Camarillo Woman Arrested : 5,000 Threats Sent to Star

A Camarillo woman has been arrested for allegedly sending an estimated 5,000 notes to actor Michael J. Fox threatening to kill him, his wife and their unborn baby, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office reported Thursday.

Tina Marie Ledbetter, 26, who works as a Westlake Village shipping clerk, was arrested last Friday on suspicion of making terrorist threats after investigators were able to trace the anonymous notes to her, spokesman Al Albergate said.

Albergate said the notes had been arriving steadily at studios where Fox worked and at public relations agencies that represented him since February, 1988. Some were mailed in letters, and others were mailed in packages.

“They were spread out pretty evenly over a year’s time,” Albergate said. “I haven’t read all 5,000. Basically, they have the same theme. She threatened to kill him and his wife and their unborn baby.”

July Marriage

Albergate said Ledbetter is apparently a fan of Fox, 27, the star of the television show “Family Ties” and such films as “Back to the Future” and “Bright Lights, Big City.” She apparently became upset when Fox began dating actress Tracy Pollan and then married her in July, he said.

“She wanted him to go back to an old girlfriend,” Albergate said.

After the actor’s representatives and the studios began to receive the threatening notes last year, Fox hired a private investigator who in turn alerted the district attorney’s office in September, Albergate said.

“It took us awhile to track down the author,” Albergate said.

Albergate would not release details on how the notes were connected to Ledbetter other than to say that some of the packages were traced to the shipping office where she worked and that evidence contained in some of the letters was then used to determine who mailed the notes.

He declined to say what that evidence was or to identify where Ledbetter works. Ledbetter, who was released after her arrest on $100,000 bail, could not be reached for comment.

Ledbetter is not expected to be charged until next week, Albergate said. Under state law, she could be charged with either a misdemeanor or a felony, which could carry a penalty of up to three years in prison.