Stalker Who Threatened To Kill Taylor Swift Jailed For 30 Monthstaylorswift/Instagram/Metro Nashville PD
A Texas man has been sentenced to 30 months in prison after pleading guilty to stalking Taylor Swift and sending threatening letters to her former record label.
Eric Swarbrick was handed the sentence during a court hearing on Wednesday, September 16, after admitting to sending more than 40 letters and emails to Big Machine Records that became increasingly violent and sexual over time.
The terms of the sentence, which also includes three years of supervised release, were agreed on by prosecutors in a plea agreement Swarbrick entered in 2019.
Taylor Swift Demands End To ‘Toxic Male Privilege’ At Woman In Music AwardsPA Images
The complaint said Swarbrick sent numerous letters and emails to Big Machine Records in 2018, the first of which saw the then-26-year-old asking CEO Scott Borchetta to introduce him to Swift.
However, the letters quickly became more violent and threatening, and on three separate occasions Swarbrick drove from his home in Austin to Nashville to personally deliver them to Big Machine’s Music Row office.
On one such occasion, on August 2, 2018, Swarbrick was arrested by the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department after he was found wandering the halls of the building looking for Borchetta.
taylor swift stalkerMetro Nashville PD
After his release from custody, Swarbrick continued to contact Big Machine Records, expressing his desire to rape and kill Swift, Forbes reports. He also threatened to kill himself in front of Borchetta and his staff.
US Attorney Don Cochran for the Middle District of Tennessee said in a press release about the case at the time:
Too often, we have seen the consequences of ignoring signs of escalating violent behaviour by some individuals. The attention given to this matter by our law enforcement partners and the resulting federal charges we have brought should serve to prevent a future tragic event.
The sentencing of Swarbrick comes more than a year after Swift opened up about her experience in a 2019 interview with Elle, with the singer saying her ‘fear of violence has continued into [her] personal life’.
Taylor SwiftPA Images
At the time, Swift admitted to carrying QuikClot army grade bandage dressing at all times ‘for gunshot or stab wounds’, adding: ‘You get enough stalkers trying to break into your house and you kind of start prepping for bad things.’
However, the singer did say she tries to remind herself of ‘the good in the world’ each day, such as the love she’s witnessed and the faith she has in humanity.
‘We have to live bravely in order to truly feel alive, and that means not being ruled by our greatest fears,’ she concluded.
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