Stalker Nigel Grunnill: 'Murder will happen in time. I guarantee it will happen, it is just a case of when'

FOR 15 years, Nigel Grunnill has terrorised a woman who he went on just three dates with.

He started by leaving piles of stones outside her Sutton home as a calling card and moved on to buying ammunition and trying to hire a hitman.

Grunnill met Claire Gray in a nightclub in 1997 when she was celebrating her brother's 18th birthday.

They went on three dates in three weeks before Miss Gray decided to end things.

Grunnil though, was not prepared to accept her rejection.

He followed her every move, sat outside her home and left the stones in her driveway so she knew he had been there.

Grunnill even turned up when she went for an interview in a remote area miles from Hull.

Restraining orders and prison have failed to stop his fixation with Miss Gray.

Even as he was approaching the end of a six-year sentence for trying to hire a hitman to kill her, Grunnill told probation officers he would murder her.

He has now admitted threatening to kill her with a gun and is likely to be sentenced to a hospital order, meaning he will be detained in a mental health unit.

Grunnill is listed as one of the top most dangerous men in East Yorkshire and has been monitored by the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) team, which is made up of police and probation officers.

In April last year, probation officers working for MAPPA visited Grunnill to see what his plans were on his release from prison.

As Grunnill had served his prison sentence in full he would have no monitoring conditions on him when he was released and the officers wanted to assess his plans and offer him accommodation.

But on their first visit to see Grunnill at Everthorpe open prison, he told them: "I don't dwell on things other than the incident with Claire.

"Murder changes everything and will happen in time. I guarantee that will happen, it's just a case of when.

"I am one of the top 10 most dangerous men in Humberside because I'm probably going to commit an offence. Nothing will stop me. If I found her family were in prison, I would break into the prison to get to them. The only thing that stopped me achieving my goal last time is that I didn't have a firearm."

Weeks later the concerned officers visited Grunnill again.

One officer said: "He appeared fixated with Claire. It was all he seemed to think about."

This time he told them he had made a "deal with the devil" to kill her.

Grunnill, formerly of west Hull, said: "I want revenge.

"I will do things differently. Old Nigel made decisions that led him to prison, new Nigel is worse.

"I could quite easily go round, break down the door and kill that woman. She could be sat with three kids in the car and I would harm her.

"Once you make a deal with the devil you can never go back."

Hull Crown Court heard the probation officers were convinced Grunnill would seek revenge against the woman who had spurned his advances.

"He said he only regretted that violence was not used and said that sometimes there was a need for violence," said one.

"He described himself as being miles away from closure. He had been speaking about needing revenge and there would be sadness and he needed to close this serious issue he had with Claire. He said the closure would get him into trouble.

"He made it quite clear to us he was on a certain path and he couldn't get off that path at all. It was a path to his goal to seek revenge and closure."

Grunnill compared himself to Newcastle murderer Raoul Moat. He also spoke about London murderer Michael Pech, who killed his former partner by walking into Harvey Nichols, where she worked, and shooting her in 2005.

Grunnill said, unlike Pech, he would not be on cocaine and his murder would be no accident.

Grunnill yesterday pleaded guilty to making two threats to kill.

He denied a third occasion of allegedly telling the probation officers he would shoot Miss Gray if she was in front of him.

Detective Constable Adrian Adamson said: "Nigel is one of the most dangerous individuals we have ever dealt with and has been a thorn in the side of the victim and her family for several years.

"Individuals like Nigel are rare but this case shows that with the police working alongside other agencies, such as the Probation Service, and under the MAPPA arrangements, we can keep our communities safe from certain individuals. We will continue to work together and pursue and prosecute those who wish to cause major harm to others."

The judge in the case has ordered three psychiatric reported on Gunnill.

If the psychiatrists deem Grunnill to pose a risk to the public he will be given a restriction order which will mean he will not be released until the Secretary of State rules he no longer poses a risk to the public.