Fame and fear

Even by Hollywood standards, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones live a life of almost unimaginable privilege and glamour, cocooned in luxury residences around the globe.

None of that was enough to block the call that came in early March to the lush oceanfront Ariel Sands Hotel in Bermuda. The caller left a menacing message: “She was going to kill my wife,� said Douglas, who co-owns the property. “The sense that someone knew where we were

The phone call, taken by a hotel receptionist, marked the first time Douglas became aware of an eight-month campaign of threats and stalking directed at Zeta-Jones and carried out, according to prosecutors, by a 32-year-old woman with a romantic fixation on “Fatal Attraction� star Douglas.

The series of 26 letters and three phone calls, threatening Zeta-Jones in crude terms with murder and mutilation, are at the heart of the case against Dawnette R. Knight, arrested June 3 in Beverly Hills and described in some media accounts as a would-be child psychologist.

A preliminary hearing to determine whether Knight should stand trial in the case was suspended Friday when Knight’s attorney said she had taken an overdose of barbiturates that left her unable to participate in her defense. She was sent for a psychiatric evaluation and is due back in Los Angeles Superior Court on Aug. 16. She has pleaded not guilty to one felony count of stalking and 24 felony counts of making criminal threats.

Outside court, Deputy Dist. Atty. Debra Archuleta expressed concern that the mental competence issue was diverting attention from the criminal allegations. Knight’s attorney, Richard Herman, countered: “What happened is this case has turned into Hollywood against Dawnette Knight, and it’s not a fair fight.�

The letters and calls central to the case touched a wide circle of Hollywood figures -- among those who received threats against Zeta-Jones were onetime Fox Network President Doug Herzog, CAA agent Bryan Lourd, society hostess Dani Janssen and the actress’ famous father-in-law, Kirk Douglas. None, according to Knight’s attorney, went directly to Zeta-Jones or Michael Douglas -- although the Oscar-winning couple testified this week that they nevertheless received the frightening message loud and clear.

The stars’ court appearance not only attracted a huge swarm of international media attention but also offered a glimpse of contemporary Hollywood security concerns in an Internet- and paparazzi-dominated age.

Douglas, dressed all in gray for his court appearance Wednesday, testified somberly that the calls to the Ariel Sands in Bermuda, where he and Zeta-Jones both said they’d always felt secure and protected, were especially troubling.

He told the court they installed caller ID at the hotel after the threats.

While still in Bermuda, Douglas said, he got a call from family friend Janssen, the widow of actor David Janssen, who told him about the letters she had received. “They described the hallway in our apartment building; it spoke specifically of our nanny,� Douglas said. “The proximity made us terrified.�

When Zeta-Jones took the stand later in the day, she spoke of being in Amsterdam to shoot “Ocean’s 12� this spring. By that time, she had a full-time security guard sleeping in the adjoining suite; the guard inspected her room before she would enter it, and checked that it was locked when she left. Even so, when she was there, another death-threat call came.

The actress’ assistant called a meeting with Zeta-Jones and her bodyguard. “I knew exactly what it was about,� Zeta-Jones recalled. “I was waiting for this to happen, hoped it wouldn’t happen, but it happened. This person was trying to find me in Amsterdam.�

She described the whole experience as “personal terrorism that changed my life.�

During the preliminary hearing, Zeta-Jones, who wore a plain black knit dress to court, was near tears at times as she read from 19 of the letters, one by one.

“When we get through with her ... her body will be unrecognizable, or maybe we’ll just blow her away so her head and hair look like President Kennedy’s,� Zeta-Jones read from the 14th letter, determined to keep her composure, although her long black hair was mussed by this point because she had run her hands through it so often. The envelope was marked to appear as if it had been sent by Kirk Douglas to Janssen, who each year hosts an exclusive Oscar night bash.

Zeta-Jones continued reading. “You let Catherine know we follow her everywhere, and we mean everywhere, including your Oscar party.�

After the actress read each letter, Archuleta, who heads the stalking and threat assessment team of the Los Angeles district attorney’s office, asked Zeta-Jones how she felt.

“I’m starting to run out of words, I’m trying to retain my emotions for what I’m doing here,� Zeta-Jones said. “I can’t even imagine how a sane human being would have these images locked in her brain. It’s beyond my comprehension.�

Stalking and domestic violence are hardly rare -- the Los Angeles district attorney’s office prosecutes about 75 felony stalking and threat cases per year -- but few cases draw notice beyond the people directly involved. The opposite is true of the cases involving Hollywood victims. Actress Teresa Saldana, who had been in 1980’s “Raging Bull,� was stabbed in the chest and abdomen 26 times by an obsessed stalker in 1982. She has since become an advocate for victims’ rights. Others who have been caught up in stalking cases include actress Meg Ryan, director Steven Spielberg and singer Britney Spears.

“Celebrities have their own unique set of obsessed fans and stalkers,� Archuleta said in an interview. Although she declined to discuss any specifics of the Knight case, she added that stars who become targeted by stalkers “typically try to take care of the situation privately. In this particular case, it couldn’t be done.� And, she said, “unlike a completed crime, the stalking can go on forever. Even if the stalker is convicted and incarcerated, at some point that person will come out and it starts all over again.�

Douglas and Zeta-Jones said they had never met Knight. Speaking to reporters earlier in the week, Herman attempted to downplay the severity of the letters, most of which he acknowledged his client wrote.

“My client was infatuated with Michael Douglas,� Herman said. “She read the ‘tabs’.... It led to a silly escalation.... My client would never hurt anyone.�

Herman also said his client had written to the couple, apologizing for any “distress� she may have caused.