A Florida woman was taken into custody after being accusing of stalking NASCAR star Tony Stewart. (Reuters)
A Florida woman was taken into custody Tuesday after being accused of stalking NASCAR star Tony Stewart and his family for more than a year.
Kathi Russell, 68, of Cape Coral, Fla., was charged with “stalking, terroristic mischief and intimidation,” FOX59 reported.
Russell told investigators she “felt like she was ignored” after Stewart did not sign a piece of memorabilia for her at a NASCAR race.
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Russell called Stewart, his family, his business and sponsors hundreds of times from March 2016 to October 2017, court documents stated. The woman used six different phone numbers and took “significant steps” to hide her identity, FOX59 reported.
Some of the calls were just snippets of songs including “Psycho Killer” by the Talking Heads. Another sound bite she played into the phone was part of a speech by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton when Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi was killed. Other phone calls would just contain silence.
Investigators believed the burned fan was responsible for an anonymous tip to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) the NASCAR star's plane was holding drugs that was later determined to be false. The plane was searched in Fort Worth, Texas, following the tip.
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Russell “admitted to the repeated harassment” of Stewart and his family, court documents stated. She told investigators she would stop the phone calls because “she didn’t want to get in trouble.” Stewart’s mother also obtained a protection order against Russell, FOX59 reported.
Stewart told the DEA that Russell called “all hours of the day and night with no purpose other than to harass him.” Stewart said the calls disturbed his sleep and gave him anxiety.