A serial stalker whose actions had chilling parallels with a character from Netflix show Baby Reindeer has been jailed for five years.
Lawyer Kobi Langshaw waged a “deliberate, relentless and carefully calculated” campaign against two men over eight years, a Perth court heard.
Her obsession with a man she was in love with and the best friend of the man she hated led to her being dubbed ‘Australia’s Baby Reindeer’.
Langshaw was convicted of three counts of stalking and 21 counts of violating an anti-violence restraining order in the relationship of family lawyer Patrick Gardner and his friend Aaron Herbert, who is also a lawyer, for crimes committed in 2020.
Her actions included moving to the suburb where one of the men lived and walking past his house every morning before going to work Western Australian reported.
The extent of her crimes led Magistrate Belinda Coleman to conclude that Langshaw was at high risk of reoffending and that she was ‘very dangerous’.
“Having had the opportunity to closely observe you during a 15-day trial and subsequent court appearances … I believe I have gained valuable insight,” the magistrate told Langshaw.
“I think you take the opportunity to explain and apologize for your transgressions and enjoy being the center of attention.”
Legal assistant Kobe Langshaw (pictured), who stalked two male lawyers for eight years, has been jailed for five years
The magistrate said it would take her a full day to explain “the inconsistencies in the various reports and submissions” Langshaw had submitted.
She said the clerks were “a very poor historian” of her childhood and the crimes she committed.
“And you harass… out of desire for retribution or power. You are still at high risk of recidivism. I think you’re very dangerous.’
In their victim impact statements, both Mr Gardner and Mr Herbert said they felt ‘completely helpless’ and were not believed.
They said they felt that police initially did not take their complaints seriously and spent countless hours trying to prove the crimes committed against them.
Langshaw’s transgressions are compared to Martha (pictured) in Baby Reindeer, who ruthlessly stalks a bartender who shows her some kindness.
Last May, Langshaw was banned for life from contact with the two men.
When that ban was issued by the Perth Magistrates Court, Langshaw repeatedly interrupted Ms Coleman and argued.
The court heard Langshaw had been convicted on five other occasions of breaching violence orders, stalking with intent to intimidate, lying to obtain bail, common assault and criminal damage.
Langshaw’s transgressions are compared to those of Martha in this year’s Netflix hit Baby Reindeer, who ruthlessly stalks a bartender who shows her some kindness.
Langshaw, who represented herself in court, met criminal and family lawyer Gardner in 2015 when she was briefly a client of his.
The following year he took out a restraining order against her, The Australian reported.
The court was told of the extraordinary lengths Langshaw went to in pursuit of her victims.
On one occasion she called the president of Mr Gardner’s football club, posing as an AFL official and saying she had a referee award for him. The Nocturnal reported.
She later appeared at the club’s awards ceremony and refused to leave.
On another occasion, Langshaw let her children play with skipping ropes just yards from Mr Gardner’s home, which was captured on CCTV.
She was also barred from the Family Court building in Perth due to outbursts there.
“She is a very intelligent woman,” Ms. Coleman said. “It’s clear she uses charm to manipulate others for personal gain.
‘She has a sense of superiority and is very stubborn. When challenged, she becomes hostile, but can immediately return to sweet and humble.”
The magistrate found that Langshaw was in love with Mr Gardner and harbored a hatred for Mr Herbert that was almost pathological.
Magistrate Coleman granted a police request for a lifetime restraining order on Langshaw, banning her from ever contacting the victims again.
Langshaw’s sentence was backdated to August 2023 to take into account time already served, making her eligible for parole.