46-Year-Old Alcoholic Made Old Woman’s Life Living Hell With Vile Threats

A 46-year-old man has left an old woman terrified to this day for threatening to dig up her grave right in her very own garden.

The man was identified as James Ward who pleaded guilty to harassment, putting a person in fear as well as an unrelated charge of assaulting an emergency worker on New Year's Eve.

It was on June 10 when an elderly widow found Ward in her garden. Ward had complained that the woman’s confiners were damaging the fence between their properties. But the 46-year-old’s other comments were even more disturbing.

"He then said he would 'dig your grave' and 'I will put a bag over your head and bring your sons down'," according to prosecutor Kevin Wardlaw.

The woman got even more scared when she reportedly heard Ward scraping a spade across the concrete outside.

"The obvious inference being he was reinforcing the threat he made a few days earlier to dig her grave," Wardlaw added.

Because of these incidents, the woman’s life has become a living hell and left her vulnerable and frightened. She admitted that this left her petrified of Ward and left her insecure in the house she has loved for 30 years.

"I feel unsafe, vulnerable and frightened in my own home. This should not happen," the woman said.

Ward was arrested after authorities found him with an injury to his mouth and when he was shouting, blood was spraying from the wound onto an officer. He also allegedly headbutted an officer during the arrest.

Looking at his records, Ward also had 18 previous convictions. That included being on remand for 112 days, was sentenced to a total of 27 weeks suspended for 18 months with an alcohol treatment requirement and a 12-month restraining order.

According to Ward’s attorney, Nick Lane, the 46-year-old intends to live with a friend and will only return to his home to make arrangements to sell it.

"He has suffered with serious mental health difficulties which are linked in large part to his alcohol dependency syndrome,” Lane said. "He is embarrassed and ashamed by his behavior and in the assaulting emergency worker matter he has no recollection due to him being highly intoxicated in the early hours of January 1.”