Alleged stalker found competent
Dawnette R. Knight, accused of stalking and making threats against actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, has been found competent to stand trial, her lawyer said in open court this week. So the preliminary hearing to determine whether she should stand trial resumes Sept. 9 in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Knight has been charged with 24 felony counts of making written and telephone threats aimed at Zeta-Jones. Some of the letters, which the actress read in court July 28, contained graphic descriptions of plans to kill her in a brutal fashion.
The preliminary hearing was suspended two days later when Knight’s attorney, Richard Herman, told the court his client had overdosed on barbiturates the night after Zeta-Jones and her husband, Michael Douglas, testified. Judge Patricia M. Schnegg ordered Knight to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. The psychiatrist’s full report, which Herman referred to in a brief hearing Monday, will be presented in a separate hearing on Sept. 8.
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