An obsessed admirer who stalked a married bus conductor for 60 years mistakenly believing he was the 50s singer Johnnie Ray has been jailed for three years.
Kenneth Furnival’s warped infatuation with John Ray began in 1964 when he was just 15, when Mr Ray – then 18 – checked his bus ticket.
Furnival, now 75, noticed he shared a name with the popular American singer, and sent multi-coloured notes complimenting the conductor’s ‘blonde hair and blue eyes’.
Over the years, this escalated as he bombarded Mr Ray with an ‘avalanche’ of love letters and unwanted gifts and kept watch on his every move.
The fixated fan referred to him referred to him as Johnnie Ray – who died in 1990 – and asked for signed pictures of him dressed in a blue pullover.
But his behaviour became even more sinister when Mr Ray, now 78, ignored or burned the letters and Furnival began secretly taking pictures of the father-of-two and his family.
Kenneth Furnival’s (pictured) warped infatuation with John Ray began when he checked his bus ticket and he noted the similar name to the American singer
The fixated fan referred to him referred to him as Johnnie Ray – who died in 1990. Singer Johnnie Ray is pictured playing the piano at El Morocco Nightclub, 154 East 54th Street, New York City
Johnnie Ray was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist who was popular in the 1950s
One letter from Furnival referred to a date Mr Ray took his wife Jean on at a restaurant and his jealousy at seeing them kissing. He also sent him CDs of Johnnie Ray songs and DVDs.
John Ray was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist, who was highly popular for most of the 1950s – commonly credited as a precursor to rock music.
Mr Ray and his wife Doris knew nothing about Furnival or what he looked like as he operated from the shadows. They repeatedly tried to report him to police and handed over large bundles of letters he wrote, but officers took no action claiming they were harmless.
In 1979 they hired a lawyer to take civil action against their tormentor which did result in him being jailed for flouting a court order – but Furnival still refused to give up.
Their children looked like their father and so – out of fear for their safety – the Rays never let them play outside.
They moved house and even changed surnames in a bid to be free of him but he would eventually catch up with them and the letters and gifts would start again.
Furnival, from Runcorn, Cheshire, was arrested last year after the Rays finally captured him on security camera when he was forced to hand-deliver letters and a parcel of CDs through their door due to a postal strike.
He had earlier sent them a Christmas card containing a sinister letter which read: ‘In 2023, I will burn £100, in 2024 I will burn £200, in 2025 I will burn £300 and stick it down your letterbox until it gets to £1,000. Money is no good to me unless I can buy photos of you, John Ray.’ He signed off ‘Kenneth Furnival, the man who knew too much.’
Singer Johnnie Ray (right) at El Morocco Nightclub in New York
Queen Elizabeth II congratulates Johnnie Ray on his singing after attending the Royal Variety Performance at London’s Victoria Palace in 1955
Police, fearing an arson attack might be imminent, searched Furnival’s home and found a framed picture covertly taken 35 years earlier of Mr Ray on his bedroom wall.
In interview he talked fondly of Mr Ray’s namesake who was known as the ‘Prince of Wails’ for his ballads Cry. Just Walking in The Rain and Please Mr Sun.
At Chester Crown Court, Mrs Ray, 73, who married her husband in 1973, told of their ordeal as Furnival was jailed for three years after admitting stalking. ‘It was creepy and I was in a permanent state of anxiety,’ she said.
‘My mother even asked us to leave her house despite me looking after her.
‘There were also comments about the movements with my children and those really frightened me as my son was at that time three years old blonde and with blue eyes and he had to endure the most overbearing mother as a result.
‘I had never seen this man, I never knew where he was and yet he could comment on all our movements. We had our second son, 12 years after the first, and he was another with blonde hair and blue-eyes so that was another cause for concern.
JohnnieRay as been cited by critics as a major precursor of what would become rock and roll
Singer Johnnie Ray, who Mr Ray was mistaken for while the victim of a stalking spree
‘This man seemed to know everything. We still did not know who he was, only his name, not who or what he was.
‘My children were never out of my sight for much longer than they should have been.
‘They were not able to go to the park unless I could go too. They had little freedom to grow. It became a way of life.’
She added: ‘I am now stuck in replay flashbacks, it’s horrible. I cannot get it out of my mind. All those years of being ridiculed and I was not wrong.
‘We now live in our house surrounded by cameras and the stress has affected my relationships with other people.
‘I have conducted a whole 50 years of my life with this intrusion. This has been an absolute nightmare. I have felt unsafe, angry, frightened and I felt that this will never end.’
Michael Whitty, prosecuting said: ‘The defendant had an infatuation with the complainant and sent him unwanted gifts and letters on a regular basis, going to the complainant’s address, taking pictures of him and following him without him being seen.
‘There has been similar behaviour going back many, many years, indeed to the mid-1960s. The complainant did not have knowledge of him, did not know who he was.
‘There appears to be no connection between them at all save for a chance meeting.
‘Mr Ray says he’s tainted almost every single event of his adult life in some way. The frequency with which Furnival would send letters varied, sometimes between two and three a week but sometimes up to an avalanche of more than one a day.
‘The content of letters were said to be disturbing in nature. There were requests of photos and they made reference to Johnny Ray and Doris Day.
‘They made it clear he had been following the complainant and his family including his children. They included taking photos without their knowledge much less without their consent.
‘He made reference to personal events such as family trips to Southport and said he was familiar with various aspects of their lives and including the children. The conduct and behaviour continued over a number of years despite house moves.
‘The Rays installed CCTV cameras around the house and Mr Ray became hypervigilant and concerned about what the defendant might do next. The complainant and his wife have been frightened, disturbed and angry and anxious by the defendant’s behaviour.
Singer Johnnie Ray with his fiancée singer Sylvia Drew
‘The complainant himself says that at times he has experienced feelings of shame, helplessness and embarrassment. It has affected their social life. There have been arguments between them and members of their family.’
Mr Whitty added: ‘When interviewed the defendant talked about the singer Johnnie Ray and accept he had some attraction to the complainant.
‘He talked about feeling anger when he saw the complainant kissing his wife in a restaurant and he said that if she died first then may be he would get the pictures of the complainant that he wanted. It seems he asked around the area to find out where the complainant lived.’
In mitigation Furnival’s lawyer Sarah Badrawy said her client had a ‘mental and neuro development disorder’ and added: ‘He is particularly susceptible to pressure, easily led and manipulated.’
But sentencing Judge Michael Leeming told Furnival: ‘You harboured an infatuation, an obsession, for over 50 years with the complainant which shows this offending was not isolated behaviour on your part or in any way out of character.
‘You sent unwanted gifts, DVDs, CDs and letters on an extremely regular basis, going to his address and following him unseen. There has been similar behaviour which dates as far as 1964. The letters caused Mr Ray extreme distress, to both him and his wife.
‘They were disturbing in nature, repeated requests to see him in a blue pullover. Letters often referred to him as Johnnie Ray, the American singer. They refer to how you have been following him and his family for years and referred to personal events.
‘They made repeated reports of your behaviour to police but regrettably there was never any follow-up. The 12 page victim personal statement from Mrs Ray describes your behaviour as being an absolute nightmare. She describes feeling extremely frightened and disturbed by your obsessive behaviour.
‘You talked about Johnnie Ray, the singer who has long since died and who got into trouble for being gay. You mentioned that you were sexually attracted to the complainant.
‘These offences have involved a high degree of planning and persistence.’
Furnival was also made subject of an indefinite restraining order prohibiting him from contacting the Rays. They declined to comment after the hearing.
