{"id":70265,"date":"2016-02-08T21:51:56","date_gmt":"2016-02-09T02:51:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=70265"},"modified":"2016-02-08T21:51:56","modified_gmt":"2016-02-09T02:51:56","slug":"gwyneth-paltrow-tearfully-testifies-against-accused-stalker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2016\/02\/08\/gwyneth-paltrow-tearfully-testifies-against-accused-stalker\/","title":{"rendered":"Gwyneth Paltrow tearfully testifies against accused stalker"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Gwyneth<\/a>
Gwyneth Paltrow (Facebook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

LOS ANGELES – Gwyneth Paltrow testified Monday in the trial of a man accused of stalking her, saying he wrote upsetting letters discussing her death and his intention to marry her and also sent her pornography and unsolicited gifts.<\/p>\n

Dante Soiu is accused of stalking the Oscar-winning actress for 17 years, but the case focuses on the most recent batch of 66 messages he’s sent her between 2009 and 2015.<\/p>\n

Several of those messages referenced Paltrow’s death, Soiu’s desire to marry her and unsolicited gifts, including clothes, a pair of earrings and a Weight Watchers cookbook.<\/p>\n

The actress broke down briefly during her roughly two-and-a-half hours on the stand after a prosecutor asked Paltrow about whether she feared for her children’s safety as a result of Soiu’s missives.<\/p>\n

“Yes,” Paltrow responded tearfully. She quickly regained her composure and explained why she was so rattled by Soiu.<\/p>\n

“I’m scared because the communications completely defy logic,” she said. “I’ve been dealing with his for 17 years with the communications from this man.”<\/p>\n

Soiu’s attorney said he has simply written letters to Paltrow, and that recent letters haven’t included pornography. Attorney Lynda Westlund said Soiu is a Christian man who is just trying to minister to the actress.<\/p>\n

Paltrow testified about letters and packages she received from Soiu dating to 1999, including several that contained pornography, sex toys and statements that he wanted to cleanse her of sin.<\/p>\n

“This is a case that has gone on for Ms. Paltrow for 17 years,” Deputy District Attorney Wendy Segall said during opening statements. “Her sense of security has been shattered by this man.”<\/p>\n

Paltrow, 43, remained mostly composed in the witness stand, showing concern on her face. Dressed in a white turtleneck and black slacks, she at one point identified Soiu, 66, who was wearing a blue shirt and grey sweater.<\/p>\n

Soiu was found not guilty by reason of insanity in 2000 in a previous trial involving messages he sent to Paltrow, which included pornography and sex toys. He was sent to a mental institution for several years, but re-arrested last year after sending the actress new correspondence.<\/p>\n

The recent batch letters described Soiu’s intention to marry Paltrow and also a pair of earrings he sent her in 2009 as a Christmas gift. He has also sent her religious books, and forwarded her letters he has sent to President Barack Obama and actress Angelina Jolie.<\/p>\n

One letter described Paltrow “bowing to death.” The actress said the reference was disturbing.<\/p>\n

In another, Soiu is accused of writing, “I have a goal: to marry Gwyneth Paltrow and take care of her.”<\/p>\n

“I felt very upset by it,” Paltrow said.<\/p>\n

“This has been a very long and very traumatic experience already,”\u00a0Paltrow said.<\/p>\n

At the top of another letter, Soiu is accused of writing, “I am sorry I hurt you. Please forgive me.” Paltrow said she recognizes Soiu’s handwriting after having received so much correspondence from him.<\/p>\n

Paltrow won an Oscar in 1999 for her role in “Shakespeare in Love.” She has two children with estranged husband Chris Martin, the frontman of the band Coldplay.<\/p>\n

The pair’s divorce, filed in April 2015, is still pending.<\/p>\n

Soiu, who is from suburban Columbus, Ohio, has pleaded not guilty. He shook his head during portions of Segall’s opening statement, but has remained quiet throughout Paltrow’s testimony Monday.<\/p>\n

Her testimony came a day after Paltrow appeared at Super Bowl 50, cheering on Coldplay and her friend, Beyonce Knowles, during their halftime performance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES – Gwyneth Paltrow testified Monday in the trial of a man accused of stalking her, saying he wrote …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":70266,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,106],"tags":[9230],"class_list":["post-70265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","category-hollywood","tag-uploads","mauthors-anthony-mccartney","mauthors-the-associated-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70265","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70265"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70265\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}