Robert Mervyn Wecker faces Toowoomba court for stalking woman with text messages, poisoning her lawn

The 45-year-old stalked the woman over seven months by text messages and at one point poisoned her lawn. See details here.

A 45-year-old man who stalked a woman friend over a seven month period by text messages, attending her home and poisoning her lawn has been handed a jail term.

Robert Mervyn Wecker was not in a romantic relationship with the woman but it appeared he valued his relationship with the woman more than she did, Judge Alexander Horneman-Wren SC noted during the sentencing.

Crown prosecutor Emily Coley described the regular text messages to the woman from Christmas Eve 2020 to July 15, 2021, as “persistent and harassing”.

Some of the messages included threats to take the woman’s cat to the pound, to damage her car and at one point put a number of car parts in her yard which Wecker had stalked overnight on one occasion, the court was told.

On another occasion after messaging the woman that her lawn appeared to be dying, Wecker had poisoned a portion of her yard.

By the woman’s victim impact statement, she had been left “confused, paranoid and mistrusting of people”, Ms Coley said.

With the victim viewing proceedings from the public gallery in the court, Wecker pleaded guilty to one count of stalking.

Judge Horneman-Wren spotted the woman recording the court proceedings and ordered that she delete all such recordings in the presence of Ms Coley, defence barrister Nathan Edridge and the court bailiff after the sentence hearing.

Mr Edridge said Wecker had no relevant criminal history and that he had made admissions when interviewed by police.

His client had been seeing a psychologist for some months after this offending and he was now caring for his father who had blood cancer, he said.

Judge Horneman-Wren described Wecker’s stalking as “controlling in nature” and that it had been protracted.

Judge Horneman-Wren sentenced Wecker to nine months’ jail but ordered the whole term be suspended immediately for two years.

Originally published as Robert Mervyn Wecker faces Toowoomba court for stalking woman with text messages, poisoning her lawn