Chatham car park stabbing: Molly McLaren killed 'in frenzied attack'

Molly McLaren, 23, met Joshua Stimpson on dating app Tinder

A man stabbed his ex-girlfriend to death in a "frenzied" attack after begging her to get back together with him, a court has heard.

Molly McLaren, 23, died from stab wounds in a Chatham shopping centre car park on 29 June.

Maidstone Crown Court heard Joshua Stimpson, 26, of Wouldham High Street in Rochester, Kent, met Ms McLaren on dating app Tinder.

Mr Stimpson has admitted manslaughter but denies murdering his ex-partner.

'I'm scared'

Prosecutor Philip Bennetts QC told the jury Ms McLaren ended the relationship after finding herself no longer attracted to Stimpson, who was being "demanding" and "childish".

The court heard Stimpson bought a kitchen knife two weeks after Ms McLaren had taken him to one side to end their relationship during a night out on 17 June.

He also posted derogatory comments and photographs about her on Facebook, including false claims about her using cocaine

The court heard that Mr Stimpson tagged Ms McLaren's mother Joanne in his posts so her family could see.

Police told him to stop, but he continued regardless.

The court was told that in a series of messages to a friend after the breakup Ms McLaren wrote: "I'm actually scared of what he might do. I'm scared he might hurt me.

"I don't know how on the edge he might be."

Molly McLaren was stabbed to death in the dockside area of Maritime Way in Chatham

In a final message to friends moments before her death she wrote: "Feel like I'm …. looking over my shoulder all the time."

Mr Bennetts described how Mr Stimpson then got into her car in the Dockside area of Maritime Way and launched a "frenzied" attack.

He said: "There is no dispute that he killed Molly McLaren.

"In certain circumstances the charge of murder can be reduced to manslaughter. In this case the defence will assert that it should be.

"The plea is on the basis that at the time of the killing, Joshua Stimpson was suffering from diminished responsibility. The prosecution does not accept that he was."

The trial continues.