Glasgow therapist, Dr. Lorna Relton, first realized that something was wrong when her patient, Brian Johnstone, asked her for help with his camera during a treatment session in early 2006. The 31-year old Johnstone then took her picture. The next day, Dr. Relton received an anonymous package at her house containing three broaches and a note saying, "Lorna, a gift from guess who" Since she suspected that the package was from Johnstone, she notified her supervisor at Glasgow''s Shawpark Resource Centre and they agreed that she would no longer be his therapist.Days after Johnstone was told of the decision, the external mirrors and windshield wipers from Dr. Relton's car were stolen although police told her that there was insufficient evidence to charge the patient.
Some time later, two mental health nurses who had visited the unemployed Johnstone's home told Dr. Relton that he had a large photograph of her as the background of his computer screen. Police investigated when the mirrors from her car were stolen again. In their search of Brian Johnstone's home, they found more than a thousand photographs and videos of Dr. Relton, her car, and her house. They also found the missing items from her car sealed in plastic bags as well as several notes which he had written in his own blood proclaiming his love for Dr. Relton. At least one of the notes had been written as if it were from her stating, "Brian, I'm keeping my body warm for you, when I see your muscles my heart starts pounding". Police also found handcuffs, pepper spray, smoke grenades, a handgun and a crossbow in their search of Johnstone's home.
Johnstone, now an inpatient at a secure care facility in Glasgow's Stobhill Hospital, has admitted to committing a breach of the peace in his harassment of Dr. Relton. His defense counsel is maintaining that his client is suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder. A forensic psychiatrist evaluating Johnstone has warned that he poses a risk to society if he is ever released. Legal complications have delayed sentencing in the case but Sheriff Norman Ritchie is awaiting forensic reports before the case can proceed. Brian Johnstone faces a possible life sentence.
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