Sandra Bullock’s stalker died from multiple self-inflicted cuts during barricade incident, coroner says
A man who was on probation for stalking actress Sandra Bullock in 2014 took his own life after an hours-long standoff this week with police in La Crescenta.
Joshua James Corbett, 42, barricaded himself inside his home in the 2400 block of Harmony Place around 7 a.m. on Wednesday after officers with the Los Angeles Police Department attempted to serve him a warrant. Steve Sitkoff, Corbett’s attorney, told the Los Angeles Times the La Crescenta man missed a court date last month and police were there to arrest him.
Lt. Gary Harman, a spokesman for the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station, said Corbett refused to comply with the officers and threatened to shoot them if they tried to arrest him.
A SWAT team was called in and authorities tried to talk him into surrendering. At around 1 p.m., police were able to get inside the home but found Corbett had taken his own life.
According to the Los Angeles County coroner’s office, Corbett made “multiple lacerations” on both of his arms and one of his legs.
Sitkoff said Corbett had mental-health issues but stopped going to counseling.
“When he was getting help and medication, he was really a gentle soul,” Sitkoff told The Times. “He was a good person, but he had mental-health demons that we really thought he was controlling.”
In June 2014, Corbett was arrested after he was caught breaking into Bullock’s West Los Angeles home. The actress was home alone at the time of the break-in and called 911 from a locked bedroom.
Police found Corbett in possession of multiple photos of Bullock and a letter he wrote portraying himself as the actress’s husband.
He was convicted last year to five years of probation for the incident and was ordered to seek treatment at a mental-health facility. A 10-year protective order for Bullock was also issued against Corbett.
Twitter: @Andy_Truc
