Former Paul Bernardo fan charged in U.S. Consulate attack
CHRIS DOUCETTE AND JOE WARMINGTON
First posted: Tuesday, July 12, 2016 08:50 PM EDT | Updated: Tuesday, July 12, 2016 08:58 PM EDT
A woman who once claimed to be Paul Bernardo’s biggest fan is back behind bars after allegedly slashing a guard’s throat at the U.S. Consulate in downtown Toronto.
Michelle Erstikaitis, 36, who was deemed a dangerous offender five years ago, appeared in a College Park courtroom Tuesday looking dishevelled and ranting about wanting “a refugee lawyer” to handle her case.
She is charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault and carrying a concealed weapon.
“I’m a Canadian citizen and I want to leave this country,” Erstikaitis said in open court.
Toronto Police claim the apparently-unprovoked attack unfolded in the lobby of the consulate at 360 University Ave., north of Queen St. W., around 11:15 a.m. Monday.
“We received a call about a woman who was screaming and yelling, being verbally aggressive and refusing to leave premises,” Const. Jenifferjit Sidhu said Tuesday.
Toronto Sun sources alleged the woman initially asked for asylum but soon began shouting “ISIS is coming to kill you” and other odd things.
“It was a bad scene,” alleged one source, who claimed the woman “launched at the security person and attempted to cut his carotid artery.”
Officers arrived and found a guard suffering from multiple stab wounds.
“It’s alleged the woman tried to force her way into the consulate while armed with a three-inch box cutter,” said Sidhu, who added she rushed through the body scanner at the front entrance prompting a guard to react.
As the guard grabbed the woman, she allegedly slashed his throat with the razor-sharp box-cutter narrowly missing a major artery, sources say.
“He managed to avoid serious injury,” Sidhu said, adding the guard’s arm was also sliced before the woman was subdued.
The U.S. Consulate did not immediately respond to a request for a comment.
The violent attack occurred just hours before an inmate at a Michigan courthouse shot two bailiffs dead and wounded a sheriff’s deputy.
The accused, who has a lengthy history of criminal violence and mental health issues, complained during her court appearance about being “tortured” and “terrorized” by “my government” while pointing to a nasty gash on her head.
It’s unclear how the woman suffered the wound but police claim the cut was already stapled shut when she allegedly arrived at the U.S. Consulate.
Erstikaitis was remanded in custody while she awaits her next court appearance on July 26.
The accused woman's background:
Michelle Lyne Erstikaitis, a diagnosed psychopath and former fan of school-girl killer Paul Bernardo, was released from prison five years ago despite being declared a dangerous offender. The 36-year-old is accused of attempting to kill a guard at the U.S. Consulate in Toronto.
— Born to a drug addicted sex worker, she was placed in foster care when she was five and adopted by a Hamilton family a few years later.
— By the time she reached her teens she had been hospitalized numerous times for depression, anti-social personality disorder and other mental health issues.
— At 13, she became obsessed with Paul Bernardo and began writing love letters to the serial rapist and killer as he awaited trial for the brutal murders of Leslie Mahaffy, 14, and Kristen French, 15.
— She was convicted at 19 of uttering threats and sentenced to two years probation for repeatedly calling the Mahaffy home and threatening to kill the mother and brother of one of Bernardo’s victims.
— Months later, at 20, she was arrested after dumping gasoline in her Hamilton apartment and setting it ablaze. Firefighters rescued her.
— She was subsequently convicted of arson and other offences, underwent psychological testing that determined she was a psychopath and received a long-term offender designation requiring her to be supervised for six years after being freed from prison.
— In 2010, she pleaded guilty to charges from an incident a year earlier where she stabbed her boyfriend with scissors.
— At her own urging, the courts deemed her a dangerous offender in 2011 before releasing her from prison once again.
— Weeks later, the 31-year-old was stuffing envelopes for a Conservative candidate in Toronto during the lead-up to the federal election. She obtained the volunteer position using the name Elle Lisson but was soon dismissed once her past came to light.
— In 2013, while working as a writer for Your Ward News, she claimed in an article that she had been online friends with Luka Magnotta before he dismembered Jin Lu and mailed his body parts to federal political party offices.
CDoucette@postmedia.com
Michelle Erstikaitis
Former Paul Bernardo fan charged in U.S. Consulate attack | Toronto & GTA | News
CHRIS DOUCETTE AND JOE WARMINGTON
First posted: Tuesday, July 12, 2016 08:50 PM EDT | Updated: Tuesday, July 12, 2016 08:58 PM EDT
A woman who once claimed to be Paul Bernardo’s biggest fan is back behind bars after allegedly slashing a guard’s throat at the U.S. Consulate in downtown Toronto.
Michelle Erstikaitis, 36, who was deemed a dangerous offender five years ago, appeared in a College Park courtroom Tuesday looking dishevelled and ranting about wanting “a refugee lawyer” to handle her case.
She is charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault and carrying a concealed weapon.
“I’m a Canadian citizen and I want to leave this country,” Erstikaitis said in open court.
Toronto Police claim the apparently-unprovoked attack unfolded in the lobby of the consulate at 360 University Ave., north of Queen St. W., around 11:15 a.m. Monday.
“We received a call about a woman who was screaming and yelling, being verbally aggressive and refusing to leave premises,” Const. Jenifferjit Sidhu said Tuesday.
Toronto Sun sources alleged the woman initially asked for asylum but soon began shouting “ISIS is coming to kill you” and other odd things.
“It was a bad scene,” alleged one source, who claimed the woman “launched at the security person and attempted to cut his carotid artery.”
Officers arrived and found a guard suffering from multiple stab wounds.
“It’s alleged the woman tried to force her way into the consulate while armed with a three-inch box cutter,” said Sidhu, who added she rushed through the body scanner at the front entrance prompting a guard to react.
As the guard grabbed the woman, she allegedly slashed his throat with the razor-sharp box-cutter narrowly missing a major artery, sources say.
“He managed to avoid serious injury,” Sidhu said, adding the guard’s arm was also sliced before the woman was subdued.
The U.S. Consulate did not immediately respond to a request for a comment.
The violent attack occurred just hours before an inmate at a Michigan courthouse shot two bailiffs dead and wounded a sheriff’s deputy.
The accused, who has a lengthy history of criminal violence and mental health issues, complained during her court appearance about being “tortured” and “terrorized” by “my government” while pointing to a nasty gash on her head.
It’s unclear how the woman suffered the wound but police claim the cut was already stapled shut when she allegedly arrived at the U.S. Consulate.
Erstikaitis was remanded in custody while she awaits her next court appearance on July 26.
The accused woman's background:
Michelle Lyne Erstikaitis, a diagnosed psychopath and former fan of school-girl killer Paul Bernardo, was released from prison five years ago despite being declared a dangerous offender. The 36-year-old is accused of attempting to kill a guard at the U.S. Consulate in Toronto.
— Born to a drug addicted sex worker, she was placed in foster care when she was five and adopted by a Hamilton family a few years later.
— By the time she reached her teens she had been hospitalized numerous times for depression, anti-social personality disorder and other mental health issues.
— At 13, she became obsessed with Paul Bernardo and began writing love letters to the serial rapist and killer as he awaited trial for the brutal murders of Leslie Mahaffy, 14, and Kristen French, 15.
— She was convicted at 19 of uttering threats and sentenced to two years probation for repeatedly calling the Mahaffy home and threatening to kill the mother and brother of one of Bernardo’s victims.
— Months later, at 20, she was arrested after dumping gasoline in her Hamilton apartment and setting it ablaze. Firefighters rescued her.
— She was subsequently convicted of arson and other offences, underwent psychological testing that determined she was a psychopath and received a long-term offender designation requiring her to be supervised for six years after being freed from prison.
— In 2010, she pleaded guilty to charges from an incident a year earlier where she stabbed her boyfriend with scissors.
— At her own urging, the courts deemed her a dangerous offender in 2011 before releasing her from prison once again.
— Weeks later, the 31-year-old was stuffing envelopes for a Conservative candidate in Toronto during the lead-up to the federal election. She obtained the volunteer position using the name Elle Lisson but was soon dismissed once her past came to light.
— In 2013, while working as a writer for Your Ward News, she claimed in an article that she had been online friends with Luka Magnotta before he dismembered Jin Lu and mailed his body parts to federal political party offices.
CDoucette@postmedia.com
Michelle Erstikaitis
Former Paul Bernardo fan charged in U.S. Consulate attack | Toronto & GTA | News