- Kevin and Sally Reid split amicably at first and split the care of their two children
- But Kevin Reid flew into a rage when he found out Sally was dating a new man
- He pleaded guilty to harassing his ex-wife between October 2022-January 2024
A jealous ex-husband used an Apple AirTag to track his former wife in a terrifying stalking campaign when he found out she had started dating again.
Hotel Sales director Kevin Reid, 65, and his wife Sally split amicably in 2022 after more than 20 years together, and stayed friends to share the care of their two children and two dogs.
But when estate agent marketing manager Sally, 55, went for a lunch date with a new man and her ex-husband found out, he flew into a rage.
Without her knowledge, Reid changed Sally’s mobile phone settings so it sent him her location wherever she went.
This enabled Reid to follow her car when she went on a date with her new love interest – and he then sent her a chilling message to let her know he knew about the date.
Sally later went to a party at the man’s house and, when she left, she found a note on her car left by her ex.
When she realised her phone settings had been altered, she changed them back, prompting Reid to resort to placing a tracker on her car.
A court heard how he hid the Apple AirTag on her vehicle while he was at her house visiting their teenage son, now 15. The former couple also have a 19-year-old daughter together.
Sally Reid (pictured) was the victim of a terrifying stalking campaign by her ex-husband after he found out she had begun dating again
Jealous ex-husband Kevin Reid (pictured) changed his ex-wife’s mobile phone settings so it sent him her location wherever she went. When she realised, she turned the setting off again
Reid repeatedly followed his ex-wife’s car thanks to the covert device.
The 65-year-old’s stalking behaviour included inappropriate love gestures, including leaving flowers on the car he was tracking.
His ex-wife discovered what he had done when her phone detected an Apple AirTag was following her and sent her a notification.
Sally, who is in her 50s, went to the police, who recovered her ex-husband’s DNA from it.
He has now appeared in court where he pleaded guilty to harassing his ex-wife between October 2022 and January 2024.
His behaviour caused a ‘significant emotional distressing effect’ on the victim, the court heard.
Magistrates in Weymouth, Dorset, heard the couple met in 1999 and had two children together.
However, they separated and divorced in a ‘civilised and amicable’ way in September 2022
Sally (left) and Kevin Reid (right) have a 19-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son together, as well as two dogs
But all that changed a month later when Reid suspected his ex was seeing someone else.
Charles Nightingale, prosecuting, said: ‘The defendant was married to Mrs Reid for a number of years. What she described in terms of separation and divorce matters is that they were very civilised.
‘The custody of the children and co-parenting was very amicable, even the arrangements for the two family dogs.
‘As we move into the later part of 2022, things did become more difficult and the defendant’s offending conduct began at this point.
‘She met with a friend and there were messages from her ex-husband regarding that former mutual friend.
‘She went to lunch with this person and then had a message from the defendant that clearly revealed he was aware of the meeting.
‘She went to a party at his address in December and parked her car around the corner out of sight. When she came out, there was a note on the windscreen of her car.
‘She began to feel he was tracking her in some way. She checked her mobile phone and found that someone had accessed the settings and changed it so her location was being shared with the defendant.
Kevin Reid (pictured) then put an Apple AirTag on his ex-wife’s car, which tracked her location. Sally discovered this when her phone detected the AirTag and sent her a notification
‘A series of messages were exchanged with the defendant commenting more unfavourably on the friend, believing she was in a relationship with him before the divorce.
‘He attended her address to leave flowers when she was out of the house on a run.
‘In February 2023, his car was seen behind her as she was travelling, it was not her normal route so she was not sure how it could be there.
‘She travelled to Bridport to meet [the other man] and the defendant messaged her asking whether or not he had met her yet. There were repeated incidents through 2023.
‘She ultimately became aware a tracking device had been fitted to her car – her phone gave a message saying an AirTag was following her.
‘She found a tag, the police removed it, DNA was found and it showed it is the defendant’s DNA.
‘The impact on this lady has been a significant emotional distressing effect.
‘She was in constant fear that he was watching her. She spent months not being sure how he was so successful tracking her movements.’
Sally Reid (pictured) received a chilling message from her ex-husband revealing he knew she had been on a date. She also received a note on her car – and later flowers on the same vehicle – as her ex-husband Kevin followed her movements.
Mr Nightingale commended the victim for her approach as she stated she did not want her ex-husband to go to prison, she just wanted the harassment to stop.
He said, while many in these cases are ‘vitriolic’, she was not.
Reid, who now works as a specialist timber merchant, said he regretted his behaviour.
Patricia Sheehan, defending, said: ‘When people have a long marriage and it splits up and somebody has clearly moved on, there’s bound to be real sadness and some degree of bitterness. Sadly, people don’t always behave well in the aftermath.
‘He is somebody who was very sorry to have lost his wife.
‘I very rarely have clients like Mr Reid. Most of the people I represent in situations like this there are serious underlying concerns, but not for Mr Reid. He is never going to be back here again.’
Magistrates adjourned sentencing for reports, but warned Reid that all options remained open, including custody.
Reid will be sentenced in April.