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15. 04. 09. - 13:00

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15. 04. 09. - 13:00

Verdict wiped smile off Caruso stalker´s face

By Thomas Hochwarter

The deranged woman who threatened to kill US actor David Caruso was shocked when she received a sentence of seven months in prison.

Heidemarie Schnitzer, 42, was sentenced at the main court of Innsbruck yesterday (Tues) for sending around 120 harrowing letters to the "CSI: Miami" star. Judge Günther Böhler ruled Schnitzer would be relocated to an institution for mentally-deranged delinquents after having served her sentence.

Clad in a white jacket and a figure-accentuating black blouse, Schnitzer smiled nervously throughout the two-hour proceedings. One Austrian daily even suggested she was dressed as having prepared to appear on "Dancing Stars", the Austrian version of international TV hit "Strictly Come Dancing".

But when Schnitzer faced the half a dozen TV cameras outside the courtroom, her grinning was gone. She said: "The seven months are okay with me, but that I will be sent to such an institution is a real shock."

After having given this statement, police officers grabbed the family mother by the arms and asked her to move on.

Three years ago, Schnitzer wrote to David Caruso: "I’m going to kill you and your butt-ugly Latina whore (…) that fat-assed bimbo."

Asked by the judge yesterday why she had done so, Schnitzer argued: "It said in the internet that every fan gets an autograph, and I wanted one as well. But the threatening was just meant as a joke. I only wanted to attract attention."

Court psychiatrist Karin Treichl explained that the defendant had regarded the fact that her request had gone unacknowledged as a "narcissistic insult."

State prosecutor Karin Schiffmann replied: "But she has to accept one cannot threaten a person with murder in order to fulfil one’s wishes."

Psychiatrist Treichl said Schnitzer had a personality disorder and warned of the possibility she would act out similar things again. Treichl called Schnitzer’s lifestyle "parasitic".

Treichl added: "This woman needs therapy of at least one year – if not, everybody in her surroundings will be a possible victim."

After stressing that Schnitzer had also threatened her lawyer as well as a hotelier in the past, the judge issued the verdict. It is not yet legally binding, however, since Schnitzer’s lawyer Andreas Grabenweger has appealed the court’s decision.

Austrian Times

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