Theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking speaks at his official welcoming ceremony at Perimeter Institute For Theoretical Physics in Kitchener in 2014. (Reuters)
An American woman was handed a suspended four-month jail sentence in Spain Friday for threatening to kill cosmologist Stephen Hawking.
The woman, identified by Spanish media reports as Jenny Theresa C., was arrested at a hotel on Spain’s Canary Island of Tenerife Wednesday. According to BBC, the woman had a map showing Hawking’s itinerary while on the island.
She told police after she was detained that she was in love with him and would have never hurt him.
BBC reported that the 37-year-old was stalking Hawking on social media before her arrest. Hawking’s daughter Lucy Hawking told Spanish News Today that threatening messages were received on his social media and email accounts.
According to Spanish media, the woman planned to kill Hawking at the Starmus Festival.
Police said there were plenty of signs that the woman was mentally unstable.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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