Debbie Riddle

Margaret "Peggy" Klinke, who endured years of emotional abuse, harassment, threats, and stalking before she was brutally murdered on January 18, 2003 by her stalker Patrick Lee Kennedy, who shot in the back of her head, then killed himself. Days before the incident, Patrick, hired a private investigator to learn the exact location of Peggy's apartment and her whereabouts. The month after Peggy's murder, her sister Debbie Riddle began to speak out about stalking, using Peggy's story as a catalyst for change. By speaking out she educated lawmakers, law enforcement and court systems about stalking and its devastating effects, Debbie hopes to change the way law enforcement responds to stalking, with earlier intervention and stricter penalties for perpetrators. Debbie has since become one of the country's leading speakers on stalking. Over the past 16 years, she has joined forces with the National Center for Victims of Crime and the Stalking Resource Center, Erin Brockovich and Lifetime Television, and nationally-recognized stalking expert Mark Wynn. Her tenacity and desire to keep Peggy's memory alive has helped bring national attention to this horrific crime. Debbie was asked to speak at a Congressional briefing requesting U.S. Congress to recognize January, the month Peggy was murdered, as Stalking Awareness Month. She was invited back to Washington, D.C. to speak at the 10 year anniversary of Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) conference alongside Senator Joe Biden (D-DE) and Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT). Debbie co-produced an 18-minute stalking awareness training video which has been utilized across the U.S. to train all divisions of our criminal justice system, as well as forensic nurses, victim's advocates, and college campus student, faculty and administration population. In her local community Debbie has raised over $10K for stalking awareness programming. She was named one of five Most Treasured Volunteers at the 66th annual Human Services Institute of the Center for Community Solutions. Debbie continues to speak at training sessions, webinars, support group meetings, college campus events and youth groups throughout the U.S.