Ask Anne: ‘I Murdered My Neighbour’s Family & Now She’s Bad Mouthing Me In The Residents Group Chat’
OUR RESIDENT advice columnist Anne Trope helps readers with their dilemmas.
Dear Anne,
I am subject to an ill-tempered and irrational vendetta from an unreasonable neighbour and its effecting my reputation among my neighbours.
Some years ago I murdered by neighbour’s entire family, now that I have returned home after some time away (Prison. For the murders.) my neighbour is claiming to the rest of our estate in a group chat that I’m some kind of monster. She is the group admin and can’t even gain access to defend myself.
For context, she’s not even mentioning the full context. The reason I murdered her husband and children is because they were seriously annoying. To say she’s being uncivil is putting it mildly, she’s the Dublin riots of people.
The bad-mouthing is hurtful and causing me great pain and anguish, the sort you’d normally associate with something as severe as losing a loved one.
All appeals for her to cease her gossip spreading and insinuations about my character have so far failed. What can I do?
In all my time doing this advice column I have never come across something so tone deaf and self-centred. So, because you murdered her family, she gets to slag you off to the neighbours? She sounds like a nasty piece of work. Sadly, some people are just bitter and don’t like to see people thriving.
The hurt and pain in your letter is clear for all to see, oftentimes cruel people such as your neighbour have no appreciation of the hurt they cause.
My suggestion is if you can gain access to the group chat, posing as a different resident perhaps, you could write a message in support of yourself. Off the top of my head maybe say something like “is this what your annoying as fuck husband and kids would want you to be doing? In their memory, wind your neck in and stop your trash talk or who knows, maybe you’ll be joining them sooner than you think?”
The tone of this message clearly indicates that bitterness and negativity can take years off someone’s life and lead increased blood pressure and a possible heart attack. Your helpful message will clearly be read as concern for your neighbour’s health and will help her to make breakthrough herself and change her bad-mouthing ways.