Stalked: Someone's Watching

Narrator: She fell in love.

Man: The only mistake this person made

was getting into a relationship with the wrong individual.

Narrator: But she would pay a terrible price.

Woman: He was controlling, manipulative, obsessed,

infatuated with her, and that's not love.

None of those words describe love.

Narrator: This is Peggy klinke's story.

When love goes to far.

I'm Dr. Michelle ward.

I'm a criminal psychologist, and I was stalked.

And I'm not alone.

Over 3 million people are stalked

every year in this country.

Many survive the ordeal. Others do not.

These are their terrifying stories.

captions paid for by discovery communications

Narrator: Peggy klinke was the third in a family of four children

and grew up in a quiet suburb of Ohio.

Riddle: Our family's very close.

Not only were the children close with each other,

but we were also very close with my mother and father.

Laporte: We met in kindergarten

and became very close friends... forever.

Riddle: You know, as she got older, she was very health-conscious.

She was a yoga instructor, a fitness instructor,

which sort of segued her

into wanting to go on to medical school.

Narrator: In the fall of 1998,

Peggy moves to Albuquerque

and enrolls in pre-med classes at the university of new Mexico.

Soon after the start of term,

she meets fellow student Patrick Kennedy.

Laporte: Peggy called me, and she said,

"I met this guy at the university...

Very kind, nice, helpful."

And he asked her out for coffee, and they went out.

Riddle: She really didn't know anybody,

so I think he was the first real contact that she had

when she was out there in school.

They had only been dating for a few weeks,

and he right away wanted to be very serious.

Oh, I'm so proud of you.

My concern was,

"I think this is just going a little bit too fast,"

and she was out there

to concentrate on taking these classes

so she can pursue this medical degree.

So, I was not comfortable with this at all.

Peggy treated it very lightly,

but my initial gut feeling was, "this man is not right."

Dr. Ward: I've studied predatory criminals for years,

and an attempt to fast-track a relationship

is actually an attempt to control it.

So while Peggy probably thought

that Patrick was just really into the relationship

and super-enthusiastic,

it was actually a red flag.

Narrator: Despite her sister's concerns,

Peggy and Patrick move in together.

And almost immediately,

Debbie's gut feeling proves to be right.

Laporte: At that point in the relationship,

it just changed,

and instead of building her up, he was putting her down.

Riddle: "What are you wearing? Why are you dressed like that?

You look like a whore. You're a stupid bitch."

He would bring her down so low,

and then he would come back in and apologize

and tell her how much he loved her.

Patrick is getting more and more control.

He's really insecure,

and putting Peggy down makes him feel powerful.

And what's worse, he then apologizes to her,

and so she stays, and the vicious cycle begins.

Laporte: I asked Peggy many times,

"has he ever physically hurt you?"

She would say no, but he was hurting her verbally.

And I would say,

"I don't understand why you just don't get out of it."

She just never had an answer.

Dr. Ward: This is a cycle we see all the time...

By strong women, smart women.

Any kind of woman can get sucked and trapped

into this vicious cycle.

And it's really hard to get out of this.

It's a really hard pattern to break.

Riddle: There were a few times where she would try to leave,

but I think Peggy was frightened.

She would become so incredibly physically sick.

She was vomiting all day long,

because she was terrified

of what he was gonna do to her had she left the relationship.

Narrator: But in march of 2002,

after three painful years,

Peggy finally finds the courage to break free and leave Patrick.

Riddle: She waited for him to leave before she started packing,

and she only took the things that she could with her.

Laporte: I cannot recall what the breaking point was,

but when she reached it, she didn't look back.

Riddle: He came home and found her personal belongings gone,

and he called her in hysterics,

saying, "come back. I need you."

But I think for Peggy, enough was enough.

Narrator: Peggy moves into a new apartment

on the other side of town

and slowly begins to rebuild her life.

There was a huge relief.

And I said, "thank god. I never liked Patrick at all."

Dr. Ward: This isn't the end for Patrick.

Remember, he's been battling insecurity

probably his whole life,

and this relationship has been a source of self-esteem for him.

And now she's leaving?

There's no way he's gonna let that happen.

He's going to hold on tightly, for dear life,

to this relationship.

Laporte: He was obsessed with her.

He wanted to be with Peggy, and that is all he wanted.

Narrator: Ohio native Peggy klinke

has just escaped from an emotionally abusive relationship

with Patrick Kennedy.

I think she was relieved to be out from under his thumb.

Narrator: Now, after three agonizing years,

Peggy believes that she can finally move forward.

But she couldn't have been more wrong.

Riddle: Right after she left him,

she called me the following day and said,

"you're never gonna believe this.

He's stalking me."

She used the sentence "I am being stalked"

right off the bat.

He was calling her cellphone.

Patrick?

I'm really sorry.

He said, "Peggy, I need you back in my life."

I mean, it was constant, day in and day out,

every day, all day.

Stop calling me.

Don't hang up.

Peggy had no peace, ever.

Dr. Ward: When Peggy leaves Patrick, he is out of control.

So he starts with these phone calls,

and he starts harassing her.

But it doesn't feel like harassment to him.

To him, it's just reacting to this panic

and the scrambling he feels to get her back.

Riddle: I kept telling her, "please go to the police.

"See if you can get a protection order.

Get him to stay away from you."

But she sort of felt like, "well, what am I supposed to do?

Take my cellphone in and say, 'I've been called 10 times?'"

Narrator: Peggy tries to ignore

the incessant harassing phone calls.

And before long,

a new man unexpectedly comes into her life...

32-year-old pharmaceutical salesman Mark sparks.

I decided to get the courage to ask her on a date.

You hear in the movies where your jaw drops

and you're just, like...

You're entranced by someone, and that's the way it was.

We were all glad that she had found someone.

Laporte: There was a total difference in Mark and Patrick.

They were night and day.

I don't have to tell you who was night

and who was day.

Narrator: But Patrick soon finds out about the budding relationship,

and it only fuels his obsession.

Dr. Ward: Patrick's already reeling because Peggy left him,

but now she's found a new man.

There's a whole new sense of desperation and jealousy here.

You may as well have put gasoline on a fire.

Laporte: I remember Patrick saying,

"if I can't have you, nobody else will."

Patrick, being the very manipulative,

smooth-talking person that he was,

was able to get Mark's cellphone from his mother,

and he was calling Mark and threatening Mark.

I think Mark was harassed on a daily basis.

You better watch yourself.

Sparks: It was really stressful,

and I remember Peggy, she said,

"if you want to leave, say the word.

"I don't want you to,

but if you want to leave, I understand."

And I said, "I care about you, and no, I don't want to."

I was very naive.

I just thought, you know, we could get through this.

Narrator: But Patrick is determined.

In fact, his obsessive pursuit of Peggy only intensifies.

Please love me back.

Now he confronts her face-to-face.

One morning, Patrick was hiding behind some bushes.

And he jumped out,

and he had a dozen roses and a wedding ring with him

and he said, "I love you. I want you to marry me."

And Peggy didn't acknowledge him.

I want you to marry me.

Dr. Ward: She already dared to leave him,

and now she's further rejecting him.