Dante Soiu, 66, was found not guilty despite admitting to sending dozens of messages and packages to the actress over the course of six years.
A man accused of stalking Gwyneth Paltrow has been found not guilty of all charges by a jury in a court in Los Angeles, despite the actress herself testifying that dozens of unsolicited messages had made references to marriage and her death.
66 year old Dante Soiu, of Cleveland, Ohio, admitted in court that he had sent Paltrow a total of 66 letters and packages between 2009 and 2015, but said that they were by way of apology for sending pornographic messages to her between 1999 and 2000. After that incident, he was put on trial and then committed to a psychiatric facility after being found not guilty by reason of insanity.
Gwyneth Paltrow's alleged stalker Dante Soiu was found not guilty by a jury
The jury believed him and, having retired to consider their ruling on Tuesday (February 16th), returned a verdict a day later saying that they didn’t think he needed to be hospitalised for mental health issues.
Appearing in court last Monday (February 8th), a day after she’d seen her ex-husband Chris Martin perform with Coldplay at the Super Bowl, Paltrow broke down in tears as she testified as to her reactions to the messages Soiu had sent her.
More: Gwyneth Paltrow testifies against her alleged stalker in court
“You are hopelessly lost,” Soiu allegedly wrote in one letter dating from 2010. “Now you must die. Yourself, must die so that Christ can have pre-eminence.”
“I have a goal: to marry Gwyneth Paltrow and take care of her,” another message said. Paltrow described the experience as “traumatic”, and revealed that she bought a guard dog as a result and had her bodyguard teach the animal “attack and bite commands”.
However, Soiu got his turn on the stand a few days later and said that he only sent messages to her because he wanted somebody to talk to, and was “very lonely”. He also testified that he had sent messages to other public figures at the same time, including President Obama, Russian president Vladimir Putin, and Angelina Jolie.
“I have no desire to hurt her feelings. I have no desire to harass her,” Soiu told jurors. “I was trying to show I had changed and I had become a different person. I wanted to show a new face towards her.”
Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe prepares to come to a climax as ‘The...
Despite a superior cast and terrific-looking production values, this mystery romp is a misfire on...
When a priceless painting is stolen with the presumable intention of being sold to fund...
Charlie Mortdecai may be rude, arrogant and distinctly unlikeable, but he's also a terribly rich...
Even if we've never been to a 12-step meeting, an intelligent script and sharp performances...
Adam is a nice guy who's willing to be faithful to his girlfriend Phoebe, there's...
Changing the writer and director for this third Iron Man movie turns out to be...
Tony Stark may have the woman of his dreams, the technological skills of a genius...
Tony Stark may be Iron Man, but he's feeling less than unbreakable these days. Plagued...
Tony Stark may be Iron Man, but he's feeling less than unbreakable these days. Plagued...
Like four action movies mashed into one, it's often difficult to know where to look...
Nick Fury is the director of law enforcement and espionage agency S.H.I.E.L.D, which deals with...
Nick Fury is the director of law enforcement and espionage agency S.H.I.E.L.D, which deals with...
Soderbergh applies his brainier brand of filmmaking to the global outbreak thriller genre, and the...