David Caruso Stalker Trial Starts Tomorrow

In the last couple of hours we have had a flurry of hits from Innsbruck so we decided to take a closer look at who our visitors were. Mostly media possibly looking for last minute details for their coverage of tomorrow's David Caruso stalker trial. Barring any unexpected delays or another escape attempt by Heidemarie Schnitzer, her trial for stalking and threatening to murder David Caruso is set to commence Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. local Innsbruck time. That's 1:30 and 2:30 a.m. for those in the U.S. Eastern and Central time zones.

If Schnitzer is found guilty and we do not foresee any reason why she won't be, she will lose the protection of Austria's privacy laws. The prohibition against publishing her name and photo will be lifted allowing Austrian news services to reveal Schnitzer's true identity; one already well-known to those outside the European Union.

The Stalker Chronicles will be following this trial closely and will update accordingly. A very special thanks to Thomas Hochwarter of The Austrian Times and Marcus J. Oswald for their many informative e-mails during the pre-trial period.

David Caruso's Stalker Threatened Liza Marquez

UPDATE: On April 14, 2009, Heidemarie Schnitzer was tried and convicted of stalking and threatening to murder David Caruso. Innsbruck Judge Guenther Boehler sentenced Schnitzer to a short prison term followed by incarceration in a mental facility for an undisclosed period of time.
The fate of the mentally unbalanced Austrian woman, Heidemarie Schnitzer, who stalked and threatened to murder David Caruso, Greta Caruso and Liza Marquez will finally be decided next Tuesday in an Innsbruck court room. For those readers who may not be aware, David Caruso has been stalked by a deranged Austrian woman for nearly two years. Late 2006, Heidemarie Schnitzer took a transatlantic flight to Miami where she stalked Caruso to a local establishment and offered him sex. He summarily rejected the woman.

Caruso's rejection sent Schnitzer into a tailspin and her love obsession turned to hate. She created four different blogs designed to denigrate and slander Caruso, Liza Marquez and his associates. She began sending him hundreds of letters demanding an autograph. When none was forthcoming, Schnitzer penned her famous death threat letter (see below for copy) and mailed it to Caruso. CBS Studios contacted the FBI for help and they in turn sought the assistance of the Austrian government in locating and bringing Schnitzer to justice.

A psychiatric evaluation of Heidemarie Schnitzer was performed by Dr. Karin Treichl early 2007 and the results were forwarded to the Court. Dr. Treichl determined that Schnitzer suffered from a severe personality disorder and was capable of turning deadly at a moment's notice. In July 2007, a hearing in Austria was scheduled but HeidemarieSchnitzer failed to appear. Schnitzer fled to Mexico where the FBI and Mexican officials located her and froze her credit cards. Schnitzer returned to Austria in September 2007, but the original hearing had already been rescheduled for April 2008. At the time, Schnitzer was allowed to remain a free woman and her passport was never surrendered.

Fast forward to April 2008 and again Schnitzer failed to appear in court to answer charges she stalked and threatened to murder David Caruso and two others. Again, Schnitzer fled to Mexico's Baja peninsula where for ten months she used a laptop to cyber-stalk Caruso tormenting him with her Internet hate campaign. She reportedly spent between sixteen and twenty hours a day trolling and spamming Internet sites that mentioned Caruso's name. Schnitzer's all-consuming hatred of Liza Marquez was evident for months.

In October 2008, Austrian Judge Guenther Boehler modified the original arrest warrant for Schnitzer and issued an international warrant. A worldwide manhunt ensued although inside sources knew Schnitzer was hiding out in Tijuana, Mexico. Finally in February 2009, Schnitzer was captured and arrested by Tijuana police. In March, Schnitzer was formally extradited to Austria where she has remained incarcerated after officials determined she was a flight risk.

On Tuesday, April 14, 2009 Schnitzer will be tried for stalking, sending death threats and flight charges to avoid prosecution thereof. The stalking charges carry a maximum three years imprisonment.

David Caruso Stalker Formally Extradited To Austria Today

From The Associated Press confirmation that David Caruso's stalker, Heidemarie Schnitzer, was officially extradited to Austria earlier today. German authorities turned over custody of Schnitzer to Austrian officials and she was transported to Innsbruck. Schnitzer, now a prisoner, was judged to be in good physical condition. No word yet on her mental condition.

Austria: Alleged Caruso stalker in custody

VIENNA (AP) — An Austrian woman accused of stalking "CSI: Miami" star David Caruso is in custody after she was arrested in Mexico and deported back to her homeland, officials said Thursday.

The woman allegedly sent more than 100 letters to the American actor, pursued him for an autograph and then sent death threats when he refused to give her one, according to prosecutors in the Austrian province of Tyrol.

The woman — identified only as being in her early 40s — was charged with stalking and threatening to kill Caruso, but twice failed to show up for her trial in the city of Innsbruck.

She was arrested in Baja California, Mexico, several weeks ago on immigration charges and deported to Austria via Germany, Foreign Ministry spokesman Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal said. German authorities handed her over on Thursday.

Thomas Lechner, a spokesman for Innsbruck's Provincial Court, said a judge would determine within 48 hours whether the woman should remain in custody or be released.

Caruso plays Miami police Lt. Horatio Caine on the crime drama series on U.S. network CBS.

Austrian authorities have said a 2007 letter containing a death threat allegedly written by the suspect and bearing a Miami postmark was discovered in Caruso's fan mail.

A court-appointed psychiatrist testified that the suspect has a "profound personality disorder." If convicted, she faces up to three years in prison.

Lechner said a new trial date had not yet been set.

Schnitzer's Interview With News Magazine

For our readers who understand German, the above is News magazine's interview with David Caruso's jailed stalker. Schnitzer gave this interview following her arrest last month in Tijuana. An English summary is available here courtesy of The Austrian Times.

News refers to Heidemarie Schnitzer as "Gabriele Huber" and states parenthetically that Huber is not her real name. The Stalker Chronicles would like to thank Thomas Hochwarter at The Austrian Times for furnishing us with a copy of the original interview in its entirety.

David Caruso - Heidemarie's Jailhouse Interview

While Heidemarie Schnitzer was being held in Tijuana, Mexico, she gave an interview to the Austrian magazine News. Schnitzer shows no remorse for her actions and clearly was not coming clean concerning the circumstances surrounding her capture. Claiming she was arrested after her six month tourist visa had expired, Schnitzer simply tries to shrug off the seriousness of the charges against her hoping she will receive a light sentence. And by the way, Schnitzer was in Mexico from April 2008 thru February 2009, ten months according to our calculations so the six month tourist visa story doesn't hold water.

As every major news service across the globe has reported, Tijuana Police arrested Schnitzer after receiving tips forwarded to them by The Stalker Chronicles. Schnitzer cannot even tell the truth while incarcerated. Additionally, our sources in Mexico have confirmed that Schnitzer has been transferred to Mexico City where she is awaiting deportation. Our thanks to Thomas Hochwarter of the Austrian Times for summarizing her interview in English. Here it is in its entirety:

CSI star stalker hopes to get away with it

By Thomas Hochwarter

The deranged Austrian woman who threatened to kill CSI: Miami star David Caruso said she is "kind of relieved" now that she had been arrested.Austrian magazine "News" interviewed Heidemarie Schnitzer, who has been on the run for months since she was accused of sending the 53-year-old actor more than 100 sinister letters.In the interview, Schnitzer admits she is hoping for a mild sentence. She said: "I expect a light sentence because in the end nothing happened."The Tyrolean is currently being detained in a prison in Tijuana, Mexico, where she is waiting to be extradited to Austria. In her home country, the 42-year-old blonde will face up to three years in jail under Austria's new anti-stalking laws.Asked about how tense the last few months had been for her, Schnitzer said: "I wasn’t really on the run. I had a tourist visa for six months that simply expired in the end. I was arrested in a random traffic check (two weeks ago)."The cops realised there was an international warrant for the woman and arrested her.She said: "I learned my lesson. But I continued to watch CSI when it was on Mexican TV."In one letter, Schnitzer threatened: "I’m going to kill you and your butt-ugly Latina whore (…) that fat-assed bimbo (…) an offense to your whole fan base. It’ll take some time – but I’ll find you."My letters were a stupid joke. I wanted to make something special, something others don’t do."

Austrian Times

David Caruso - Fritzl Sympathizer Heidemarie Schnitzer

After reading numerous articles about Austria's heinous Josef Fritzl, the incestuous monster who imprisoned his own daughter for 24 years, haunting similarities to the David Caruso stalker case have emerged. Details, provided by the perpetrator himself, are revealing if not chilling how Fritzl sought control over his adult daughter Elizabeth. Fritzl's current defense has him blaming the Nazis for his depraved behavior. Likewise, Heidemarie Schnitzer blames her victim, David Caruso, for her actions. Schnitzer defends her actions claiming Caruso deserves to be stalked because it comes with the territory when your career of choice puts you in the public eye.

It is highly anticipated that Josef Fritzl will plead insanity to avoid a prison sentence not necessarily because he is insane although many would agree he has some serious psychiatric issues. Certainly both Fritzl and Schnitzer have some serious mental health challenges as exhibited by their atrocious behaviors. Fritzl having imprisoned and raped his own daughter while Schnitzer abandoned two children, stalked and threatened to murder David Caruso, Greta Caruso and Liza Marquez, failed to appear for two court hearings and fled to Mexico's Baja peninsula.

Josef Fritzl, like Heidemarie Schnitzer, was also evaluated by a psychiatrist. Their similar diagnosis will raise the hair on your back:

"Reinhard Haller, one of Austria’s leading forensic psychiatrists, challenged the claims that Fritzl was insane and therefore not responsible for his actions. Dr Haller said: 'His main motivation was the exercise of power. It is not a sign of mental illness, but rather of an extreme personality disorder.' ”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/josef_fritzl/1934494/Josef-Fritzl-I-deserve-credit,-I'm-no-monster.html

Like Josef Fritzl, Heidemarie Schnitzer too was diagnosed with "profound personality disorder" by Austrian psychiatrist, Dr. Karin Treichl. There will be those who will argue that Schnitzer's crime has never reached the level of Fritzl's. Closer examination however shows that both Schnitzer and Fritzl have engaged in obsessive controlling behaviors. When they failed to control the objects of their desires, Schnitzer and Fritzl both spiraled out of control and turned to crime.

Further evidence of Schnitzer's profound personality disorder can be viewed on a daily basis on any website that mentions the words David Caruso. Schnitzer using multiple pseudonyms, her favorites being "Vixen", "Anonymous " and "Dixiebabe", will defend her bizarre conduct to the death. Whenever Schnitzer is asked why she obsessively stalks David Caruso, she ignores the question, accuses the poster of being a nutcase and follows it up with a disparaging comment about David Caruso. Always claiming she's not Heidemarie Schnitzer but always responding whenever a question is directed to Schnitzer.

There's no doubt that Dr. Gast, Schnitzer's court-appointed attorney, is closely following the Fritzl story and more than likely taking copious notes. " 'In my personal opinion, Josef Fritzl is mentally ill and therefore of diminished responsibility,” said his lawyer, Rudolf Mayer.' "

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/global/main.jhtml?xml=/global/2008/05/04/noindex/nfritzl.xml

Substitute Heidemarie Schnitzer for Josef Fritzl and Dr. Gunther Gast for Rudolf Mayer and you will have a preview of Schnitzer's copy-cat affirmative defense.

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