Woman reveals how she discovered her landlord was secretly filming her at home

A woman has recounted the moment she realised her landlord had been secretly filming her.

A newly released Channel 5 documentary, Peeping Tom: The Landlord and his Secret Camera, explores Robert Holden, a respected councillor and computer shop owner, and how he’d been secretly filming women for 14 years.

Heidi Marney, 27, from Halifax, is one of his victims. She thought she’d moved in with a trustworthy family friend, but later realised he’d been targeting vulnerable women and spying on them.

The mother of four had decided to move into Holden’s home as a lodger after her relationship broke down. In an interview with This Morning, she explained that she moved in with him as he was close to her family.

Talking about Holden, and her decision to move in with him, she said: “I personally saw him as the kindest man you’d ever meet. He helped all the community. He literally took flood victims into his house.”

via West Yorkshire Police

However, Heidi noted that it wasn’t long until she started seeing red flags. She said his house was full of computer equipment, likening him to a “hoarder”, and that the electronics made three rooms completely inaccessible.

The 27-year-old continued: “He would say things to [my daughter]… like ‘I’m going to make it so good here that your mummy never wants to leave’.”

Heidi also added that when she looked on Rightmove, Holden would ask her why she’s looking at the site as she “can’t even afford to leave”.

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Talking to Ben and Cat on the This Morning sofa, Heidi further explained that Holden seemed to be acting in public as if they were in a relationship. However, she said it wasn’t obvious enough that she could call him out for it.

Things then took a darker turn after Holden tracked Heidi when she was on a date.

“When I had mentioned about dating because I’d had nearly a year off from it, he was very funny about it, so when I went on this date, I didn’t tell him where I was going,” she said.

Heidi then noted that he text her saying: “Weird, I swear I’ve just seen you in Leeds.” However, she explained that this would’ve been impossible as she had driven into an underground car park. This is when Heidi said she started to panic, and knew something was amiss.

Once she’d gotten home, she then realised her laptop, which she’d bought from his shop, had been tracking her phone. She explained that she saw her laptop had been tracking her only two minutes before he text her that evening.

After this incident, Heidi confronted Holden who denied that he’d been tracking her. She then turned to a family member working in the police who said to look for cameras as this is something they’d seen happen before.

Soon after, Heidi found cameras hidden in her bathroom, which had been covered so they wouldn’t show the red recording light.

“I froze, I’m in honest, because in that moment, I thought ‘what happens now?'” she told the presenters.

Heidi explained that she felt she couldn’t call the police on Holden, but that her aunt did on her behalf. The police then started an investigation, with the councillor going on the run to Cape Verde.

Upon being extradited to the UK, the case went to trial. Holden was convicted of 31 counts of voyeurism and seven of computer misuse, and sentenced to six years and two months in jail.

According to LADBible, it would later be revealed that Holden preyed on 29 different victims, 27 of whom are women, and one of whom is a child. The footage that he had taken of his victims including them undressing, showering, and having sex.

However, since waiving her right to anonymity, Heidi has faced a number of misogynistic and victim blaming comments, with one person saying: “I bet she thought it was great, paying no rent until she dropped on her feet with someone else. Notice now, she drives a Range Rover.”

Since the ordeal, Heidi has been working inspire others through her experiences.

Peeping Tom: The Landlord and His Secret Cameras is now available to stream on 5.

Featured image via Heidi Marney on Instagram and West Yorkshire Police