Damien Michael Hill pleads guilty to stalking Proserpine mortician

A former Navy officer who developed a ‘fascination’ for a ‘funeral girl’ he met at a gym, found out where she lived and looked at her through her bedroom window while telling others of bizarre conversations involving God, Satan and killing animals.

Damien Michael Hill pleaded guilty to stalking a Proserpine woman, including standing outside her house and looking through her bedroom window.

A former Navy officer who developed a ‘fascination’ a ‘funeral girl’ he met at a gym, found out where she lived and looked at her through her bedroom window while telling others of bizarre conversations involving God, Satan and killing animals.

Damien Michael Hill has admitted to stalking a Proserpine woman, standing outside her house, “looking through her bedroom window” and messaging her on dating app Hinge, with a pick up line that made the Whitsunday Funerals mortician understand he had found out where she worked.

“When you’re not dealing with the dead, gee you make the living look awesome,” Hill had messaged the woman before erasing the text.

The stalking occurred over three months from April 23 to August 3 this year.

‘God, Satan and how to kill animals’

Prosecutor Lachlan Perry said Hill met the 27-year-old woman for the first time in April, as they were both members at the same gym in Proserpine, Airlie Fitness.

The 34-year-old, originally from New South Wales, talked to her about his “dead wife” and had “asked her if she had any good pick up lines”, before talking to her about God and asking her to join his church.

Mr Perry said the woman saw him twice more at the gym, where he had followed her outside, stared at her or tried to engage in conversation again, and she had asked him to leave her alone.

A Proserpine woman was left ‘distressed after an ex-Royal navy officer followed her to her house and sent disturbing messages on dating apps.

She cancelled her membership to the gym after the third encounter.

In the following weeks, Hill went to the Whitsunday Foodbank in Proserpine four times asking volunteers if they had heard from her and telling them he had interesting conversations with the “funeral girl” about God, Satan and how to kill animals.

The volunteers were left “ in fear”, whenever Hill would come over, hiding in the office and texting the woman he had asked about her again.

Mr Perry said the woman had also caught him standing outside her house several times, or that he had “looked through her bedroom window” which led her to move houses as she felt “distressed”.

‘Stalking not of most serious nature’

Legal Aid Queensland solicitor Rosemary Varley did not dispute any of the facts but said the ex-navy officer was a serious mental health patient with diagnosed schizophrenia and a post traumatic disorder.

She told the court the stalking on social media was not very serious as he had only sent two messages.

Damien Michael Hill sent her a message on dating app Hinge with a pick up line that made the woman think he had found out where she worked.

Magistrate Michelle Howard told her this was in addition to him “standing outside her house”.

Ms Varley told the court Hill was admitted as a mental health inpatient at Mackay Base Hospital for five days in February this year and had been prescribed a treatment.

She said it was not clear whether he had been taking his treatment as prescribed over that period of time but he had been admitted into a mental health ward in August for 25 days, where a treatment was implemented.

She told the court he had been in custody since September 11, where he engaged with mental health services, and she asked the court to consider he had already served his time.

Ms Varley said Hill’s mother, who lives in New South Wales, was ready to take care of her son if he were to move home and engage with Corrective Services on his behalf.

Ms Howard told Hill his behaviour was obviously “concerning” but the stalking was “not of the most serious nature”.

She jailed him for six months with immediate parole release, declaring 101 days in presentence custody as time already served.

She also imposed a restraining order for a period of one year, meaning Hill is prohibited to come 50m or closer to the woman’s house or her two workplaces or contact her on the phone or social media.