The 24-year-old repeatedly called police over Trimaan Dhillon's stalking campaign but the decision over whether to arrest him was left with her five days before her death
THE heartbroken dad of stalking murder victim Alice Ruggles fears his daughter's case wasn't taken seriously by police as she was "too polite" when she reported her killer.
Alice was brutally murdered by obsessive stalker Trimaan 'Harry' Dhillon, who broke into her flat in Gateshead, Tyneside, and cut her throat in October last year.
The 24-year-old split with manipulative Dhillon six months previously after discovering he had been contacting other women on social media and dating apps.
Alice made several complaints to police as the bullying soldier made unwanted visits to her home and left chilling voicemail messages - including one saying 'I'm not going to kill you' - in the months before her death.
Heartbreaking 999 calls reveal how Alice repeatedly calmly asked Northumbria Police for help and five says before her death was asked by one officer: "Do you want us to arrest him or not?" She said no.
Her dad Clive Ruggles, 64, believes his daughter's calm manner may have led police not to pick up on warning signs she was in danger.
He said: "Alice should never have been put in that position. It should not have been on her to make that decision.
"She was always so polite, it was in her nature. She asked for help and advice - but what she really meant was 'I'm scared to death'.
"Perhaps if she'd been a little less polite more would have been done.
"He (Dhillon) had previously been given a restraining order but as far as we're aware that wasn't taken into account.
"We don't blame the poor (officer) but we do believe we need more training for professionals to see the warning signs and handle these cases properly."
Alice, the third of four children, left home in Market Harborough, Leics, to study at university in Newcastle and stayed in her adopted city after graduating.
She was a popular member of staff at Sky and was putting her failed romance with Dhillon behind her when she started dating soldier Mike Thaibsyah in the weeks before her death.
Clive, a university professor, said Alice had 'reached a high point in her life' but then started to deteriorate as jealous Dhillon turned her life into a living hell.
He called her 290 times in the six weeks before she died, often crying, and threatened to kill himself as he looked to emotionally control her.
The killer even drove from his army barracks in Edinburgh to knock on Alice's bedroom window and leave flowers and chocolates on the sill.
Speaking at charity National Stalking Advocacy Service's first annual conference, Clive said: "Alice didn't tell us the whole story, she kept a lot of it to herself.
"She would ring home and say 'mum, I've got no friends - I want to come back to Leicester' but we knew that wasn't like her at all.
"She lost weight, she looked thinner and gaunt. If only we had been aware of the signs.
"It leaves the question, how could someone so socially confident fall prey so quickly to someone like that?
"But don't think 'this doesn't happen to people like us' because the opposite is true."
Laura Richards, founder and director of Paladin, is campaigning for the introduction of a national stalkers register to stop repeat offenders like Dhillon destroying more lives after being alerted to police.
She said: "Sex offenders are registered so why aren't we registering domestic violence offenders?
"Dhillon is one of many repeat offenders whose behaviour escalated to devastating consequences. We need to be doing more to prevent these murders in slow motion where the warning signs are there but the lessons aren't being learned.
"In Alice's case it's clear the officers hadn't been properly trained. Alice was very calm and polite but it doesn't matter how she was saying it, there were high-risk factors which should have been picked up and vital questions which should have been asked.
"The fact she was asked if she wanted Dhillon arrested - would police ask a burglary victim if they wanted the offender arrested? In too many cases victims aren't being taken seriously."
The issue of a national stalkers register will be debated in the House of Lords on Thursday.
Alice was texting Mike when Dhillon broke into her flat on October 12, it was the last anyone heard from her.
Around half an hour later her flatmate Maxine McGill found her covered in blood on the bathroom floor.
Dhillon was arrested at his barracks the next day and in April was jailed for a minimum of 22 years after being found guilty of murder at Newcastle Crown Court.
