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In a list of thousands of tweets,
apparently sent by Mrs Leyland, none of
the messages are directed personally at
the McCanns, who have "no significant
presence" on social media.
However, many are labelled with the
hashtag #mccanns which allows them to be
easily found and criticised the couple
following the disappearance of their
daughter.
One read: "#mccann To Kate and Gerry,
you will be hated by millions for the
rest of your miserable, evil, conniving
lives, have a nice day!"
The account has since been deleted.
Dr Arthur Cassidy, a psychologist who
specialises in social media, said Mrs
Leyland appeared to have a middle class
upbringing which was unusual in
trolling.
He said: "In this particular case, her
whole repertoire of trolling is slightly
different from those of well-seasoned
trolls because of her uniqueness and the
way she has done this.
"It would signify to me that she has
been quite a novice at this."
Dr Cassidy said typically, trolls sought
and enjoyed a response from their
victims but that did not appear to have
been the case here.
Mrs Leyland's son tweeted a tribute to
his mum, writing simply: "I love you mum
and I will miss you forever."
Supporters of the 63-year-old have
established a Facebook page, with
several people posting tributes and
condolences to her family. |
