Eastleigh woman accused of perverting course of justice

Carly Marie Buckingham-Smith has been charged with three counts of perverting the course of justice - which she denies.

The 37-year-old, of Copper Close, in Eastleigh, is alleged to have made a series false of complaints saying she had received threatening text messages and calls.

Southampton Crown Court heard she is also accused of making false complaints of assaults and arson attacks.

During court proceedings yesterday, prosecution barrister, Simon Walters read some of the agreed facts of the case.

He told how on one occasion “grass” and a word too offensive to publish had been scrawled on Buckingham-Smith’s patio doors with what was believed to have been a felt-tip pen.

The court heard how she would regularly receive threatening text messages and calls from a withheld number.

Some of these read “die” and “burn”.

In another, a threat was made to “put petrol through her letterbox and set it alight”.

Mr Walters said that Buckingham-Smith told police she believed the calls had been made by an Uber driver she had reported for rape.

However, according to the prosecution, these threatening messages had been sent from a phone belonging to the defendant.

The jury heard how police cameras had been fitted at her property in Copper Close and that she was given a panic alarm.

Mr Walters said that when police suspected the defendant’s complaints were false, she “was told that the CCTV cameras in her home were going to be removed”.

However, “police had installed cameras outside of her property”, he added.

These were looking towards her front door and “she did not know they were there”.

Buckingham-Smith is then alleged to have made a false claim that a male had come to her house and attacked her, but “she managed to push him away”.

The offences are said to have happened between place between July and October 2019.

The trial is being heard by Judge Nicholas Rowland and is expected to last until next week.

The trial continues.