Man Held in Threats to Olympic Ice Skater

An unemployed man with a history of psychological problems was arrested at his home here Thursday after allegedly stalking Olympic figure skating champion Katarina Witt in Germany and writing her threatening and obscene letters.

FBI officials said they were worried that 47-year-old Harry Veltman III might try to harm Witt at a skating performance scheduled for tonight at the Forum in Inglewood. He was arrested--but not prosecuted--last January in Denver after throwing sexually threatening letters onto the ice at a Witt appearance there.

“The arrest was timed because we didn’t want him on the street (Friday) night,” said James Donckels, agent in charge of the FBI’s Santa Ana office. “He was a significant threat. . . . Obviously, he was obsessed with this lady.”

But Veltman protested in federal court Thursday that he would never harm Witt and that he wanted only to persuade her “to love me and marry me.” He even asked that Witt be contacted about his arrest to see if she would bail him out. “She’s the only friend I have,” he said.

Veltman was arrested on four charges, one of sending an obscene letter through the mails and three of threatening Witt through the mails. One of the threat counts was dismissed later. Each charge carries a possible five-year sentence in federal prison.

According to the complaint, Veltman has sent 60 unsolicited letters to Witt in Germany since July, 1990, along with nude and erotic photos of himself.

Some letters contained graphic descriptions of his sexual desire for the German who won two Olympic medals and a host of other world championships in the 1980s. The letters also included what U.S. prosecutors characterized as “threats” against Witt if she did not respond to Veltman’s declarations of love.

In a Nov. 17, 1990, letter, Veltman talked about having visited Witt’s home in Altenhof, Germany, hiding behind a tree in her yard, and leaving a bundle of letters on her front doorstep in hopes of seeing her receive them, federal prosecutors said. Veltman said in court that he got the home address from Witt’s coach.

“I love you and lust for you so much Katarina!” he allegedly wrote Witt after the visit. “I would never do anything to harm you! Now you should know it! You have virtually no security in your home! If I were evil, I could have broken a window, entered your house, and raped you and killed you before you could telephone for help!”

In an earlier letter, Veltman had also warned that “whoever fails to follow my rules must be terminated immediately,” according to the complaint.

At an arraignment hearing in Los Angeles, U.S. District Court Magistrate Charles F. Eick threw out one of the three threatening charges against Veltman for lack of evidence. But he refused a defense motion to set bail for the suspect, who is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles.

Finding that the suspect “poses a threat to the safety of the community,” Eick ordered Veltman held in custody until psychiatrists and the court can determine his mental competency. A hearing on that issue is set for Jan. 6 in Santa Ana.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Uttam Dhillon told the court that Veltman has a history of psychological problems had been diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic at County-USC Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Veltman lives with his mother and apparently receives disability payments, according to federal officials. His only known conviction came in 1984 for tax evasion in Idaho, where he may have worked as a sharecropper.

Veltman, balding with a gray beard, ignored the advice of his public defender to remain silent at the hearing and interrupted several times to declare his love for Witt and urge that she be subpoenaed to testify in court about their relationship.

The defendant also asked to be allowed to represent himself in court, saying “I’m not sure who I can trust to speak on my behalf.” But Eick refused the request, saying that Veltman was “not entirely in touch with reality” and suffered from “grandiose delusions.”

The judge said the public defender’s office will continue to represent Veltman.