WITH VIDEO: Trainee doctor Alison Hewitt thought she had found her future husband after meeting Al Amin Dhalla through an exclusive dating agency.
But when she broke off their engagement he stalked her, armed himself with a crossbow and set fire to her family’s home.
On April 8 last year Al Amin Dhalla disguised himself as a doctor and prowled the corridors of Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath where his ex-fiancee Alison Hewitt was due to start work.
He had already tried to start fires at her mother’s home, and her local police station, and had a cache of weapons in a car parked nearby.
A manhunt had been underway for days – and this time police were one step ahead.
They had briefed hospital staff he may arrive and were on their way when he was spotted.
Detectives were convinced Dhalla was trying to kill Dr Hewitt.
They had even flown her mother, Pamela, and stepfather David Gray from their island holiday retreat after the attack on their home.
'Horrific case'
Detective Chief Inspector Rebecca Mears, of Thames Valley Police, said yesterday: “We could very easily have been dealing with up to three murders.
“This horrific case clearly demonstrates the serious threat that stalking presents and how rapidly and dangerously it can escalate.”
Dhalla was yesterday (February 15) found guilty of attempting to pervert the cause of justice and possession of an offensive weapon.
On Tuesday, February 14 he had been found guilty of charges of harassing Dr Hewitt and her mother, causing arson being reckless as to whether life is endangered, attempted arson, theft and damaging property.
A Canadian national, Dhalla came to Britain in 2009.
He met Dr Hewitt through an exclusive dating agency, the Executive Club of St James.
They enjoyed holidays in Cornwall, Greece and Dhalla’s native Canada.
Living together
He moved into her home in Church Place, Brighton, but cracks soon appeared in Dhalla’s claims about his background.
Dr Hewitt’s family became suspicious and caught him out over simple lies.
Most seriously, he had not mentioned a conviction in Canada for assaulting his uncle with a weapon.
Dhalla’s behaviour would lead them to describe him later as a “narcissistic psychopath”.
His lies led to him being suspended from his job in December 2010. In the same month, Dr Hewitt decided to end their relationship.
He at first refused to move out of her home, forcing Dr Hewitt’s relatives to evict him.
Days later, poison pen letters started being received by Dr Hewitt’s NHS employer, where she was a trainee doctor.
Neighbours of Mrs Hewitt and Mr Gray in the upmarket village of Aston Abbotts, near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, were also sent anonymous vindictive letters.
Over the course of the next few months, Dhalla’s behaviour became increasingly threatening towards both Dr Hewitt and her family.
In one incident, he stood in the middle of the road and blocked her path as he pleaded with her to give their relationship another chance.
On April 1 last year, Mr Gray and Mrs Hewitt went on holiday to Lundy Island, to help Mr Gray relax and bring down his blood pressure.
Weapons
The next day, after buying a .22 air rifle and a 1.77 air pistol and two mini crossbows, Dhalla was arrested in a field near Chippenham, Wiltshire, shooting at targets.
Inside his specially-adapted van were masking tape, tools and details of locations, said by the prosecution to include Mrs Hewitt’s and Mr Gray’s holiday spot, their home addresses and hospitals where Dr Hewitt worked.
He appeared at Chippenham Magistrates' Court on April 5 and admitted trespassing on land with an air weapon as well as driving a motor vehicle without a licence and without insurance.
When the magistrates bailed him, police were again faced with the task of finding him and protecting the Hewitts.
'Lost control'
Detective Inspector John Wallace, of Brighton and Hove CID, said: “It was a difficulty we had to overcome. It’s something we had to consider. We lost control over him at that point.
“It was regrettable but you deal with what hand you’re dealt in terms of an investigation.”
Pamela Hewitt said the magistrates’ decision to bail him was unexpected.
She said: “I was hugely relieved he’d been caught. I didn’t think he was going to be released.”
The next day he started fires by the front and back doors of the Hewitts’ family homes. Neighbours raised the alarm but no-one was hurt.
Believing Dhalla might find them on Lundy Island, police airlifted the couple to safety.
On April 7, Dhalla was spotted at Princess Royal Hospital.
Posing as a doctor, he was trying to lay his hands on the trainee doctors’ rota, including the times when Dr Hewitt would be on duty.
The same evening he hired a car to drive back to Buckinghamshire.
Finding his ex-girlfriend’s family home surrounded by police, he drove to a nearby police station at Wing instead and tried to burn it down.
Dhalla then visited Dr Hewitt’s hospital workplace at 6.30am the following day, about two hours before she was due to clock on.
Staff who had been warned that Dhalla was a potential threat spotted him dressed smartly and armed police arrested him.
In another hire car parked nearby, police found a loaded crossbow, a large knife, fuel cans and a fake doctor’s outfit, including a stethoscope.
Police discovery
Police officers also discovered razor blades, a fuel-soaked envelope addressed to Mrs Hewitt and a folder containing the trainee doctors’ rota.
He was charged and remanded in custody until his trial but while on remand he wrote to Dr Hewitt, who is now 35.
Those letters led to his conviction for attempting to pervert the course of justice.
The Argus saw the letters, which were written on lined paper and consisted of reams of pages.
In one letter he included the line: “We were going to grow old together Alison”.
Another said: “Dear Doctor. I have always loved and still love Alison with all my heart.
“Every second of the year 2010 that we spent together I loved.”
DI Wallace said: “This pattern of repeated harassment over a long period of time affects every aspect of a victim’s life, impacting on their freedom and their right to privacy, causing untold continued distress.
“This case highlights the importance of reporting domestic abuse to police so we can quickly take action to protect victims from harm. If you are a victim of harassment or domestic abuse, please seek help.”
Judge Charles Kemp ordered psychiatric and probation service reports.
Dhalla will remain in custody until a sentencing hearing on April 16.
To report harassment to Sussex Police call 101 or in an emergency dial 999.
In Wednesday’s Argus we incorrectly reported that Dhalla had admitted stealing papers and cards belonging to Dr Hewitt and possession of an offensive weapon.
In fact, the jury was still deliberating on those charges at that time. Dhalla was yesterday convicted of possessing an offensive weapon but was acquitted of the theft charge.
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