How nice to log-on to the Internet today and see absolutely no signs of Heidemarie Schnitzer's all consuming hatred of David Caruso, his children, the women he dates and his hit television show CSI: Miami. Her usual haunts are silent and appear to be back to normal. Two other blogs where Schnitzer managed to hoodwink the owners with her obtuse charade are baffled by her absence however. Schnitzer in her madness had those bloggers believing she was just another nice polite person posting benign comments. Will the fact that their dear beloved "Vixen" (pseudonym for Schnitzer) is MIA wake them up to who and what she really is?
Although the news of Schnitzer's arrest hit the wires mid-afternoon Friday in North America, most Europeans had just settled in for the evening. This morning the continent awoke learning of Schnitzer's fate. There is one major difference though between European and American media outlets. The European papers will not publish Schnitzer's name or photo due to strict privacy laws that protect her until time of conviction. Private bloggers however appear not to be under the same constraints.
Mexico's El Sol de Tijuana is reporting this morning that Schnitzer has been turned over to Immigration with Interpol scheduled to take custody of her later this weekend. Schnitzer will be flown back to Austria and jailed until time of trial. Now a known flight risk, bail will be out of the question. At the time of trial, Austrian prosecutors will attempt to prove that Schnitzer stalked, mailed a death threat to David Caruso, twice failed to appear for Court hearings and ultimately fled the jurisdiction to avoid prosecution.
For the time being, Schnitzer's Internet maelstrom has ceased and with any luck it will be permanent. Be forewarned though, many penal institutions have limited Internet access for inmates. The Internet could once again be subjected to this woman's mentally unbalanced diatribes albeit severely curtailed. But if Schnitzer receives the psychiatric care she so desperately needs, we can only hope we have seen the last of her.
The Stalker Chronicles just spoke with the Associated Press' Mexico Bureau. An editor has confirmed that Heidemarie Schnitzer has been detained in Tijuana and the AP story has just gone out on the wires. According to our source, the story will become available on the Internet shortly. We will keep you updated.
Don't break open the champagne just yet, but El Mexicano is reporting that Heidemarie Schnitzer, who has stalked and threatened to murder David Caruso and his family members, was picked up last night at approximately 11:30 p.m. by Municipal Police in La Mesa, Mexico. The article is in Spanish but you can get a rough English translation from Google. There is also an audio accompaniment to it for those fluent in Spanish.
As soon as The Stalker Chronicles learns more details, we will update accordingly.
Here's the Associated Press article and OEM En Linea's article (in Spanish) in their entirety confirming that Schnitzer has been captured and in all likelihood will be deported to Austria. A huge thanks goes to all who helped make Schnitzer's arrest possible.
David Caruso's Alleged Stalker Detained in Mexico
Austrian prosecutors say the woman sent the American actor more than 100 letters, pursued him for an autograph and then sent death threats when he refused to give her one.
She was charged with stalking and threatening to kill Caruso, but failed to show up for court in 2007 and was believed to be on the run.
Caruso plays
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gRkIQH_pxOcD_QdHDXwWGdzMZL_gD96FHSU00
The fact that David Caruso's fugitive Austrian stalker has chosen a life of crime and abandoned her own children to do so is so sad that it bears repeating whenever similar cases draw comparisons. Today it has been widely reported that Roman Polanski, the academy award winning film director, has sought to end his exile by filing a Motion to Dismiss the case against him with a Los Angeles Court. Presiding Judge Peter Espinoza denied Polanski's Motion on the grounds that Polanski has no standing to file it as long as he remains a fugitive. However, the Judge stated if Polanski would return by May 7, 2009, he would agree to re-hear it.
Polanski fled to France in 1978 after failing to appear for a Los Angeles court hearing after he plead guilty to having sex with a 13 year-old girl. Polanski's French citizenship makes it impossible for the U.S. to extradite him, however, if Polanski ever tries to enter the U.S. he will be arrested. For those who claim this is not related, bear in mind that Schnitzer has posted pornographic comments about David Caruso's two-year old son on an Internet site.
Polanski has waited over thirty years to set foot on U.S. soil. How long will Heidemarie Schnitzer wait before it dawns on her what she has given up to pursue a life of crime? Two children that we know of and a homeland she loves are now memories for Schnitzer. Before it's too late, all Schnitzer needs to do is make a phone call to her lawyer and let him know she's ready to plea bargain. But will she? Pride always goes before a fall.
Heidemarie Schnitzer remains at large on Mexico's Baja peninsula wanted on an International Warrant for threatening to murder CSI Miami's David Caruso and for fleeing Austria to avoid prosecution thereof. Schnitzer is armed and considered to be extremely dangerous. Please do not attempt to apprehend this woman. Contact the U.S. Border Patrol at 1-800-232-5378 , the FBI at (310) 477-6565 or Austria's Bundeskriminalamt at +43-(0)1-531 26-0
In today's Sunday New York Times, Elizabeth Olson reports that the first in-depth federal study looking into the prevalence of stalking found that only one in three cases is ever reported to law enforcement. Many states are working to change existing laws making stalking a felony as opposed to a misdemeanor in hopes that more victims will come forward and report the crime. Austria's Minister of Justice Dr. Maria Berger, who has taken a personal interest in the David Caruso stalker case, is also a tireless advocate for stronger anti-stalking laws in her country.
The following are excerpts from "Though Many Are Stalked, Few Report It, Study Finds:"
"Whether they are obsessed fans fixating on celebrities...stalkers...typically invoke spurned love--real or imagined--to defend their actions...'Often stalkers want to make their victims fearful,' said Eugene A. Rugala, a former F.B.I. profiler who advises on workplace threats." David Caruso's stalker Heidemarie Schnitzer sent the above death threat letter to Caruso in care of CBS Studios for the purpose of inducing fear in her prey.
" 'Stalking is treated like domestic violence was 20 or 25 years ago,' said Mary Lou Leary, executive director of the National Center for Victims of Crime and a former federal prosecutor. 'Law enforcement is often suspicious or cynical, but is now beginning to deal with stalking as a crime.' " Perhaps this accounts for Austria and Mexico's failure to swiftly locate Schnitzer and bring some closure to this matter.
According to one stalking victim Cameron Wallace, whose perpetrator Ryan Clutter is now serving a 13 year sentence, "Mr. Clutter called 'at 1 a.m.and said I had 30 days to get out of the house or he would kill me and my husband,' she recalled. 'That's when I really started getting scared.'...Three years later [Clutter] broke into her house and then, by e-mail sent her a photograph he had taken of her sleeping. When the police searched his apartment, they found a kind of shrine to Ms. Wallace, with stolen articles of her clothing." According to witnesses who wish to remain anonymous, Schnitzer had a "shrine" to David Caruso when she worked for the University of Innsbruck's Medical Center. Her office walls were literally plastered with Caruso photos and memorabilia.
Although stalking is illegal in all 50 states, laws need to be made tougher for perpetrators. "...Incarceration..[is] not enough; stalkers also 'require individualized treatment... They almost never admit something is wrong with them.' " And in the case of Schnitzer, who will undoubtedly go down in history as the first stalker to use the Internet as a means to stalk, libel and destroy David Caruso, anyone who follows this sad story knows all too well how Schnitzer uses hundreds of pseudonyms to deny she's the stalker while at the same time posting her hatred of the actor on any site possible.
The Stalker Chronicles wishes to thank Dr. Maria Berger for her personal interest in seeing that Heidemarie Schnitzer is brought to justice. Dr. Berger along with Innsbruck's Judge Guenther Boehler have both been very responsive when provided with irrefutable evidence of Schnitzer's continuing crimes. As it stands, once Schnitzer is arrested she will be tried for stalking, mailing death threats, failure to appear for two court hearings and fleeing the jurisdiction to avoid prosecution thereof. If convicted, the stalking charges alone carry a three year sentence. Schnitzer will also be looking at additional time for the other offenses as well. Had Schnitzer stayed in Austria and faced the music two years ago, she would have received the help she so desperately needs and probably would have been a free woman today united with her abandoned children. As it stands, she's an international fugitive hiding out in Mexico attempting to avoid capture.
Heidemarie Schnitzer remains at large on Mexico's Baja peninsula wanted on an International Warrant for threatening to murder CSI Miami's David Caruso and for fleeing Austria to avoid prosecution thereof. Schnitzer is armed and considered to be extremely dangerous. Please do not attempt to apprehend this woman. Contact the U.S. Border Patrol at 1-800-232-5378 , the FBI at (310) 477-6565 or Austria's Bundeskriminalamt at +43-(0)1-531 26-0
