What happened to Lia Hambly?
Lia Hambly started receiving messages from an unknown stalker who would call her hundreds of times and also impersonated her online. She’d block one account and then another one would appear, and the abuse continued.
Hambly was consumed with anxiety about her personal safety as she feared her stalker was tracking her every move. Unbeknownst to Hambly, her stalker, Matthew Hardy, was hundreds of miles away hiding behind his computer screen, while making out he was watching her.
Hambly became suspicious of everyone she met, and Hardy’s attacks on her were so personal, it made her think that the culprit was someone very close to her.
What happened when Hambly called the police?
Hambly and other victims of Hardy’s abuse weren’t taken seriously by the police. She had reported her experiences soon after the stalking began, but was told nothing would happen until she was hurt physically and they simply told her to come off social media and not to go out.
The police paid Hambly a visit to her home and she found out one of Hardy’s phone numbers had been previously searched hundreds of times, and that is when she realised she wasn’t his only target. She began compiling evidence and used her experience of working as a paralegal. She took screenshots of every interaction and every fake account and took this file to the police station and begged them to help her.
PC Kevin Anderson stepped in to investigate and was impressed by the amount of work Lia had put into the case, and this paved the way for him and fellow investigators to build a solid case against the biggest cyber stalker ever. Matthew Hardy was eventually sentenced to nine years in prison for his crimes on the 26th of January 2022.
Where is Lia Hambly now?
Lia Hambly is 25 years old now and has launched a successful career in business and fashion. She is the owner of Lia’s Looks, which is an online boutique store in the United Kingdom where you can order a variety of clothes and accessories. She is close to her family and has tried to regain trust in others. She has also enjoyed travelling around the world to places like Italy and Dubai.
Lia shares her stalking experiences in Netflix’s new 2-part true crime documentary Can I Tell You A Secret? which debuted on the 21st February 2024.
What do you think about what happened to Lia Hambly? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.