police investigating the allegations searched Heys’ address in Lincoln, where they found a cardboard box containing a batch of blank envelopes with stamps on.

One envelope had the same Christmas-themed Wallace And Gromit stamp seen on several envelopes handed to police.

Officers conducted forensic testing on the envelopes – with DNA under a seal indicating Heys had sealed it herself.

She was interviewed at length but continued to protest her innocence and refused to admit she was behind the “elaborate” plot.

She made further allegations against Mr Heys when she was arrested in April 2019.

Heys admitted she had sent the messages to herself – although she continued to deny sending the letters – when she was re-interviewed in October 2019.

Police spent more than two years piecing together the evidence in the case, with the investigation delayed due to the COVID pandemic.

Officers trawled hundreds of hours of CCTV footage and reviewed around 100,000 pages of phone downloads, which provided an alibi for Mr Heys.

She was summonsed to attend Lincoln Magistrates’ Court in September last year and pleaded guilty at a subsequent crown court hearing to three separate counts of perverting the course of justice between February and July 2019.

Heys’ defence barrister suggested she had been suffering from a mental illness and struggling to cope with her mother being diagnosed with terminal cancer.

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The judge said only an immediate custodial sentence could be passed due to the seriousness of the offences.

Investigating officer, DC Andrew Woodcock, of Lincolnshire Police, said Heys’ continued false allegations led to a “significant drain” on local policing resources.

“Heys’ ex-husband was unfortunately arrested several times and has been significantly affected by what happened and continues to be to this day,” he said.

“It is important that police and other agencies involved test the evidence in cases to ensure that it is reliable and truthful.

“This case is an example of why so much time and resources go into investigating cases of this nature.

“I hope today’s sentence will provide some comfort to Christopher for the distress he went through and some closure to the case.”

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