- Man thought a bus driver was a celebrity and stalked him for almost 60 years
All began on a bus ride 60 years ago: When Kenneth Furnival draws his ticket from the bus driver, he thinks the bus driver is the 1950s music star Johnnie Ray. The start of a fatal mistake and a decades-long obsession that primarily affects one family: bus driver John Ray, who resembles the musician not only in name but also in appearance, his wife Jean, and their two sons.
The torture for the family begins shortly after the bus ride in the county of Chesterhshire. Ray receives the first letters in which Furnival addresses him as Johnnie Ray, compliments him on his blonde hair and bright blue eyes, and asks for an autograph. Ray starts burning the letters, but Furnival doesn't give up and secretly takes photos of Ray and his family. In one letter, he writes to his supposed idol that he was jealous when he saw Ray kissing his wife Jean in a restaurant. In the following, he sends the bus driver CDs and later also DVDs.
For the Ray family, the stalker becomes increasingly burdensome. They don't know what the man looks like, and the police won't investigate. In the later court hearing, they tell how they tried several times to report the case to the police and handed over letters. But the officers did nothing because the letters were harmless, the "Telegraph" reports. Lawyer Danielle Reece-Greenhalgh criticized the police in the British newspaper for not properly investigating the case. "A harassment that lasts over 50 years is almost unheard of, and the inaction of the police may reflect how stalking behaviors manifest and who are 'typical' perpetrators and victims of harassment and stalking."
Stalker pursues family even after name change
The family hires a lawyer in 1979 to take action against Furnival, who must then go to prison for contempt of court. But the stalker is not deterred from his mission and continues to pursue the family after his release. "It was terrible, and I was constantly in fear," Jean Ray now told the court.
The Ray family tries everything to escape their persecutor. They change their name, move to another house - but Furnival always finds the family and sends more letters and CDs. Out of fear that he might also pursue the two sons who resemble their father, they are never allowed to play in the garden. "I have never seen this man, and yet he knew everything we did as a family," says Jean Ray. She could have spent a day next to him without knowing who he is. "My children, I never let them out of my sight. They were never allowed to go to the park unless I was with them. They had practically no freedom when they were growing up. It became our lifestyle."
Even the death of the real musician Johnnie Ray in 1990 does not deter the stalker from continuing to pursue the family. It was not until 2023 that the family's suffering came to an end, rather by chance. Because the post was on strike, Furnival delivered his "fan mail" personally to the Rays' house, where he was recorded by surveillance cameras.
Before that, he had put the family in fear with a Christmas card. "In 2023, I will burn 100 pounds, in 2024 it will be 200 pounds, and in 2025 I will burn 300 pounds and put it in your letterbox until it is 1000 pounds. Money has no meaning for me as long as I can't buy pictures of you," it said in the letter. It was signed: "Kenneth Furnival, the man who knew too much."
The police feared an arson attack and searched the stalker's apartment. During the search, they found a framed picture of the bus driver taken 35 years ago hanging in the bedroom. During his interrogation, Furnival rhapsodized about his musical idol. This individual was a big deal in the USA in the early 1950s and was considered a precursor to rock 'n' roll. However, as Ray and a certain Elvis Presley gained more popularity, Ray faded into obscurity.
In court, Furnival's lawyer, Sarah Badrawy, explained that her client suffered from a mental and neurological developmental disorder and was easily manipulated.
However, Judge Michael Leeming showed little mercy towards the defendant. "These crimes required a high degree of planning and persistence," Leeming explained. Furnival had been obsessed with the Ray family for over 50 years, and it couldn't be considered an "isolated behavior."
For the next three years, however, the Ray family will have peace from their stalker, as Furnival will spend this time in prison. And even afterwards, the stalker should stay away from his victims. The court issued an indefinite restraining order prohibiting any approach or contact.
The police initially refused to investigate the harassment due to the harmless nature of the letters, leading to criticism from the Ray family's lawyer.
Despite being sentenced to prison for contempt of court, the stalker continued his pursuit of the Ray family after his release, even after they changed their name and moved houses.
