Post by Emerald City on Nov 24, 2004 15:23:41 GMT -5
By Charlie Amter
All Sheryl Crow wanted to do was to get away from the guy who called himself her spiritual twin.
The singer appeared in a Manhattan courtroom Monday, where she testified against Ambrose Kappos, a former Navy SEAL prosecutors say is obsessed with Crow. Kappos has been "hunting" her over the past two years.
Kappos is charged with stalking, harassment and burglary stemming from an October 2003 incident at a New York club in which he repeatedly tried to contact Crow. Opening arguments in the case got underway last week.
On Monday, a calm Crow offered up testimony that she had never met or spoken to Kappos and had seen him only once--in the cozy, supposedly secure environs backstage at Manhattan's Hammerstein Ballroom.
"I thought it strange that someone would be outside [my] dressing room who was not supposed to be there," the 42-year-old musician said. "It was for me just an eerie experience. Backstage is a sacred, safe environment where I can relax and unwind."
The "Strong Enough" singer told of how just minutes after leaving the club, Kappos advanced toward her entourage.
"I was headed into the limo and suddenly there's chaos and I was pushed into the car, and my manager was yelling, 'Back away! Back away!' It was chaotic and very alarming. That's when I became aware of who he was."
Kappos said to her, "Hi, I'm Ambrose," before Crow's security detail nabbed him.
"I was alarmed, more than anything else. I was really nervous about it," Crow testified.
As Crow was whisked away, and the 38-year-old was detained until police arrived.
The incident capped a yearlong obsession with the singer.
For his part, Kappos watched Crow closely Monday, sometimes smiling faintly, per the Associated Press.
In a videotaped statement played for jurors, Kappos said he felt "an unexplained closeness, a familiarity" to Crow.
After his arrest, Kappos told cops he believed he was the Grammy-winning artist's "spiritual twin."
According to NYPD Officer Penelope Seaman, the person who took Kappos into custody, the former Navy diver also insisted he and Crow were fated to marry and have children.
"I spoke to her father. I'm her twin. We're spiritually connected. I am going to meet her. I'm Ambrose," Seaman's police report said.
Crow's younger sister, Kathryn, also took the stand Monday, telling jurors how Kappos showed up when she was home alone on July 7, 2002.
"He asked me if I was Kathy Crow," she said.
"He said at that time that God had been speaking to him," she testified, and he asked to speak to Sheryl.
Kappos' lawyer, Stan Hickman, claims the singer was never in any real danger. Kappos' family has portrayed him as being overly "infatuated" with the singer.
During cross-examination, Hickman pressed Crow on the fact that Kappos never contacted her directly and reminded the jury that his client had not committed any violent acts against the singer.
The trial resumes Tuesday, with prosecutors expected to finish their case Monday. If convicted, Kappos faces up to seven years behind bars.
All Sheryl Crow wanted to do was to get away from the guy who called himself her spiritual twin.
The singer appeared in a Manhattan courtroom Monday, where she testified against Ambrose Kappos, a former Navy SEAL prosecutors say is obsessed with Crow. Kappos has been "hunting" her over the past two years.
Kappos is charged with stalking, harassment and burglary stemming from an October 2003 incident at a New York club in which he repeatedly tried to contact Crow. Opening arguments in the case got underway last week.
On Monday, a calm Crow offered up testimony that she had never met or spoken to Kappos and had seen him only once--in the cozy, supposedly secure environs backstage at Manhattan's Hammerstein Ballroom.
"I thought it strange that someone would be outside [my] dressing room who was not supposed to be there," the 42-year-old musician said. "It was for me just an eerie experience. Backstage is a sacred, safe environment where I can relax and unwind."
The "Strong Enough" singer told of how just minutes after leaving the club, Kappos advanced toward her entourage.
"I was headed into the limo and suddenly there's chaos and I was pushed into the car, and my manager was yelling, 'Back away! Back away!' It was chaotic and very alarming. That's when I became aware of who he was."
Kappos said to her, "Hi, I'm Ambrose," before Crow's security detail nabbed him.
"I was alarmed, more than anything else. I was really nervous about it," Crow testified.
As Crow was whisked away, and the 38-year-old was detained until police arrived.
The incident capped a yearlong obsession with the singer.
For his part, Kappos watched Crow closely Monday, sometimes smiling faintly, per the Associated Press.
In a videotaped statement played for jurors, Kappos said he felt "an unexplained closeness, a familiarity" to Crow.
After his arrest, Kappos told cops he believed he was the Grammy-winning artist's "spiritual twin."
According to NYPD Officer Penelope Seaman, the person who took Kappos into custody, the former Navy diver also insisted he and Crow were fated to marry and have children.
"I spoke to her father. I'm her twin. We're spiritually connected. I am going to meet her. I'm Ambrose," Seaman's police report said.
Crow's younger sister, Kathryn, also took the stand Monday, telling jurors how Kappos showed up when she was home alone on July 7, 2002.
"He asked me if I was Kathy Crow," she said.
"He said at that time that God had been speaking to him," she testified, and he asked to speak to Sheryl.
Kappos' lawyer, Stan Hickman, claims the singer was never in any real danger. Kappos' family has portrayed him as being overly "infatuated" with the singer.
During cross-examination, Hickman pressed Crow on the fact that Kappos never contacted her directly and reminded the jury that his client had not committed any violent acts against the singer.
The trial resumes Tuesday, with prosecutors expected to finish their case Monday. If convicted, Kappos faces up to seven years behind bars.
