Creepy slime Michael David Barrett was sentenced to 30 months in prison, but no sooner was he put away than we learned that another obsessed jackoff sent threatening letters to Erin via DirecTV’s Dan Patrick Show. Ugh. RELATED: Woman Learns ‘Nice Guy’ Ex-Boyfriend Hid Under Her Bed & Stalked Her For Weeks After Breakup
So join us, why don’t you, as we count down the eight worst celebrity stalkers.
1. John Hinckley
Seriously, worst stalker ever. Failed songwriter Hinckley became obsessed with Jodie Foster after seeing Taxi Driver in 1976, and decided that the best way to impress Jodie would be to shoot President Reagan. That’s logical, right? While Jodie was in college at Yale, Hinckley also followed her to New Haven and slipped notes under her door. After his attempt on Reagan’s life, Hinckley was committed and remains in jail. Lesson: No one is impressed when you shoot the president, Lee Harvey Jackass.
2. Mark David Chapman
Kind of a toss-up as to which of these should be first, right? Chapman, the world’s most dedicated Rolling Stones fan, shot and killed John Lennon on December 8, 1980, robbing Julian and Sean of their dad and the world of God knows how much great music, and also ensuring that Jared Leto would give himself gout in a vain attempt at winning an Oscar. Earlier that day, Lennon signed a copy of his and Yoko Ono’s album Double Fantasy for Chapman outside his apartment building. Ungrateful bastard.
3. William Lepeska
Anna Kournikova’s stalker is that rare kind: the unfaithful stalker. See, he spent five years obsessed with former Spice Girl Mel B but then moved on to the Russian tennis player. “Finally I said the heck with her, moving on to greener pastures,” Lepeska told a British paper in 2005 when he was arrested. And why was he arrested? Why, because he swam naked across Biscayne Bay to get to Anna’s Miami Beach home and was found wandering around her neighbor’s garden. Well, naked except for the “Anna” tattoo on his right arm. Crazy(no)pants! RELATED: Dad Who Killed TikTok Daughter’s Stalker Blamed For Selling His Daughter’s Selfies To The Teen Prior To The Incident
4 & 5. Cristin Keleher & Michael Abram
There’s something in the way the Beatles look, we guess. In 1999, 27-year-old Keleher broke into the Quiet Beatle’s Maui home, did some laundry, and ate his pizza. That’s not a euphemism. Keleher had been stalking Harrison for months and served only four months in jail. She was found murdered in 2007. And then there’s Abram, who just a week after Keleher took it on herself to camp out in Maui, broke into George’s home in London and stabbed George, nearly killing him. Abram’s mother said her son “hates [the Beatles] and even believes they are witches and takes their music seriously.” Dude, the song is called “I Wanna Hold Your Hand,” not “Please Stab Me in the Chest.” Wanker.
6. Dawnette Knight
Aspiring psychologist (ha!) Knight decided that she and Michael Douglas were TWU WUV 4-EVA and therefore turned her ire on Michael’s wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones. Starting in 2004 she sent a series of threatening letters to Catherine, including one that said she would chop up the lovely Welsh Oscar winner and feed her to dogs. Eeeeurgh. Michael and Catherine both testified at the trial and Knight was sent to jail for three years.
7. Athena Rolando
Rolando, a wannabe actress, broke into Brad Pitt’s L.A. house in 2000 and was found wearing his clothes and carrying a voodoo doll. A judge issued Pitt a protective order against Rolando, but she violated it by sending him chocolates and flowers. Rolando was only sentenced to three years probation, but we haven’t heard much from her since. Wherever she is, we bet she is neither Team Jen nor Team Angelina.
8. Margaret Mary Ray
David Letterman’s stalker (before his mistress’s boyfriend tried to blackmail him, which is different) was a schizophrenic who began sending letters to the talk show host in 1988 and repeatedly broke into his home. Letterman and his now-wife, Regina Lasko, once woke up to find Ray staring at them from the hallway, and he first learned of her obsession when Ray stole his Porsche from his driveway. Ray died by suicide in 1998, and Letterman publicly expressed his sympathy to her family on his show. RELATED: The 7 Types Of Stalkers (And How To Spot Them) Sara Brady is a freelance writer and editor who specializes in celebrity and pop culture content.
