|
Beatle Stalker Dead
01/02/2007 10:42 AM, E! Online
Josh Grossberg
A woman who was once arrested for stalking George Harrison has been found dead, the apparent victim of a murder-suicide.
Cristin Keleher spent four months behind bars in 2000 after pleading no contest to trespassing on the former Beatle's Hawaii home in December 1999. While inside his compound, she cooked herself a frozen pizza, did a load of laundry and called her mother in New Jersey.
Fast-forward six years later: A hiker stumbled on the body of the 34-year-old woman and that of a man, 48-year-old Stanley Merchant, on Dec. 19 inside a car parked near a highway north of Truckee, California.
According to western Nevada County's Union newspaper, investigators believe Merchant shot Keleher while she stood outside his Toyota 4-Runner. He then placed her in the back of the vehicle and drove a short distance, before lying down next to her and shooting himself in the head. Two 12-gauge shotguns were discovered at the grisly crime scene.
"We don't think a third party was involved," Nevada County Sheriff's Lt. Ron Smith told the Union, noting that the shooting likely occurred two or three days before the hiker came upon the blood-splattered SUV.
Authorities also recovered Keleher's backpack, suitcase, purse and diary, which indicated that she and Merchant had been staying at a motel in Truckee, a small Sierra Nevada town where the couple had been eyeing to settle down.
Keleher left behind an extensive rap sheet. Local police arrested her on several misdemeanors, including public drunkenness.
Smith said his department was still investigating, but there was no indication the case was more than a murder-suicide.
Keleher's illicit visit to Harrison's Maui estate began with her opening a sliding glass door and making herself at home. After the musician's security guards nabbed her, she was accused of stalking the guitarist and charged with trespassing.
Keleher initially claimed she was simply trying to get out from a rain storm and never intended to harm Harrison, but she ultimately wound up doing time. After getting out of jail, she was ordered to complete one year of probation and return home to her family in New Jersey.
Harrison was not in Hawaii at the time. Instead he was at his London mansion, where one week after Keleher's break-in, the rock legend was stabbed in the chest by a crazed fan. Harrison suffered a collapsed lung, but managed to recover. He died of lung cancer in 2001 at age 58.
|
