Former AFL player and coach Dean Laidley accidentally sent text messages meant for a friend to the ex-girlfriend he is accused of stalking. 

A Melbourne court heard Laidley allegedly intimidated and followed the woman after their relationship turned sour.

On May 1, the day before the 53-year-old was arrested wearing a wig and dress, police allege he sent a text message to his victim that ‘appeared to be for someone else,’.

The text message read: ‘She said she was staying home tonight… Wasn’t seeing him the whole weekend. She did say that then I repeated it later and she said no I like to stay home Friday nights. Nothing changes, bulls**t lies again,’ police claimed. 

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The court heard Laidley had repeatedly abused the woman, calling her a ‘sl*t’ and a ‘c***’ after she broke off the relationship but held onto an apartment he had recently purchased for her.

Laidley told police his alleged victim had pressured him into buying her an apartment while seeing another man. 

He claimed once the sale of the apartment had settled, the woman dumped him and withdrew all contact. 

Police alleged the former North Melbourne player threatened to run her down in his car and later sent her a photo of himself with a belt around his neck, threatening self harm. 

The woman claimed she was so terrified of Laidley that she refused to leave the apartment to shop or go to work.  

She claimed Laidley ‘hit rock bottom’ in November last year, describing him as ‘lonely, depressed and on drugs’.

The court heard Laidley spent the last week locked in a psychiatric unit of the Melbourne Assessment Prison.

He was arrested last week with methylamphetamine allegedly stashed in his bra and charged with stalking.

Laidley was granted bail on Monday night and driven to a private rehab clinic in Geelong south-west of Melbourne, where he will undergo intensive drug and mental health treatment for the next 28 days.

A wigless and tired-looking Laidley appeared in court via video link, wearing what appeared to be green prison garb and with his breasts visible on the video screen.    

The Melbourne Magistrates Court heard Laidley repeatedly called her while parked out the front of her house, taking photos of the property.

On the day of his arrest, Laidley reportedly called the woman 43 times. 

Laidley was arrested later that night outside her apartment and taken to St Kilda police station. 

Days later, on May 4, police picked Laidley up again with a small amount of what they believed was methamphetamine or ‘ice’ in his possession. 

This time Laidley was locked up.  

The court heard Laidley is accused of breaching an intervention order more than 100 times and had tried to obtain CCTV footage of his victim from her apartment block.   

Police claimed Laidley was extremely upset on the last day he was arrested and claimed to be visiting his son, but could not remember the address. 

The matter became national news after photographs of Laidley dressed as a woman were taken by police officers and leaked. 

The officers involved have been stood down and are currently under investigation.