In 1995 case of People v. Hoskins illustrates how California’s stalking and terrorist threat laws work hand in hand to protect victims. In May 1995 Hoskins was arrested and charged with the following crimes:
- Stalking and making a terrorist threat against entertainer Madonna Ciccone;
- Making terrorist threats against Madonna’s bodyguard, Basil Stephens, and personal assistant, Caresse Henry; and
- Assaulting Madonna’s bodyguard.
In April 1995, Hoskins scaled a wall surrounding Madonna’s Los Angeles home and proceeded to the courtyard adjacent to the living quarters. Basil Stephens, Madonna’s bodyguard, observed him and scared Hoskins away. He returned the next day and was rebuffed by Caresse Henry, Madonna’s personal assistant, who was alone in the house. Hoskins, who was at the gated entrance to the house, grew enraged and threatened to kill both Madonna and Henry. He left a note for Madonna in her intercom call box at the gate. The note was written over a printed religious tract named “DEFILED” (Figure 1). The word “Madonna” is written above the word “defiled” and “Louise Ciccone” (Madonna’s middle and last names) is written under the title. The note reads, “I love you. Will you be my wife for keeps. Robert Dewey Hoskins.” The other side of that page reads “I’m very sorry. Meet me somewhair (sic). Love for keeps. Robert Dewey Hoskins.” On the side of that page, contained in a drawn circle were the words, “be mind (sic) and I’ll be yours.” Beneath this “love note,” the printed religious tract describes how sinners who fornicate outside marriage should be killed and those who do not go around properly clothed should be punished.
Henry, who knew that Hoskins had scaled the wall the night before and gained access to the property, telephoned Stephens who responded by returning to the house and confronting Hoskins. Hoskins threatened to kill the bodyguard if he did not give Madonna the note he had left. Hoskins told Stephens that if Madonna didn’t marry Hoskins that evening, he would “slice her throat from ear to ear.” Stephens chased Hoskins away, but as Hoskins walked down the road, he encountered Madonna pedaling up the road on her bicycle. Madonna testified that Hoskins stopped and gave her a look that “chilled” her, but then walked on, fortunately not recognizing her.
The threats were conveyed to Madonna by Stephens and Henry when she arrived at the house 3 minutes after Hoskins’ departure. The police were called but could not locate him. Madonna testified at trial that when she was shown Hoskins’ note, she “shivered.”
Hoskins returned to the house 7 weeks later and again scaled the wall to gain entry onto the property. When he was confronted by Stephens, Hoskins threatened to kill him. Hoskins lunged for the bodyguard’s holstered gun. A struggle ensued, and Stephens was able to regain control of the gun. Despite repeated commands to surrender, Hoskins again lunged and was shot twice in the abdomen with a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol by the bodyguard. Madonna testified at the trial that she was still having nightmares about Hoskins 8 months after these incidents occurred, a not unusual symptom of psychological trauma (DSM-IV). She described that in one of these nightmares, she was sitting in her office at home and Hoskins came up the stairs and confronted her. She was paralyzed with fright and asked him “How did you get into my house?” Hoskins replied, “I’ve been hiding downstairs for quite a while and now seems like the time to come upstairs” (Reporter’s Transcript on Appeal, Vol. 1, p. 63). She also testified that she had other nightmares in which Hoskins was in her house, trying to kill her, and chasing after her (Reporter’s Transcript on Appeal, Vol. 1, p. 57).
Madonna was reluctant to come to court and testify. The detective in this case had to surveil her home waiting for her to go jogging with her trainer. When she finally emerged from the house, the detective had to jog after her to personally serve her with a subpoena to be in court the next day. This was reported by the media, who had also staked out Madonna’s house, hoping something would happen. The next day, as reporters surged around the courthouse, Madonna failed to appear in court despite the subpoena. Her lawyer went to court and argued that Madonna was not needed to testify at trial as she was not a material witness. The press had a field day with that argument. The prosecution argued that we could not go forward with the case without her, as we had to establish that Hoskins’ actions subjectively put her in fear for her safety. We requested that a body attachment be issued for her arrest, to guarantee that she would be present at trial. A body attachment is similar to an arrest warrant, but it is issued for a witness who disobeys a court order (i.e., the subpoena) and fails to appear in court as ordered. The witness must then remain in custody until needed for trial, or guarantees an appearance by posting the equivalent of bail. The judge issued a body attachment in the amount of 5 million dollars, but stated that it would not be released until the day of the actual trial, when Madonna would have to appear or be taken into custody. These proceedings were reported in newspapers and on television programs across the United States.
The trial began 2 weeks after the body attachment incident. The potential jury panel was specifically questioned as to what they had already seen or heard about the case. Almost everyone on the panel was aware of the incident that had taken place 2 weeks previously. Many of them stated that they had heard or seen other media reports regarding the case itself.
The judge asked individual jurors their opinion about cameras in the courtroom, as the court had just held a highly contested hearing in which the media argued that they had a First Amendment right to have cameras record the Hoskins trial. Both the prosecution and the defense, joined by Madonna’s attorney, argued that the cameras should be kept outside the courtroom. The 0. J. Simpson criminal trial had been held 2 months previously in the same courthouse, and many blamed the media for the circus-like atmosphere surrounding that trial. When asked by the judge, no one in the Hoskins jury pool wanted cameras in the courtroom because they believed that it would be too intrusive. The cameras were banned.
Madonna appeared in court, as ordered, and was called as the People’s first witness. As most members of the jury were already aware that the prosecution had to force her to come to court, damage control was necessary. I asked Madonna on the stand how she felt about being in court with Hoskins across from her, She replied, “Sick to my stomach . . . I feel incredibly disturbed that the man who has repeatedly threatened my life is sitting across from me and we have somehow made his fantasies come true (in that) I am sitting in front of him and that is what he wants” (Reporter’s Transcript on Appeal, Vol. I, p.p. 102-103). The look on her face said it all as she glanced at Hoskins. Hoskins just sat at the counsel table, humming a song to himself.
CONVICTION AND SENTENCING
The jury found Hoskins guilty of stalking, making terrorist threats, and assault on Madonna’s bodyguard. After the trial, several of the jurors were interviewed by the media. One female juror was asked whether she would have been afraid of Hoskins if she was in Madonna’s place. Her reply was, “Of course. Who wouldn’t be?”
Between the time of his conviction and the time of his sentencing, Hoskins filled his cell walls with graffiti that read, “I Love Madonna” and “Madonna Love Me” and underneath his bed he wrote “The Madonna Stalker” (Figures 2 and 3). When a Sheriff’s Deputy confronted him about the graffiti, Hoskins said Madonna wrote it and that when he got out of jail, he was “going to slice the lying bitch’s throat from ear to ear.” At the sentencing hearing, the Sheriff’s Deputy was called as a witness to repeat Hoskins’ statement. The judge sentenced Hoskins to the maximum term of 10 years in the state prison.
On July 11, 1997, Hoskins was brought back to court on a legal technicality in which the judge needed to indicate on the record that she knew that she had jurisdiction to ignore his prior burglary conviction but chose not to do so when she had originally sentenced him. Hoskins appeared in court and seemed much calmer and lucid than he had been during the trial. The judge commented on the improvement in his appearance. After the judge made it clear that she believed that 10 years in prison was the appropriate sentence for Hoskins’ crimes, she asked him if he had been receiving any type of mental health treatment while in prison. Hoskins became visibly upset and told the judge that he had not received any treatment because there was “nothing wrong with me.” He then stated that he had been mistreated in prison, but that he had a friend on the outside who would help him take care of things. Hoskins then leaned toward the judge and told her that when he got out of prison, he was coming back to take care of everyone in the courtroom.
THE MEDIA AND THE JURY
Prosecuting a case involving a world-famous personality, such as Madonna, presented some unique problems. From the day that Hoskins was arrested until after his sentencing, this case was scrutinized by the worldwide press, magazine arid television reporters, and cameramen. At first, the press found the surrounding facts of the case amusing. One headline referred to Hoskins as “Mr. Madonna” and focused on how he told several people that he was Madonna’s husband. He was portrayed as a harmless eccentric. These articles did not include how Hoskins had threatened to slice Madonna’s throat from ear to ear. A reporter from a British newspaper called and asked how our office could prosecute this poor man who, after all, had been shot by Madonna’s bodyguard. It was pointed out to the reporter that Hoskins was shot only after he had attacked and tried to kill Basil Stephens.
The danger of all this pretrial publicity was that a lot of misinformation was given to the public from which the jury pool was to be selected. When a jury is first seated, they must be fair and impartial, and not tainted by things they may have previously seen or heard in the media.
Ten years later, Hoskins is still incarcerated. He is currently in a locked-down criminal psychiatric facility, having been evaluated as still a great danger to the community. When he was interviewed by a prison psychologist approximately three years ago, Hoskins told him that the first thing that he was going to do upon his release was to purchase a gun and start "shooting at the stars". He also told the psychologist that he knew that when he attacked Basil Stephens, that Stephens was really "Madonna in male form" and that Madonna's spirit could leave her body and become someone else. Imagine what would happen should Hoskins finally be released and carries out his plan to obtain a gun. In his mind, anyone including a small child, could be Madonna, and Hoskins is patiently waiting to take his revenge.
CONCLUSION
Stalkers do not simply “fade away.” Their continued actions can, and in some cases do, lead to murder or serious injury. Strong state stalking laws, if properly utilized, could prevent tragedies from occurring. Legislators need to realize that by enacting tough stalking laws, they will enable law enforcement to intervene before these cases turn into homicides or serious bodily injury is inflicted on the victim or those surrounding the victim. Stronger sentencing, meaning longer terms of incarceration, and felony classification need to be implemented in states that view stalking as merely a low—grade misdemeanor. Prosecutors and law enforcement need the proper “tools” to protect the citizens of their states who depend on them. With strong stalking laws and the education of the public and law enforcement as to the seriousness of the crime of stalking, lives can be saved.
Check out more articles by Rhonda Saunders, J.D.
In 1995 case of People v. Hoskins illustrates how California’s stalking and terrorist threat laws work hand in hand to protect victims. In May 1995 Hoskins was arrested and charged with the following crimes:
