Stalker who murdered colleague had warning signs, according to former boss.

Michael Sellars, 35, is believed to have fatally stabbed his co-worker, Gracie Spinks, 23, after she rejected his advances. At an inquest into her death, his former boss revealed Sellars had displayed 'so many red flags' in his behaviour towards her.

Sellers and Spinks had worked together at e-commerce firm xbite since April 2020. In December 2020, Spinks refused to pursue a romantic relationship with him. Following a complaint from Spinks, Sellers was investigated and dismissed from his job for gross misconduct.

On Wednesday, an inquest heard that after his dismissal, Sellers watched Spinks on company CCTV and asked colleagues to 'spy' on her. He also lacked insight into the impact of his behaviour and told managers he 'did not believe he had done anything wrong'. The company only 'informally' dealt with complaints of Sellers' conduct with other women, with Sellers only given 'words of advice' by police in relation to Spinks' concerns.

Spinks' friend, Corey Martin, said she had 'never met a more beautiful soul' and was 'funny, happy, talkative and friendly'. In December 2020, she tried to break things off with Sellers in a 'friendly' way, but he had become 'totally obsessed' with her. On January 4 2021, Spinks saw Sellers waiting in a lay-by near Blue Lodge Farm, where her horse was stabled. She reported him to the police for harassment on February 4, 2021.

The company investigation, led by operations manager Lee Bingham and the company's HR manager, Tracie Otter, found that Sellers had harassed Spinks and abused his power in relation to Martin, which saw him dismissed for gross misconduct. Otter said she was aware of issues between Sellers and at least four other women, but believed Sellers was only ever spoken to informally. She also said that no other women were advised to report their concerns to the police as 'nobody thought that something like this would ever happen'.

Finally, on June 18 2021, Sellers fatally stabbed Spinks at Blue Lodge Farm before taking his own life 150 metres away later that day. The inquest into her death continues.

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