Woman spots psychotic MIL at the supermarket; gets weirdly immersed in MIL's family drama. 'I'm part of the saga now.' AITA? UPDATED 10X
When this woman spots an insane MIL at the supermarket and then gets weirdly involved in her family's life, she tells the internet:
"I spotted a psycho MIL in the wild and got wrapped in her family drama? WTF?"
So this happened earlier today over the course of about 3-4mins, some relevant background; I broke my ankle and a few toes (on opposite feet) weeks ago, my cast was removed 3 weeks ago so I’m mobile and now down to using one crutch, mostly for balance. (F)
This has meant that my brother has been chauffeuring me around everywhere, including to and from work. He was running late today so I wobbled my way down to a supermarket to grab milk etc and told him to pick me up outside the store at the little pick up/drop off point by the entrance.
So I was sitting on the bench outside the store when a wild MIL appeared, with her DIL and grandkid. I’m not sure how old the kid was, I’m no good at judging kids ages, but based on her stream of babbling, I don’t think she could speak just yet.
She was sitting in the little chair thing in the trolley and seemed to be quite happy. MIL was an older woman who was walking slowly but seemed to be fine.
DIL parked the trolley and kid beside me and told MIL to wait here; she’ll go get the car so MIL didn’t have to walk across the car park. From what I got from the conversation; MIL had been moaning about her feet and wanted to sit down.
DIL was trying to get her to sit on the bench and MIL was martyring herself. I promptly put a stop to all of that by offering the MIL my dry part of the bench and moving further away to lean against the wall. MIL didn’t even look at me before sitting down like she’d just been crowned.
DIL kissed the kid, told her “mummy will be back in a moment, you be good for Granny and then we’ll go for a fun ride in the car”. Kid’s happy and excited for car ride, mum disappears.
As soon as DIL was out of earshot the MIL tuned to the kid and said “You’re such a bad little girl. See, mummy’s leaving you here. She’s gone without you. No car for you”. Cue kid bursting into tears and screaming for her mum.
I’m not sure how much the kid understood of what the MIL had said, it may have been all or she could have just understood the “no car” part, either way it was a shitty thing to say to your grandchild (or any child tbh).
I looked right at her and gave her the raised eyebrow look and some serious glaring, which probably gave away the fact that I’d heard her. She completely changed her tune, loudly telling the kid that she was “only joking” and “mummy will be right back” etc.
This didn’t really have much effect on the kid and she was working herself into a right state, so the MIL decided to take her out of the trolley seat.
She plonked the screaming kid on her feet then turned back to sit on the bench. Guys, this kid could have given Usain Bolt a run for his money. The moment she had her (not particularly stable) balance she made a run for it screaming for her mummy. Straight towards the road.
There was about 15ft between the road and me (still leaning against the wall) and about half that between the kid and the road. In the time it took for me to realise the kid was heading for the road and that MIL hadn’t seen a thing, the kid had made it pass the bollard (there are bollards outside shops in the UK, I’m not sure why but I have theories).
I have never moved so fast in my life, I managed to grab the kid and make it back to the pavement before my ankle realised that a full sprint this soon was soo not a good idea. Neither of my legs were interested in supporting me after that so I just sort of crumpled into a heap on the pavement with this kid.
The next thing I know the DIL is there taking the kid from me, it was her car that she’d run in front of. DIL was crying, the kid was crying, I was crying (it fg hurt) and MIL was still sitting on the bench.
Anyway, I blame it on the adrenaline/pain because normally I wouldn’t get involved but I told the DIL exactly what had happened, all of it, even what MIL had said to the kid. When I left DIL was still screaming at her MIL.
And now, OP's first update (of 10 updates):
Firstly, the ankle, it’s sore, swollen and bruised but thankfully NOT re-broken. Dr says it’s badly sprained and will set my recovery back, but I don’t need to go back in the cast (yay!!).
So, because I had an appointment with my physio this morning I decided wait for that instead of heading to A&E last night. Long story short, my physio was convinced my ankle had re-broken and sent me up to x-ray (physio department is in the hospital). A nurse/porter (I’m not sure what she was) stuck me in a wheelchair to take me and we got chatting:
Nurse: So how did you manage to hurt yourself this time around? Me: Oh, I chased after a kid that ran into traffic. Nurse: My god, how did that happen? When was this? Me: Yesterday, [gets ready to tell the story] Nurse: Wait...was this at [supermarket at address]?
Me: Yeeeeaaahhhh??? Nurse: OH MY GOD, THAT WAS MY NEICE!!! The MIL is her MOTHER!!! Apparently her SIL (so the DIL from yesterday) took off and left her MIL (the nurses Mother) at the store yesterday. She’s pretty sure her brother and her SIL are now NC as her SIL has been pushing for NC but her brother (DILs husband) is a “mummysboy” and had been reluctant.
She’s already NC with her mother after she caught her intentionally PINCHING HER NEWBORN. She also told me that her niece is fine, but her SIL got a big fright.
So there you go, it’s a damn small world. I had a hundred questions for her but thought that might be a bit rude. I’m not sure if I’ll run into her again, it wasn’t really clear where in the hospital she worked or what she actually does but you never know.
Update 2:
I really didn’t expect to have an update for this again, I was pretty sure it was all over. I was wrong. I had another physio appointment today and ran into the kid’s aunt again, it turns out she’s training to be a physio so I’ll probably see her a lot. After my appointment she asked if she could talk to me, so we had a sit down and a chat.
Turns out Insane Granny has gone completely bananas. She’s apparently got enough sense about her to realise that the kid’s Mum now has a damn good reason to go NC along with the kid and could now probably convince her husband (kid’s Dad) to go NC too. So, knowing she is probably about to be cut off, she made a pre-emptive strike against the kid’s Mum and Dad.
She called the Police and told them about the incident in my original post, except she completely changed the story.
According to her, the kid’s Mum was being mean and neglectful to the kid and Insane Granny called her out on it, which evolved into an argument. While they were arguing the kid ran off into the road, Insane Granny noticed and ran after her. The kid’s Mum then snatched the kid from Granny and left Granny at the store. No mention of me.
Based on how quickly things have moved, they think that Insane Granny told the police this story on the day of the incident, if not the day after. I’m not sure what the rules are around the world but here, in Scotland, the police have to investigate and they also have to inform Social Services...
who then have to do an initial assessment (talking to the kid’s school, Dr, etc). Basically there are a few compulsory boxes to be ticket before deciding whether or not to carry out a more in-depth investigation and there isn’t much you can do to stop it.
So the police dropped into visit the kid’s Mum and Dad last Thursday. The kid’s Mum told her version of events but couldn’t really give much specifics as she wasn’t really there (she only really knew what I’d told her).
So the Police (and presumably Social Services) now have two conflicting reports, one of which claims the involvement of a third party, me. The next day they received notice that Social Services would be in touch.
This has all lit a fire under the kid’s Dad’s ass and he confronted Insane Granny, the highlights (told to me at least) include: Her end game is to get custody of the kid; She hopes the kid’s Mum will be jailed; She admitted to lying to the Police but is confident the kid’s Mum can’t prove what actually happened because there’s no way she’d be able to find me to corroborate.
The kid’s aunt was told all this over the weekend and while everyone seems to be sure that both the Police and Social Services won’t find any problems, they’re understandably nervous.
The aunt didn’t tell the kid’s Mum and Dad that she’d met me in the hospital for two reasons; she didn’t actually have my permission to do so and definitely didn’t have my permission to give out my contact details.
Basically the aunt asked if I’d be willing to give my side of the story to the Police and Social Services and could the kid’s parents contact me. I’ve agreed and the aunt is going to pass everything on to the kid’s parents.
Chances are they won’t need me to do anything but you never know. I also pointed out that the security cameras for the store would’ve caught everything and that will probably be the Police’s first stop.
Sooooo the drama continues.
Update 3:
So things have gotten...interesting. The kid’s Mum contacted me and we met up for coffee yesterday. She’s a really nice lady who is under a lot of stress. I told her about my post and she said she’d have a browse, though I have no idea if she was just being polite or not.
She ended up a bit of a ranting mess but I don’t blame her to be honest. She did clear up a few things though; the big one being that the Insane Granny didn’t call the Police, she called a friend of hers who works in the Social Services.
Insane Granny gave this Social Services Friend her version of events and the friend officially reported the kid’s Mum. That’s how the Police became involved; Social Services contacted them as they (most likely spearheaded by the Social Services Friend, though this is speculation on the kid’s parent’s part)...
believed the kid to be in immediate danger. The Police have found that the kid is in no immediate danger but they’re still investigating what happened at the store. I’m going to give them my statement at some point next week and that should hopefully be the end of it.
Social Service on the other hand is a totally different can of worms. Regardless of how they got involved they still have to do an initial assessment and will also be investigating the incident at the store. From what the kid’s Mum told me Insane Granny’s Social Service friend is either pushing everything or is actually in charge of the investigation.
So far the Social Service Friend has mostly being doing her job (though rather invasively) she’s allowed to speak to all of the kid’s parent’s neighbours, co-workers, the kid’s school and the kid’s doctor. What she isn’t allowed to do is show up at the kid’s parents house with Insane Granny to try to force a reconciliation.
Apparently Insane Granny really went for it with the manipulation and gaslighting in front of the Social Services Friend, she seems to be trying to make the kids Mum look like the insane one, between bouts of fake crying she...
Acted concerned about the kid’s Mum’s mental state saying she must be hallucinating because she is remembering the incident ‘wrong’.
Said that the kid should be placed in her (Insane Granny’s) care until ‘all this nonsense’ is sorted. Asked her son (the kid’s Dad) how the divorce proceedings are going (they are not divorcing she was trying to make it look like they are to her friend).
Told the kid’s Mum that she was glad she was feeling well enough to clean the house and asked her if she’d managed to feed the kid today.
When the parents pulled out their trump card, the fact that Aunt is (and now they’re) in contact with me, she started fake crying and asking why Aunt and kid’s Mum are lying to everyone.
That the kid’s Mum had dragged Aunt into her delusion and that she (the kid’s Mum) needs help. Then she turned to the Social Services Friend and told her that Aunt and kid’s Mum must be “paying some poor homeless girl or student to lie for her” (I totally called that btw, I knew she was going to accuse me of lying or something similar).
At this point the kid’s Mum admits she lost it at Insane Granny and was screaming at her to leave.
This was convincing enough for the Social Service Friend (and apparently the kid’s Dad) to suggest to the kid’s Dad that he might want to have the kid’s Mum sectioned (committed to a psychiatric facility).
Once the Social Service Friend and Insane Granny left, the kid’s parents argued. The gist of it being that the kid’s Dad was sort of taken in by his mother’s (Insane Granny’s) claims.
She didn’t tell me much about that just that he’s sleeping in the guest room now. I offered to speak to him but she (rightly I suppose) thinks he should trust her without outside input.
I’ve advised her to contact Social Services herself and give them my contact information so there is an official paper trail and Insane Granny’s Social Worker Friend can’t claim she didn’t know anything about me. I’ve also told her to make a complaint about Social Service’s Friend but she’s nervous that doing so right now would make things worse.
So that’s where we are right now. I doubt they’ll be much to update about once I speak to Social Services and the Police but the kid’s parents are going to keep me in the loop so if there is anymore drama (please don’t let there be more drama) I’ll update again.
Edit: I just want to clear up something that I realise I didn't make particularly clear in this post. The kid's Mum will definitely be reporting the Social Services Friend. We know what she is doing is illegal, she's just nervous that reporting right now will make things worse.
I know it won't, YOU know it won't and she does know that it won't but so far EVERYONE has turned against her so I don't blame her for feeling this way. I will however talk to her again about reporting her now.
I also missed out from this post the fact that I mentioned to her about getting a Solicitor. She never really gave me a straight answer regarding that issue but she's at least aware she should get legal help.
Update 4:
I’d asked the kid’s mum if she wanted me to go and make a statement to the Police or just wait until Social Services contact me. She wanted me to go to the Police as she’s trying to get an Interdict Order (essentially a Restraining Order) against Insane Granny.
So I went to give my statement to the Police and oh boy has Insane Granny done a number on them. After the kid’s parents told her that they were in contact with me she went to the Police and told them that I might come in claiming to have been involved in the original store incident.
She’s managed to weave some intricate lie essentially trying to discredit me before I gave evidence. This worked, to a certain extent.
The Officer in charge of the case made it very clear he thought I was lying and had been paid off (he asked me a few times how much I was making doing this and told me I could be arrested for wasting Police time and perjury) he was immediately dismissive of me and condescending.
Which, I’m ashamed to say, I don’t respond very well to. I mentioned in a comment on one of my previous posts that I work in Forensics and I’ve been an expert witness (both educational and reporting).
Implying that I could be accepting bribes or am lying could potentially kill my career. No way am I endangering my career because some manipulative old lady has an Officer wrapped around her gnarly old witch finger.
Unfortunately I have worked with more than my fair share of people who take one look at me and think I’m some sort of inexperienced, daft bimbo. I usually try to assert myself and if that doesn’t work, let them embarrass themselves, it happens eventually.
In this case it happened at the end of the interview when he asked me for my employment details. My official job title sounds way more important than it is (it has the words ‘Lead’, ‘Investigator’, ‘Forensic’ and a few other ones in there that make me sound impressive). This definitely made him sit up and listen.
I’m not gonna lie I kinda chewed him out a bit (though he mostly realised himself that he’d fucked up) he’d allowed himself to be completely manipulated by Insane Granny and I pointed out that it’s pure luck that what I do for a living comes with a lot of credibility.
What would have happened if I had been some poor student or someone uncomfortable in this type of situation or heck, anyone else.
So I set the record straight about Insane Granny, well, what I know to be fact. I also filled him in off the record about what Aunt and the kid’s Mum told me (which I obviously can’t prove).
So we had a chat and I got a few things straightened out. One of which was that Insane Granny did in fact contact the Police after the incident at the store. I was originally told that she contacted the Police who contacted Social Services...
then I was told that this wasn’t true, instead Insane Granny had contacted her Social Services Friend who reported the incident and somehow got the Police involved (it was unclear how).
So we think (complete speculation on my and the Police’s part here by the way) that once Insane Granny made her report to the Police and they said that they’d be contacting Social Services...
Insane Granny took it upon herself to contact her Social Services Friend. So we definitely know that Social Services Friend is not officially involved (a few of you who work in Social Services pretty much said the same thing).
Insane Granny and Social Services Friend are basically a rogue duo going around town trying to get dirt on the kid’s Mum.
I’ve reported her (I’ve told the kid’s Mum this too) and the Police are now aware of her, though whether they just let Social Services deal with her or get themselves involved I don’t know yet.
The Officer also told me some of the things Insane Granny has claimed about me. Now before anyone loses their shit about him breaking confidentiality, etc, he never actually gave me her side of the story or told me what she said in her statement (I got that from the kid’s Aunt). All he told me was what she said when she came into ‘warn’ him I’d be making a ‘fake’ Police report.
So she’s claimed to the Police, that I, someone she knows absolutely nothing about and met for less than 5mins am: A poor student desperate for money; I have a history of lying to the Police; she knows this because apparently I’m friends with the kid’s Mums drug addict cousin; I might be a drug addict she doesn’t know; I once tried to seduce her son, the kid’s Dad (which is impressive as I’ve never met the guy before)
Unfortunately I gave him all my whats so I don’t have any to spare for you. I also asked about the security cameras outside the store, they didn’t manage to get anything from them as they’re aimed at the door not the pick-up area (I did have a look on the way in and thought it might be a long shot).
So what’s still to happen? The kids parents will have an official Social Services visit sometime soon; Social Services will most like want to talk to me; The Police will be going after Insane Granny for wasting Police time/filing a false Police report.; There will hopefully be a follow up to my complaint about Social Service Friend
Update 5:
I don’t think you’ll need your drama llamas for this update, more likely you’ll need you’re....perplexed....alpacas(?). Anyway it’s more weird than dramatic.
As some of you know, because of the state of my ankle, I’ve been staying with my parents and younger brother for the last few months. Well on Monday, my Mum had the day off and was puttering around the house.
My parents place is in a very rural area of Scotland; our closest neighbour is 6 miles away and our house is at the end of what is essentially a mile long dirt/tractor track.
It’s hard to find and the only strangers we get out here are either forestry people who missed the forest access road or one or two brave (or quite possibly lost) Jehovah Witnesses. Google Maps and SatNavs can’t find it and no one delivers out here except the Royal Mail.
At around noon a car pulled up, however no one got out. This isn’t too unusual, as I said, it’s usually someone lost. So she hung around at the front of the house in case they came over to ask directions; instead after a few minutes, the car left. About an hour later; same car pulls up and the same thing happens again.
Another hour goes by and they’re back again, only this time two women exited the car. They didn’t go to the door; instead they decided to have a little snoop around. One tried to go around the back of the house which is currently fenced off as our back garden is being used as a paddock for a pregnant mare and her foal.
The other started trying to look in the windows, so my Mum goes out and asks if she could help them. They very quickly say no, they were just looking before booking it back to their car and speeding off.
Naturally, my Mum was confused enough to tell and my Dad, brother and I what happened pretty much as soon as we got home. I’ve definitely been working in Forensics too long as my immediate reaction was that they were casing the place.
Now, we have security cameras. They’re not for the house or security; they were originally set-up around our back garden so we could watch for when the mare went into labour. They were never removed because the foal turned out to be the reincarnation of Houdini and then we had the mare covered again.
One of the cameras is aimed at the gate that one of the women tried to open to get into the back garden. So we had a little look at the footage; Can you guess who was trying to open that gate? Yep, Insane Granny was at my parents place.
I have no idea who her friend was; what they wanted or why they didn’t talk to my Mum and I can only assume she got this address from the kids parents (my money is on the Dad). My Mum had today off work as well but she said no one turned up. However, I have a day off tomorrow and apart from my brother being about in the morning, I’ll be home alone.
I know many of you will suggest calling the police for either harassment or trespassing (or both) but in Scotland, trespassing is a civil matter not a criminal one so they can’t get involved.
There are laws regarding trespassing but they’re mostly to do with squatting and Scotland has a lot of Public Access Laws which essentially let people go where ever they want in regards to the rural areas.
The stalking and harassment Laws require two related incidents and must pass the “reasonable person” test (if the average person on the street was subject to this behaviour would they feel threaten/alarmed/distressed, if not then there was no offense).
The offender must also be aware that what they are doing is causing alarm/distress. For example; if your MIL wants access to your kids and keeps coming around to your house to complain every night for a fortnight.
You become fed up and begin to feel distressed about your MIL’s constant visits. Your MIL is aware that her behaviour will cause you distress and is hoping to wear you down into letting her see your kids.
I’m not particularly worried; even with my leg I’m pretty sure I could take her and my brother has graciously let me borrow ‘Bernard’ his old Shinty stick with a kitchen knife duct taped to it (when I first broke my ankle I also gave myself a head injury, my brother and I spent that night and the next day binge watching The Walking Dead and I think he freaked himself out as 2 days later ‘Bernard’ appeared).
It’s too close to Halloween for this shit. Edit: Ok, the general view is that I should contact the Police about this. I'm planning to call both Social Services and the Police tomorrow, I doubt the Police will do anything but as everyone has pointed out, at the very least it'll be documented. I've also texted the kid's Mum but i haven't heard back yet
Update 6:
I’d like to clear up a few things from my last post. A few people thought that I wasn’t taking this situation seriously enough and I think I came across as a bit blasé and unconcerned about everything.
I apologies for this and want to say that I am treating this incident seriously and do not think it was an innocent coincidence. I know this woman is dangerous and always planned to take action, I wasn’t planning on just forgetting/ignoring this.
I think the problem most people had was that they didn’t think the steps I planned to take were enough. For example, I’d always planned to contact both Social Services and the kid’s parents about this and had been undecided about contacting the Police. Posting here however, quickly convinced me that contacting the Police was a good idea.
Many of you have also expressed concerns about my family, property and the animals. This is unfortunately a bit more difficult as it’s not my house and my parents seem to think I’m paranoid.
My Dad was the biggest hold out, but after pointing out some of the crap MY Grandmother has pulled (I swear I will post more about her, this has kind of taken over) he agreed to take a few safety measures that we honestly should’ve done regardless of Insane Granny.
There have also been a few who don’t believe this is real (I haven’t gotten messages about this but the Mods have) to you I say...
I completely understand that mentality. It’s hard to imagine that there are people out there capable of this and I get that me randomly stumbling over the Aunt so soon after the original incident sounds like a convenient coincidence and the insanity has just continued.
I get it, I’d be skeptical too if it wasn’t happening to me. For some of you it’s even harder to imagine that I would post personal details about both myself and another family.
However, I’ve changed/omitted many, many things to keep all parties anonymous and yet still give you an accurate retelling of what’s going on, so in that regard yes, you could consider my posts lies. I also have the permission of the kid’s Mum to make these posts and the Police are aware of them too.
I am aware though that I am words on a screen to you; you do not know me, you have no way of confirming any of this and I draw the line at posting more personal details of anyone involved (yes, including Insane Granny) this includes the video of Insane Granny.
All I can say is that this is a very real and frustrating situation that I hope resolves itself quickly. Though if people or our Supreme Overlords the Mighty Mods (love you really) want me to remove information/posts or stop updating all together that is perfectly fine. All was quiet on my day off, no sign of Insane Granny. Sorry drama llamas, no feed today.
I called the Police Officer who previously took my statement and there is nothing they can do about Insane Granny being at the house. He also just repeated what I already knew about trespassing, harassment and access laws.
I tried but it apparently barely counts as an incident never mind more than one. As far as witness intimidation goes, the law (the few that exist) only really protects witnesses and victims when a case goes to court.
He also warned me not to try to remove her from the property or set ‘traps’ as if she’s injured she can sue (I hadn’t planned to anyway). The good news is that it’s been officially reported and I’ve sent in the video of her trying to open the horse’s gate.
Social Services also know and have assured me that they are still investigating Insane Granny’s Friend. They wanted to know if it was the Friend with Insane Granny but she doesn’t appear on tape, I’ve pointed them in my mother’s direction though as she can give a description of the other woman.
I texted the kid’s Mum the night I made my last update. Or a stiff drink if you’d prefer. She was too busy exploding at her husband to reply but she rang me the next day and updated me. The kid’s Dad is the leak; he categorically denied giving my address to Insane Granny.
No, no, he’s not that stupid!! He gave it to the Social Services Friend. Moron. Apparently she rang him the day after her little ‘intervention’ asking for the witness’s address and he just handed it over. I’ve not met this guy yet but I already want to kick him in his teeth.
From what she said he seemed to be coming around to the fact that Mummy dearest is a psycho but obviously there are still problems. This incident has caused him to slip back into his previous delusions, ie he doesn’t believe that she would come all the way out here and I must be lying to them.
So she made him ring Insane Granny and outright ask her if she had been to my parent’s place. As she told me this I was already to send her the video so she could show it to her husband and prove Insane Granny was lying. That never happened. Insane Granny admitted (on speaker phone) to the kid’s parents that she had been at my parent’s place. According to her;
She went to confront me for lying to the Police and to convince me to “follow the moral path and save her family” (actual quote according to the kid’s Mum) by redacting my statement. No one by my name lives there. The lady that lived at that address (I’m assuming this is my Mum) had never heard of me.
I didn’t give my real address so I can’t be trusted. The kid’s Mum told Insane Granny that it was my parents place and I was staying there because of my broken ankle which had been further injured by her actions.
Basically she defended me and it turned into a screaming match before Insane Granny hung up. I get why the kid’s Mum corrected her, I do, but now it’s been confirmed that I do live at that address so she’ll probably come out again.
Her friend was never mentioned though and I’ve sent her the video of Insane Granny which won’t do much good if she’s admitting she was out there.
They have also had their initial assessment by their actual Social Service Worker and it seemed to go well and they’ll “be in contact soon”.
I honestly can't figure out what Insane Granny's plan is here. I'm very suspicious of her immediately admitting to being at my parents place, unless she noticed the cameras and figured she'd been caught? It's possible, they weren't exactly hidden. A few other things I’ve done since Insane Granny’s visit:
Moved some of the security cameras to cover the front of the house. Well, this is a lie actual, my Dad did that, I was just there.
They’re pretty well hidden; so if Insane Granny and her mysterious friend do get wind of the fact that she was caught at the gate and decide to visit again but avoid the gate, she should be caught at the front of the house.
At the very least we’ll get the car licence plate. Bonus; Scottish Laws say nothing about having to sign post that there are cameras about as they only aim at our (domestic) property.
The foal has been moved. Now, this was going to happen anyway, we’re starting to wean her and get her used to a few things (her head collar, lead rope, the Farrier, etc) and get her socialising with other foals (pregnant mum is boring now).
Unfortunately the mare is still in there as it’s coming into winter now and we don’t have anywhere else suitable to put her. I’m not overly worried, she tends to keep her distance from strangers (even when offered food), there is not much more we can do with her.
I also did something I maybe shouldn’t of. I lifted Insane Granny and her mysterious friends’ prints from the gate and the window (there was a really great set on the window).
Now for a whole heap of reasons, these will never, ever stand up as evidence in court (if anything ever got to that stage). I don’t really know why I did it, they can’t be used in any official capacity, but there you go.
Update 7:
So I had an interesting few days. To the total and utter shock of exactly no one, Insane Granny showed up at my parents place again.
I was there alone and heard the doorbell but not the car pulling up. I answered the door and Insane Granny was standing with another woman who claimed to be from Social Services (I suspect this is the elusive Social Services Friend that has been ‘helping’). She wanted to interview me about the original incident and my Police report.
I didn’t let them into the house and told Social Services Lady that there is no way I’m giving her my statement with Insane Granny present. She shouldn’t even be here and I should’ve been contacted before she randomly showed up.
Social Services Lady then backtracked a bit and said that it was just a friendly, unofficial visit to discuss me redacting my statement to the Police. Before I could react to that, Insane Granny opened her mouth and asked in a sickly sweet voice;
“Why won’t you let us in the house? Is it because it’s full of drugs?” Eh, you what? I know she’s been telling people this but that was rather on the nose. I ignored her and told them both to leave while she tried to peer around me and into the house. Social Services Lady kept pushing for an unofficial interview and then said they could wait while I tidied away the drugs if it made me more comfortable.
At this point I realised they are both completely insane and I probably won’t be able to reason with either of them so I asked them to leave again and told them I would call the Police if they did not comply. Not exactly a bluff; I would definitely call them it’s just that I know that there is absolutely nothing they can do but I was hoping the threat of it would make them leave.
Then Insane Granny opened her mouth again and asked me: “How much do you make working as a whore?”
She was oddly calm when she asked these questions, like she was asking me about the weather. It was creepy as f. I assume she wanted a big reaction from me to make me look like the crazy one. She didn’t get one; I just blinked at her and took out my phone to call the Police.
I didn’t even manage to start dialing before Social Services Lady said they were leaving and asked me when I’d be available to give my statement to her. I told her if Social Services want to interview me; it will be by a different Social Worker and would be at my place of employment. Then I gave her my business card (my purse was just inside the door).
That shut her up and she started to walk back to her car. Insane Granny however wasn’t happy that Social Services Lady wanted to leave; she suddenly went from creepy calm and sweet to screaming at me.
She had a proper tantrum too; stomping her feet and flinging her body about. She even started kicking one of my Mum’s planters, repeatedly.
I don’t know if she was trying to break it or kick it over but she just kept ramming her foot into it while screaming that I’m: A lying little b&ch; Taking her baby away from her; Scum; Trying to ruin her lifel Just like the kid’s Mum; A wh0re and a sl&t
I just turned around, went into the house and closed the door on her. I could see from the window that Social Services Lady had pulled Insane Granny back to the car. They sat there for a few minutes talking before Insane Granny just lost her shit in the car.
I have no idea what she was saying but she was banging her fists on the dash and throwing herself about, the car was actually shaking. Two minutes later they pulled away.
And I have the entire episode on tape. I rang the Police Officer I’ve been dealing with and met with him yesterday to report this and give him the tape. This definitely goes down as an incident of harassment and I’ve spoken to HR at work who are setting up a meeting for me with a solicitor. I’ve also complained to Social Services again and updated the kid’s parents.
I also saw on the tape that before they rang the doorbell they went snooping again, not near the horse this time but they were looking in the windows again.
I’m not sure what will happen with this. I’m hoping Social Services Lady has come to her senses and dumps Insane Granny’s ass or she tries it at my work which won’t go well for her at all.
Update 8:
So I only found out about this today and I’m writing it up in the middle of a staff meeting so bare with me. I rang the Kid’s Mum on the way into work and it just all came out. She was too upset and it’s too early in the process yet to answer a lot of questions. So basically I know what you know.....or are about to know.
Firstly, I met with a solicitor through work. I’ve had to do it this way in case Insane Granny attempts to approach me while I’m at a crime scene. He doesn’t think there is enough for a non-harassment order but he’s going to try anyway (this isn’t costing me anything so he can do what he wants).
We’ve put a few safety measures/deterrents in place that I’m not going to mention here just in case.
I rang the kid’s Mum (this morning) to update her about my solicitor and she gave me an update on Insane Granny. Oh, boy is she living up to her name. She rang the kid’s Dad while he was at work last week and left a series of ranting messages.
Most were about how she was done with all the petty fighting, how everything was kid’s Mum’s fault; he never should have married her, etc. In one she told him she was putting her foot down, that they were leaving and that he should meet her at the airport as soon as he left work.
He, in what I assume is a very rare moment of intelligence (I’m not a fan of this man), completely ignored her and instead went home after work.
Any bets as to what he found when he got home? If you guessed a wide open front door and a ransacked house, you win a cookie and a stiff drink.
If you guessed Insane Granny packing his clothes and belongings into suitcases, you win 2 cookies and a double shot of your stiff drink.
If you guessed all of the kid’s clothes and toys packed into Insane Granny’s car along with the actual kid you win 3 cookies and a triple shot.
If you guessed all of the above, congratulations, you win a bakery and a pub. Yep, Insane Granny was still on the pick-up list for the kid’s nursery (don’t worry this has been fixed), so she’d packed all her stuff; nicked the kid, used the hidden...
spare key to get into the parents house, packed her sons and granddaughters belongings (including their passports and birth certificates) and loaded up the car with the intent of heading to the airport and leaving the country.
I’m not sure what the Kid’s Dad’s reaction was but he did phone his wife (Kid’s Mum) and tell her she didn’t need to pick kid up from nursery. When she told me this I believe my reaction was “Oh, how fg thoughtful of him” then I eye-rolled so hard they fell out and I lost them; so if you see them (near-sighted, blue) I’ll pay for shipping.
Anyway, Kid’s Mum heard Insane Granny in the background of the phone call and got the story out of him. I think you all probably heard her roaring when she found out Insane Granny’s plan. She immediately called the Police while she sped her way home.
The Kid’s Mum pulled up before the Police did and she immediately got her kid out of Insane Granny’s car. When she entered the house Insane Granny lived up to her namesake and went insane at her.
I wasn’t given details about what she said but there was apparently a lot of screaming about the Kid’s Mum stealing her baby and ruining her life etc. I’ve got no idea what the Kid’s Dad was doing at this point.
The Police arrived and Insane Granny instantly shut up and became all sweet and calm (she pulled this act with me the last time I saw her, it’s creepy as fuck). The Police separated the Kid’s Mum and Insane Granny to take statements and once again Insane Granny lied to them.
She claimed that the Kid’s Dad had let her into the house and that she was helping him move out as the Kid’s parents were divorcing. I think she was expecting the Kid’s Dad to just roll over and go along with her like usual. Instead (according to the Kid’s Mum) he just looked really defeated and told the Police; no, that’s not what happened.
So Insane Granny was arrested for ‘theft by housebreaking’ which is basically breaking and entering but Scotland is a special little snowflake and doesn’t have breaking and entering.
Instead we have ‘housebreaking’ which isn’t illegal unless there was also intent to steal. We also don’t have burglary; instead we have robbery, which is theft with violence or the threat or violence, and we have theft, which is....well.... theft.
The kidnapping rules are also weird too; England and Wales have Kidnapping Laws but Scotland has Abduction Laws (over the age of 12) and Plagium Laws (children under the age of 12).
None of them count in this situation as Insane Granny technically still had permission to pick the Kid up from playgroup and she took the Kid to her primary residence.
Yes she planned to leave the country with her but the fact that she planned for the Kid’s Dad to come too (she even had a plane ticket for him) counts as having parental permission to take the child out of the country as technically the kid would be in her Dad’s custody.
Regardless if this was by design or not she’s very good at juuust skirting the edge of illegal and dancing about in the legally grey area.
Anyway, she was charged and then released on bail, so she’s still out there. Kid’s Dad seems to have seen the light though which is good and they’ve started cracking down on their security now too (she’s been taken off the nursery pick-up list; they’re changing the locks, security cameras the works).
Oh and Social Services got back to them and gave them the all clear, they’re not taking their investigation any further.
Edit: People are getting a bit pissy about the Scottish Plagium Laws so I just want to clear up that Insane Granny bought THREE plane tickets (I'm not sure where to). One for her, one for the Kid and one for the Kid's Dad.
Yes, she intended to flee the country with the Kid but the fact that she planned for/would've had the Kids Dad with her means it isn't Child Abduction this is true for many countries, not just Scotland.
The presence of a parent who still has parental custody and parental rights means it's not abduction. It doesn't make it right or fair but it's not illegal.
Update 9:
I mentioned last time that Insane Granny is out on bail. She’s electronically tagged; has a curfew and is not allowed any contact with the kid’s parents or the kid. This includes being near their house, work places, the kids’ school, etc.
She’s also being charged with a few other things for some of her previous actions relating to me (I’m not going to actually say what these charges are as the court roles are public so anonymity would be right out the window). This means she’s not allowed to contact/be near me either. YAY!!
Personally I’m hoping this is the end of it but history has shown I’m not that lucky. The kid’s parents are still together, though from what the kid’s Mum has said, this is only so the kid can have a nice Christmas.
She seems to have the same problem that a lot of you here do; she thinks her husband is perfect in every way except for when it comes pretty much everything regarding his mother. But he’s agreed to counselling so we’ll see what happens in the New Year.
I spoke to the Aunt as well; she’s completely on the Kid’s Mum’s side. She doesn’t have anything nice to say about her brother (the Kid’s Dad) right now. That said she’s been telling me some stories about their childhood and I’m pretty sure Insane Granny is evil in its purest form.
Social Services friend has been struck off. I had an interview with their Investigative Committee or whoever and gave my witness statement. She has an Interim order so she can’t work in any form of Social Services at all.
I’ve no idea how long that lasts but she was found to be a danger to the general public and service users so I’m hoping a long time. I’ll also be on her Disclosure Scotland so I doubt she’ll ever work with the vulnerable again. There will be a hearing sometime in the next 6months or so that I’ll be testifying at too.
Um, I think that’s it really. We’re keeping the security cameras around the house and I’m actually moving back to my flat sometime in the New Year which I’m looking forward to.
FINAL UPDATE:
Before I begin, I just want to say that I’m well aware that a lot of people don’t believe what’s being going on and think I’m trolling or whatever (both the Mods and myself have had messages or reports to this effect).
After what’s just happened on this sub I’m aware we’re all feeling a bit betrayed and most of us have become a bit more cynical and suspicious of posts (I know I have and I rather hate myself for it).
I know, for some of you, it won’t be enough but I've taken photos (because I've thrown my uncooperative, dickhead of a scanner out the window) of my witness citation and my original complaint about Social Services Friend and redacted them worse than anything that ever came out of Area 51.
Obviously I can’t prove everything or even have copies of everything and I’m not going to ask the Kid’s parents and others for their documentation just to post it here.
Okay so the last time I left you Insane Granny had been released on bail and wasn’t allowed to contact the kid, her parents or me. She didn’t get a chance to contact the Kid or her parents as the kid’s Mum decided to visit her parents somewhere in Englandshire for the holidays.
Kid’s Dad did go with them on the condition that if he, at any time, opened his mouth in defence of Insane Granny, Kid’s Mum would file for divorce that day. They are still together so he must have shut up. As far as I was concerned this shit was over.
The only problem I had was that when someone is electronically tagged (a condition of her bail) they need the addresses of the places they’re not allowed to go so that they know not to go there. In my case this was my parent’s place (where she’d already been), my main office (which she knew from my business card) and my own flat.
Thankfully my flat has two security door and I’m never there. My parents had also decided to redo their drive way before Christmas too (this was something they’d been planning for a while and decided just to do before they put in a security gate).
As a result their drive way was completely unusable and the only access to the house was a long, unmarked tractor track that involved a bit of off roading.
Essentially, she couldn’t get to me at home and my work place is basically a Police station so I was happy enough to think that (apart from court) I would never have to lay eyes on Insane Granny again. Yes, I know I’m a moron.
Bail and being electronically tagged barely slowed Insane Granny down. With her son, DIL and grandchild in the wind she had no one to turn her insanity on. Oh no wait, that’s not right, she had me.
You see the building I work in is rather big and sprawling, has multiple entrances and a Police station in front of it; as a result the building also has multiple addresses. Because of my leg (I don’t know if anyone remembers but I broke it a while back being a moron)
I haven’t been driving to work, instead my brother has been dropping me off. This has meant that I’ve been entering and exiting the building through the Police station instead of the lab entrance. The Police station which has a different address to the lab.
I had no idea but apparently this meant that nobody was notified when Insane Granny started parking herself across from the entrance to the Police station. I never noticed her parked there, nor did I notice when she started following me out to crime scenes. Yep, but it gets worse.
(Here’s that ‘seems-like-it’s-irrelevant-but-actually-it’s-relevant’ information I warned you about)
Most of you know I work in a branch of Forensics that deals with really dead people. Very few of our cases turn out to be criminal. The main case I was working at the time (still am actually) was such a case.
It was in a rather rural area with multiple sets of remains found in a place where there should be human remains just not quite in the situation they were found in. I know; be more vague OP, but think of something along the line of a funeral home fire. Nothing suspicious and you’d expect to find remains in the debris.
This was a similar situation. However, 'dead-humans-found-in-odd-situation' usually means there still has to be an investigation, just to make sure the remains are who they’re supposed to be, that they’re all accounted for, nobody was slipped in on the sly, etc.
For a number of reasons it was decided that ‘we’ (read ‘I’) would just set up a mobile lab in an isolated building not far from the original scene, instead of moving everything to our lab. The building was similar to a town hall or a dance studio or something.
It mostly consisted of one large room with two smaller storage rooms at the back. One room had a fire exit that could only be opened from the inside and the other had a single door that we were using to get in and out of the building.
The front of the building had a set of double doors that led into a small entry way with the toilets on either side and another set of double doors in front that led to the big main room of the building that I worked in.
Both sets of doors were unlocked so I could get equipment in and out however when I wasn't moving equipment there was a Police car parked in front of the doors and the area was roped off with Police tape. (I swear to f this is all relevant)
While this wasn’t an active crime scene, I was still working with Forensic evidence which technically belongs to Police Scotland/the crime lab so I had 2-3 uniformed officers on rotation as security (I’m going to name them Officers 1-3).
So there I am, working away by myself, when Officer 1 comes sprinting in telling me to drop everything and GTFO now. He actually hauled me out the last few feet as I apparently wasn’t moving quickly enough. He dragged me out and around to the front of the building.
I think you’ve all pretty much guessed who was there. Yeah, Insane Granny was outside being insane. Or more accurately she was kicking and screaming on the ground while Officers 2 and 3 tried to restrain her.
So naturally, I stop walking and start doing my best impression of a fish while my brain nopes the f out and I vaguely hear the sound of an old dial-up modem as my brain tries, in vain, to reconnect with reality.
Meanwhile she’s shrieking like a toddler and Officer 1 is basically dragging me under the Police tape and across the road while talking about getting to “a safe distance”. Why exactly did we have to get to a safe distance?
Because Insane Granny had opened; the building’s first set of double doors, dumped a few petrol cans and propane tanks in the entry way and dowsed the lot in petrol.
The only reason the whole place hadn’t gone up in flames (other than the fact that Propane tanks come with safety valves so it's rather hard to explode them) was because Officer 3 (who’d just pulled up for his shift) had caught her walking towards the front door from the right side of the building.
When she saw him she made a run for the front door but he was faster. When he got to her she had a lighter in her hands and he could smell the fuel inside the building. That was enough for him to realise she was actually a threat and not just some nosey b&ch so he took her down and dragged her away.
This alerted Officer 2 to the situation (he was stationed outside the single side door around the side) and the two of them tried to restrain her while Officer 1 (he’d been somewhere along the perimeter of the original scene) was sent to get me out. But what was she doing around the right side of the building?
Parking her car up against the fire escape so it couldn’t be opened. Yep, the b basically tried to trap me in a building and set fire to it.
I'm not going to go into specifics here but she fd herself royally by trying to set that particular building on fire. Not only because she attempted to trap people (mainly me, but she didn't know who else was in there) inside but remember when I said it was being used as a mobile lab?
Yeah, that meant it "officially" contain material that was (is) still considered evidence in an ongoing Police investigation. And she did this all while out on bail.
Elevating the charges to "Aggravated" and guaranteeing her a prison sentence measured in years.
Also to add; A lot of people are asking about what she's being charged with etc. This incident happened before Christmas and her bail (for the original "B&E" charge) was immediately revoked and she was denied bail for her second set of charges.
In Scotland if you're denied bail your trail has to happen with in 110 days, so the trial(s) happened pretty fg quickly. She is currently in prison. I'm not giving a list of charges
(I have no idea if you'll be able to find her from that but Im not risking it) but yeah, they were serious. I'm also not giving her exact sentence for the same reason but I will say that it was for over 3yrs.
Kid and Kid's parents were told about this incident the day it happened and were at the trial. They're still together, Kid's Dad apologised to me a few times and he's not (as far as I'm aware) defending him mother anymore. I hope this cleared up a few things.