Cops: NotW May Have Spied On Grieving Mom

News of the World has been linked to another shocking case of phone hacking—and this might be an even bigger betrayal. Police have informed Sara Payne that she was on a list of people seized from a private investigator employed by NotW, Reuters reports. The twist: The paper’s editor, Rebekah Brooks, is believed to have given Payne the phone in question, according to the Guardian. Brooks calls the allegations "abhorrent," adding in a statement, "the idea of her being targeted is beyond my comprehension."

NotW had a close relationship with Payne, whose eight-year-old daughter, Sarah, was murdered by a pedophile in 2000. The paper campaigned on her behalf for a law forcing pedophiles to disclose their addresses, dubbed “Sarah’s Law.” Payne even wrote a stirring farewell for the paper’s final edition, calling its staff “my good and trusted friends.” Now she’s “absolutely devastated by this news,” says a statement from the charity she founded. “We're all deeply disappointed and are just working to get her through it.” (More News of the World stories.)