The woman who helped change the way New Jersey’s stalking law works will be featured in an upcoming episode of the television series “Stalked: Someone’s Watching” on the Investigation Discovery network.
Greater Media Newspapers previously wrote about the Marlboro woman who was being stalked and the steps she took to change New Jersey’s stalking law.
The woman was not identified by name by Greater Media Newspapers at the time the articles were published several years ago.
The woman is no longer anonymous. Her name is Karen Welch.
Welch, who has since moved from Marlboro, spent years dealing with harassing phone calls, damage to her property and anxiety caused by the actions of the person who was stalking her. She asked her state representatives to press for changes in the stalking law.
Prior to the changes, New Jersey’s stalking law required a death threat to be made against an individual before charges could be lodged against a stalker.
AfterWelch’s efforts and those of Marlboro Police Detective Sgt. Ross Yenisey, amendments to the stalking law were signed into law by Gov. Jon Corzine in 2009.
The changes expanded the stalking law to include conduct on the part of a stalker that causes a reasonable person to fear for his or her safety, or the safety of a third person, or to suffer emotional distress.
The law amended the definition of conduct to include directly or indirectly or through a third person or by device to follow, monitor, surveil, threaten or interfere with a person’s property.
Welch’s story will be told during the Feb. 21 episode of “Stalked: Someone’s Watching” on the Investigation Discovery network. The episode will air at 10:30 p.m. The series debuted on Jan. 24 and can be seen each Monday night. The six-part series profiles “emotional stories of stalking victims and explores the twisted psychology of the people who relentlessly pursued them,” according to the network.
“Nearly 80 percent of women who were murdered by an intimate partner were stalked by that partner prior to their murder, so dismissing stalking as a nuisance can be a grave mistake for victims and law enforcement,” Henry Schleiff, president and general manager of Investigation Discovery, said in a prepared release.
Schleiff said, “In connection with National
Stalking Awareness Month and ID’s ongoing commitment to support the Department of Justice’s commemoration of the ViolenceAgainstWomenAct, we hope that ‘Stalked: Someone’s Watching’ will help to raise awareness of the dangers of stalking, provide effective measures to protect oneself and inform communities about the need for stronger stalking laws.”
Hosting the episodes is Michelle Ward, a criminal psychologist whose expertise is in neuroscience and who has personal experience as a stalking victim. Ward provides insight into the possible thoughts and motivation of the stalkers.
Welch said she was informed about the series, which is produced by Atlas Media Corporation, by a woman who runs a stalking resource center. Welch said the woman suggested that she send in her story for consideration.
Welch said her New York attorney, Brian Sullivan, will discuss the laws that were broken in her particular situation. She said Yenisey will discuss his role in her case.
Welch expressed her gratitude to Yenisey for going above and beyond the call of duty with his dedication to her case over the years. She said Yenisey was integral in covering many aspects of the changed stalking laws, including monitoring via global positioning systems.