Zeta-Jones stalker gets 3 year-prison sentence

Fri Jul 8, 4:23 PM ET



LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A woman with a "girlish crush" on actor Michael Douglas was sentenced to three years in prison on Friday for making death threats against his wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones.



Dawnette Knight, 34, pleaded no contest in Los Angeles Superior Court to charges of stalking and making criminal threats against Zeta-Jones through dozens of phone calls and letters.

The letters accused the Oscar-winning star of "Chicago" of being a gold digger who was having an affair with actor George Clooney and made chilling threats comparing her death to those of Manson family victim Sharon Tate and President John F. Kennedy.

Zeta-Jones, 35, was not in court for Friday's sentencing but in a statement read to the courtroom she called Knight "simply evil" and said her actions "will be with me for the rest of my life."

"She had references to some of the most horrific crimes of the century. She was going to 'blow my brains out like J.F.K.' ... She was going to slice me up 'like (Charles) Manson did to Sharon Tate.' She was going to slice me up and feed me to the dogs," her statement said.

The letters were written over an 18-month period starting in 2003 and sent to members of the Douglas family and its friends.

Knight's lawyer described his client earlier in the court proceedings as having a "girlish crush" on Douglas and said she posed no danger to anyone. Knight took a drug overdose while in pretrial custody a year ago but was deemed mentally fit for trial.