To Catch a Wacko: Outing the David Caruso "eStalker"

Grand Theft Auto Photo: David Caruso/Sofia Milos Photos, Revisited.

2007-11-03T18:25:00.000-05:00

Back in early July, To Catch a Wacko posted an entry that concerned a photo that featured actors Sofia Milos and David Caruso, submitted to celebandme.com last April by a supposed fan named "Karen".

Given the inconsistent and characteristically sloppy info included with the submission, we speculated that the photo was misappropriated by none other than the lady primarily known by cyber-aliases "Vixen" and "Karen Spelling" -- as you readers might recall, the mysterious and creepy Austrian national with an on-line/off-line obsession with [stalking] David Caruso, his family, and other associates.

To our surprise, the moderators over at celebandme.com found our site and soon shared our misgivings over the authenticity of the photo. After learning of the cyber-stalker's propensity to steal and misrepresent on-line intellectual property, the mods promptly removed the photo.

Recall, however, that a few questions remained unresolved:

Who is the fan in the photo and where has she published the image before?
Was the photo misappropriated and used on celebandme.com without the real owner's knowledge/authorization?
Were there (or are there) 'contests' for fans to visit the CSI: Miami set?

We're happy to report that we can finally answer these questions. To Catch a Wacko is grateful to Jenny, a bubbly and highly cognizant net surfer, for supplying us with the following details.

Thank you, Jenny!

With regard to Question #1, we now know that the photo belongs to Elisabetta Armiato (see the above image), a retired Prima Ballerina and former pupil of Scuola di Ballo del Teatro alla Scala (the "Ballet School of the Teatro alla Scala"), who now instructs her own specialized classes/workshops in the art of body movement.

Indeed, Armiato would be the "mysterious" third person in the photo with Milos and Caruso. It was taken on the set of CSI: Miami in 2005, during the filming of a season 3 episode (319 - "Sex & Taxes").

A trip to Armiato's official site, ABCoftheBody.com, proves to be the authentic source of the photo (note the gallery). There are also several other photos/video demos of Armiato working with Sofia Milos. Additionally, a cropped version of the photo appears on Sofia Milos' official site (see here, scroll down). It turns out that the actress is a close friend and a private pupil of Armiato. Thus, this would explain the connection between the ballerina and CSI: Miami.

The photo was also posted and discussed among patrons of a third external site -- CSIfiles.com -- on its official message board (see here). Interestingly, it was posted a few days *after* To Catch A Wacko first brought up our suspicions about the photo, and it would appear the patrons of CSIfiles.com were not aware of "Vixen" or her fraudulent photo submission. We thus conclude that the sloppy cyber-stalker would have most definitely pilfered the photo from Elisabetta Armiato's site.

To answer Question #2, we figure that neither Armiato nor Milos were aware that their photo was misappropriated/egregiously misrepresented by "Vixen/Karen Spelling" as a result of its incidental connection to Caruso. Indeed, given past incidents of stolen celebrity candids, we reckon they *still* may not be aware.

Finally, as for Question #3, we're still not sure whether CBS offers "fan contests" but this may be a moot concern at this point -- as we've already authenticated the true source of the photo through the first two questions.

Nevertheless, we can finally lay this particular mystery to rest. As we initially suspected, the photo A) was published prior to the submission to celebandme.com, B) the submission itself was fraudulent and C) the impostor, "Karen", is clearly You-Know-Who. Moreover, we're now sure that this incident further proves that our cyber-stalking Austrian woman -- endlessly obsessed with "cyber-revenge" against a presumably oblivious TV actor -- continues to defy the boundaries of absurdity. Fortunately, everyone else has a better grasp of reality.

To "The Delusional One" herself, we'd just like say -- "nice try".

Cyberstalker turns up in month-old German press reports?

2007-09-10T23:24:00.000-05:00

In a very surreal turn of events, it would appear that we finally have an answer to a few questions that this To Catch A Wacko blog half-jokingly/half-seriously raised several months ago (see: "How a Deranged Cyberstalker was Born") .

Either this is all a really bad coincidence or the mysterious woman behind more than two-dozen web pseudonyms, and countless online forum disruptions, appears to be a woman allegedly wanted by the US and Austrian criminal authorities for really stalking Caruso off-line.

It turns out that the German and Austrian press published these claims back in late July. Here is one such source, a German-only web paper based in Triol, Austria. An English translation of this particular article can be read after the "jump".

Many, many thanks to Christiane and Chris for being really generous about providing us with this English translation.

July 20, 2007
LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
Unfulfilled autograph request: death threat
A woman from Innsbruck, Austria was tried for 'dangerous threats’ this Thursday. She had threatened to kill none other than the lead actor of the TV series CSI: Miami.

Threats sent by letter
The US TV-star David Caruso, lead actor of the TV show CSI:Miami and best known by his screen-name - "Horatio Caine" - received a death threat by a woman from Innsbruck [Austria]. Apparently, the woman wrote almost 100 letters to the actor. When her request for an autograph was not answered she threatened to kill Caruso and his girl-friend in a registered letter.

"CSI: Innsbruck" identified the perpetrator
The FBI together with the Austrian police department started to investigate the matter. They quickly identified the origin of the letters.

Suspect on the loose
The woman who is being accused of threatening the actor has disappeared. Neither family nor employer seems to have any knowledge of her whereabouts.

"The trial will be held in her absence," so says Günther Gast, the appointed defense attorney of the accused stalker. "My client has not been seen at work. Her family fears that something bad has happened."

Whether David Caruso has ever received the letters is doubtful, probably not very likely.

US requests extradition
Since the US government has issued a request for extradition, it would be dangerous for the woman to be on her way to Miami – the [filming] location of CSI: Miami - as she has done many times in the past.

"The worst thing to do now would be to book a flight to the US. The woman would be taken into custody at the airport and would face considerably higher charges than she would in this country."

DA has never seen his client
"The missing stalker is probably a woman who appears without many obvious problems in life. She has family and is successful in her job," so goes the description given by her defense attorney. He has, however, never met her in person.

She did not appear in court on Thursday, where she was to be tried for making 'dangerous threats'. A psychiatrist attested the Caruso-fan may have a profound mental disability. A second medical opinion will examine how dangerous the woman is.

Source: http://tirol.orf.at/stories/208788

It's all rather unnerving, for lack of better terms, and generally not as funny as the situation once appeared to be, particularly since the mysterious woman has disrupted on-line communities on a daily basis even after the reports were published weeks ago.

At the end of the day, in spite of our speculation that the mysterious woman was deeply disturbed, we didn't imagine that the situation went beyond an issue of just some highly narcissistic and annoying internet troll. Nor did it occur to us that the "cyberstalking" was a serious extension of real physical staking.

Finally, it's just a tad disturbing that our initial question -- "what gives?" -- would be answered under such criminal legal circumstances. One may vehemently like or dislike a person but there's no debating that stalking and physically threatening them is simply abnormal human behavior.

Looks like the situation has progressed *far* beyond the scope of even this blog.

Obsessive Celeb Fixations: Life Imitating Art?

2007-08-27T17:52:00.000-05:00

Explicit lyrics, mildly disturbing content, not work-safe:

It's interesting to note how much of the internet presence of the David Caruso's mysterious cyberstalker resembles a character from a song entitled "Stan" by Eminem (featuring Dido). "Stan" is the story of an overly-obsessed fan who takes his fixation with Eminem to volatile and destructive levels. Reading the lyrics, one might be slightly disturbed by how familiar this all seems.

An e-Stalker's Sloppy Handiwork (Vix-Myths Pt. 2)

2007-08-05T19:41:00.000-05:00

"Part II" of Vix-Myths™ would not have been possible without the help of a handful of patient and surprisingly resilient tipsters -- you know who you are -- THANK YOU all!

Vix-Myths Pt. 2 - False Gossip for ~~Stalkers~~ Dummies

This [*very* extensive] installment will have a look at dubious rumors concerning actress Eva La Rue (formerly of Y&R) and David Caruso because fortunately, with a little common sense, there's an unmistakable digital (and sloppy) paper trail that links the false rumor to our mysterious cyberstalker.

Let's have a look at that trail.

Back in late 2006, a college buddy -- who also happens to be a soap junkie -- sent me a link to Gloria and Karen's Y&R Dish site. Aware that I watched police/law genre shows, he assumed I would be intrigued by rumors of a secret romance between two CSI co-stars. Here's an excerpt:

KAREN: I [...] understand there are rumors on various websites that Eva LaRue (ex-Maria) and David Caruso are involved in more than just their TV show, "CSI: Miami" [...]

GLORIA: I have issues with David Caruso (won’t resort to defamation of character here), so, would that mean I’d have to have issues with Eva--by association?

And very intrigued I was, for I thought I had read a very vague account of this rumor on a different site. I didn't know at the time that the site belonged to a weird stalker. (You *might* recognize it's general content from our previous installment of Vix-Myths™). It wasn't until To Catch A Wacko was launched (6 months later) that the connection between rumors and cyberstalkers was obvious.

Now, here's where it gets interesting. A different entry from the same short-lived blog shows "vixen" providing a mini-archive of obscure sites, all supposedly corroborating the rumor to be true. The problem, of course, is that the archive does no such thing.

First of all, the archive of links are by and large re-prints and interpolations of an alleged "sighting" that, to date, remains vague, undetermined and inconclusive. Additionally, coverage and corroboration from real entertainment gossip sources -- for example, TVGuide, People Magazine, ET, or Access Hollywood -- simply do not exist.

Secondly, a few "follow-up" La Rue/Caruso reports mysteriously appeared elsewhere on the internet. One was sourced as a "blind item" on TVguide.com under the stalker's pseudonym of "Horatiolover". Amusingly, when the stalker tried to cross-post the "blind item" to another site, onlookers realized that (1) the source was *really* written by TVguide's Head Writer, Michael Ausiello and (2) the stalker had tampered with Ausiello's piece in such a way as imply that the "blind item" was about Caruso/La Rue (when, in fact, it was not). The other "report" -- which was sourced on the Hollywood Backwash gossip site by an "anonymous" author -- was also fraudulent, for it only cited the National Enquirer's homepage as it's source. In fact, the National Enquirer has not featured Caruso-relevant gossip since 2004. (And doesn't carry La Rue-relevant gossip, period!)

Thirdly, the few legitimate news sources listed in the stalker's mini-archive -- in this case, The Gazette (Canada.com) and the DenverPost -- are second and third-hand reports that ultimately cite Janet Charlton Holywood.com in confirming the rumor. In fact, a majority of the links in the mini-archive cite a March19, 2007 article by Charlton, which indicates that Caruso and La Rue were "finally out in the open with their relationship". The cyberstalker, thrilled that someone had finally picked up her wildly invented tale, celebrated the publication, fiercely defending the indisputable reliability of Janet Charlton:

So imagine the cyberstalker's surprise when two weeks later (on April 6, 2007), Janet Charlton published a RETRACTION of her March 19 article. Highlights of this retraction include:

There were mysterious sightings of the pair slipping in and out of various places around Los Angeles. But NO photos. After extensive research we are prepared to announce that David and Eva are NOT dating.

And our personal favorite:

Beyond mistaken identity, it seems Caruso's or SOMEBODY'S fanatical fans have been deliberately spreading false information to various news outlets.

OUCH! It's quite a blow to the ego when gossip sites reject one's "leads" as the work of stark-raving lunatics. But almost immediately, the stalker "blitzkrieg'ed" sites (such as the official Perez Hilton message board, now defunct) with comments admonishing Charlton for having supposedly been "bribed" by Caruso's publicists. Remember, this is the same stalker who extolled Charlton as a reliable source less than 3 weeks prior to the retraction. The irony is palpable.

Finally, both before and after the official retraction, our cybserstaker engaged in a desperate campaign of "self-sourcing" across several gossip/entertainment message boards as, again, "Horatiolover" (here and here at HollywoodRag.com) and "laruerules" (at Evalarue.com), to name but a few. By "self-sourcing" we mean posting false information on multiple message boards with no real sources other than (1) links that don't exist (2) the stalker's creepy blogs and/or (3) any of the debunked/retracted sources already discussed above.

In a nutshell, not only is the La Rue/Caruso rumor false, it was never attributed to authentic/reputable sources or fan sightings to begin with. And of course, we have come full circles -- for it was our highly delusional, characteristically sloppy cyberstalker who was "meta-submitting" and self-sourcing the false rumor to the links listed in her mini-archive all along.

Now, we know what you're thinking: why would this stalker be obsessed with linking David Caruso to Eva La Rue in a non-existent love affair? We'll explore the plausible answer in the next installment of Vix-Myths™.

Do join us then and as always, thanks for tuning in.

Is this (A) the Stalker unmasked or (B) a stolen fan photo?

2007-07-06T14:38:00.000-05:00

Most of you are familiar with our favorite cyberstalker, aka "vixen" on blogger.com/personalfanpages.com, and her habit of assuming multiple internet pseudonyms -- a list of which continue to grow over in our pseudonym directory, here. You may also be familiar with our resident Wacko's propensity to steal the intellectual property of bloggers and fans. Consider, for example, the incident described in Vix-Myths™ (Pt. 1), where the stalker, clearly without authorization, used a photo of Caruso, Rachel Fuller and Pete Townsend that was pilfered from Fuller's official blog.

Aside from outright intellectual property theft, our sick friend dabbles in misappropriation as well. Case in point, an incident where, using her Myspace pseudonym Karen/Fifitrixibelle, "vixen" sought the permission of a blogger.com user to use pics of his San Antonio encounter with David Caruso. Of course, she did not reveal that her intention was to use it to inexplicably obsess over Caruso's fashion choice. "Aaron B. (Snicker)" handled his encounter with "vixen" quite graciously but the consequential reactions to Wacko's behavior is worthy of many snark-accolades.

Now, after stumbling upon a celeb encounter-themed fan site (celebandme.com), we wonder whether the cyberstalker has a nasty habit of impersonating fans as well.

Have a look at a fan photo pictured above, featuring a fan, Caruso and his CSI: Miami co-star, Sofia Milos (click for larger). Not only is the fan photo submission attributed to one "Karen", a very familiar on-line handle from our pseudonym directory, this fan repeatedly makes curious and incorrect references to Sofia Milos as Eva LaRue (it's like mistaking a yield sign for a stop sign). In the photo caption, there's also the not-so-subtle but nevertheless dubious suggestion that Caruso/LaRue are romantically linked:

"I won a visit to the set of CSI Miami last year in September. The whole cast and crew was great. However, I noticed that David Caruso and Eva la Rue seemed especially close. They laughed a lot and the looks they exchanged told me that they are more than just colleagues. Nice."

Other than two very striking coincidences (i.e., a fan named "Karen" and references to an old and discounted rumor), there's also the suggestion that CSI: Miami offered its fans the opportunity (a contest?...) to check out the set. We weren't aware that the show actually does that.

Here's another observation. The photo submission itself was dated April 11, 2007 and its caption suggests that the picture was taken in September, 2006. For at least a year, there have also been cropped versions of the the same photo (showing just Caruso and Milos), floating around on relevant celeb/TV sites. We suspect that both versions are quite dated, as Sofia Milos hasn't actually been a regular cast member since 2004/2005. This might indicate that the cropped version existed prior to the supposed Sept. 2006 visit to the set. And if that were the case, the anecdotal caption posted on celebandme.com would be a fabrication.

In a nutshell, having had the opportunity to see the set/meet the cast and crew, it's pretty strange that a CSI: Miami fan would speak nothing of that experience and instead dwell on irrelevant and discounted rumors. Secondly, it's also bizarre that a true CSI: Miami fan would mistake Sofia Milos for Eva La Rue. Our point of course, is that if our suspicions are accurate, that "mix-up" was done deliberately.

Still, we're lead to believe that the fan in the photo is it's rightful owner and not the stalker. However, there's a strong indication that the stalker, true to her character, might have stolen/misappropriated the photo of an unsuspecting fan.

In any case, we are left asking:

Who is the fan in the photo and where has she published the image before?
Was the photo misappropriated and used on celebandme.com without the real owner's knowledge/authorization?
Were there (or are there) 'contests' for fans to visit the CSI: Miami set?

What say you, Readers? Any credible info, clarifications and corrections are encouraged and warmly welcomed.

An e-Stalker's Sloppy Handiwork (Vix-Myths Pt. 1)

2007-05-19T10:53:00.000-05:00

It's time that To Catch A Wacko seriously offered a look at the dubious and defamatory ravings of net dweller by the screen name "Vixen", a highly delusional women who's known most notably on the internet as the unofficial cyberstalker of TV actor David Caruso. Hopefully, this and future installments of Vix-Myths™ will provide helpful hints of how to recognize Vixen's sloppy "e-stalking methodologies".

Vix-Myths Pt. 1 - CSI: Rock'n'Roll

We'll begin by going way back to late December of 2006. Check out the screen shot pictured right. That's Caruso (center) with Pete Townshend, guitar god from legendary rock band The Who (right), and British indie rocker and Townshend's parter, Rachel Fuller (center).

The original picture was published by Fuller herself, on the blog of her official website, Attic Intravision. To view and read Fuller's original entry, navigate over to the December 2006 archive of Attic Intravision.

Simply a celeb-studded group pic, right? No, of course not! Not to Caruso's cyberstalker, anyway.

To the Vix-Meister, the photo only provided an opportunity to impose her overactive imagination on people who, presumably, have no idea that she is, and remains, slightly out of her freakin' mind.

Using two out of the four highly creepy stalker-blogs she simultaneously maintains (here and here), vixen consciously misrepresented the context and content of the photo (click right image for larger).

In a nutshell, our sloppy cyberstalker pilfered the photo and posted it to her own blog, obscured the fact that it came from Fuller's blog and deliberately misidentified Fuller in the picture. You see, Vixen's intention was to imply a secret romantic link between Caruso and a "mystery woman".

From the screen shot, here's how our cyberstalker actually articulated her brief but sloppy tall-tale:
"This pic is from December 20, 2006, and shows our boy with Pete Townshed (sic) and A NEW (YET UNKNOWN) WOMAN on his side."
Perhaps most shamefully comical is the manner in which our favorite e-Stalker chose to obscure the actual source:

"(Source: Internet)"

Nawwww. Ya don't say. How "thorough".

But then perhaps such a "fleeting" citation is predictable -- given the skeevy manner and context in which the picture was used, it's very likely that Vixen used the pic without Fuller's knowledge. Indeed, the odds are that, to date, neither Townshend nor Fuller have any idea that she was portrayed in that light.

What's pretty interesting is that "Vixen" is fully aware that her colossally sloppy serving of manipulation was...well, a sloppy serving of manipulation. Shortly after she published the odd insinuation, comments were left on her entry, indicating that it was actually Fuller in the picture and that Vixen was obviously manipulating the context of the photo.

"Vixen" of course, prompted deleted those comments.

Fortunately, our dim-witted cyberstalker cannot access the "delete" button on every site, allowing us to preserve and expose her sloppy mediocre handiwork in its full, shameful glory.

David Caruso's Cyberstalker: A Jack of All Trades!

2007-05-15T11:42:00.000-05:00

A cyber-stalker moonlighting as a tinfoil hat-wearing conspiracy theorist? Who knew! To clarify, this week's installment of To Catch A Wacko takes a look at some recent antics of Vixen, cyberstalker of TV actor David Caruso, under her MySpace moniker Karen/fifytrixibelle. Here's what she had to say about DC appearing on the cover of TV Guide for two years in a row (click for larger).

Yes, the 2006 and 2007 covers of TV Guide are sooooooooo similar! In fact, according to ~~Captain Obvious~~ Vixen, the cover photos must have come from --- GASP --- the same press photo session. Here's our re-presentation of Vixen's earth-shattering realization (click for larger):

Of course, our favorite stalker offers a profound conclusion for this:

"Looks like Caruso has taken out a subscription to appear EVERY YEAR at the SAME TIME on the cover of the TV Guide....LOL" (see source)

Yes, Vixen -- how seemingly "astute". Actually folks, we at To Catch a Wacko invite you to take the time to tap into your Inner Crackpot™ -- so you can begin to make sense of Vixen's observations. For example, here's a conspiracy for ya: that David Caruso and TV actor Dennis Haysbert (who plays "President David Palmer" on 24), take out a subscription, every year at the same time, to appear on the TV Guide cover TOGETHER! Behold, for we can prove it, too (click for larger).

Haysbert's got on the same cloths, strikes the same pose...Clearly an elaborate plot on the part of TV Guide, right? Of course, keep tinkering with your tinfoil hats, folks. Doing so might also direct your Inner Crackpot™ to perceive a third conspiracy on the same magazine covers...Have a closer look (click for larger):

That's right. Oprah Winfrey and Rosie O'Donnell are "in on it" too!

Alright, you can remove your tinfoil hats.

Let's just hope that Vixen hasn't joined forces with the cyberstalkers of Oprah Winfrey, Rosie O'Donnell and Dennis Haysbert. (Yikes!) You just know that such a union would involve thousands of other conspiracies, not to even speak of a 1987-2007 repository of yellowed and moldy TV Guide periodicals. But even then, such a "League of Celebrity Cyberstalkers" would produce memoirs replete with sloppy and wildly fabricated fibs.

You see, like all "jack of all trades," Vixen is still very much a "master of none".

Wacko e-Stalker: Totally Digs Talking to Herself

2007-05-09T16:06:00.000-05:00

A day or two ago we discovered that our favorite e-Stalker (The Vix-meister) was not only lurking this blog but was actively posting here as an unassuming 'devil's advocate', under a dummy Blogger.com ID of "Carmen".

It was worth noting because "Carmen" screwed around, forgot to switch fake accounts, and accidentally posted to To Catch a Wacko using here notorious web handle, "Vixen" (see details here) -- a classic case of comedy that writes itself.

The chuckles don't quite end there, though. In addition to presuming to be a stranger on this blog, The Vix-Meister posted comments to her own blog -- yes, as "Carmen" -- once again, as an unassuming, outside third-party (click image above for larger).

Oh yes, that's right. "Vixen" talks to herself under "multiple personalities" (something that, I'm sure, should be treated with therapy). Finally, I'm not sure what's funnier-- that:

vixen essentially creates fake traffic to her own website, or that
vixen actually waited 2 hours (approx. 8:30-10:30AM) before she responded to herself.

...Something to think about the next time you notice a stream of equally rabid, over-zealous comment-posts from "strangers" to any of our e-stalker's future updates.

e-STALKER UPDATE:

Looks like vixen's been lurking our "Wacko Hunter headquarters" again because "Carmen's" original comment has suddenly and magically disappeared from her own blog!

Thank goodness for the "print screen" function.

A Cyberstalker Among Us (or "Fake ID #1,000,001")?

2007-05-07T19:17:00.000-05:00

Aside from hiding behind sock puppet accounts on the internet, our notorious David Caruso cyberstalker ("Vixen"), also typically assumes pseudonyms in order to defend herself when her own sloppiness catches up with her. This includes a whole lot of shameless ego-tripping, like extolling the entertainment value, "charm", "creativity" and even veracity of her psycho blogs, like some kind of one-person circle jerk. (With the exception, of course, where "Vixen" simultaneously assumes up to 3 pseudonyms -- then we're talking about what we can only presume is a highly awkward 3-in-1 circle jerk.)

Very recently, our sloppy stalker assumed the pseudonym of "Carmen" and managed to fly under the radar for a short while because, this time around, she opted to defend versus glorify her alter-ego.

Nevertheless, last week, our favorite e-stalker managed to blow her own cover. The best part? She did so right here at e-Stalker Headquarters! Here are the gems that landed in my inbox 6 days ago (click image above for larger).

As you'll notice in the original comment section of the relevant entry, you can't actually see a comment post left by anyone named "vixen." It was hastily deleted, perhaps after our favorite e-stalker realized too late that she forgot to switch dummy account IDs before posting.

She must have presumed that we didn't receive comment notifications via email, because she was then bold enough to re-post the same comment (give or take a few syntax, "tone" and content adjustments) under th guise of "Carmen".

Whoops!

Suffice it to say that "Carmen" will be a new addition to our archive of her notable pseudonyms.

Congratulations, Vixen, you're an idiot. (Try bidding on that t-shirt. )

One Wacko, Two Hands, & a Million Web IDs

2007-04-29T13:53:00.000-05:00

Last updated on November 28, 2007.

Do you frequent TV/movie entertainment sites? Are you a fan of the CSI show franchise, a fan of CSI: Miami in particular, or are you an enlightened, though unimpressed TV geek who thinks that the CSI franchise merely projects the far-fetched adventures of glorified coroners and lab technicians?

If you've answered "yes" to any of the questions, we have this theory that you've likely run into a peculiar web character most prominently by the web-alias "Vixen". In fact, it's more likely that you've run into her and not even know it. That's because this "Vixen" character creates multiple pseudonyms (more appropriately, "sockpuppet" names) for reasons aptly summarized last summer by The New York Times:

"sock-puppeting" [is the] act of creating a fake online identity to praise, defend or create the illusion of support for one’s self, allies or company".
--The New York Times | June 16, 2007.

Fortunately, thanks to the efforts of To Catch a Wacko contributers -- especially those of you who continue emailing us with new info and clarifications -- well over two dozen pseudonyms/dummy accounts are attributable to this "cyberstalker" and can be discounted, accordingly.

As you assess the collective list, it'll help to note that bold-faced aliases are the ones most prominent, reoccurring and "imbricated," if that makes sense. You see, the many aliases are part of a pretense to appear as multiple, unaffiliated "third parties". The bold-faced aliases simply reveal the flimsiness/obviousness of "Vixen's" pretense.

Let's begin by taking stock of the "cyberstalker's" primary and most active blogs to date:

on blogspot.com: David Caruso & Me -- as "Vixen" (DEFUNCT)
on blogspot.com: David Caruso Revealed -- also as "Vixen"
on blogspot.com: Ugly creatures -- as Cole/SweetCorn"
on personalfanpages.com: The Fame and Glory of David Caruso -- "Vixen / Vivien Leigh"
on MySpace.com: Karen's Blog -- as "Karen / Fifitrixibelle"
on TVGuide.com: Horatiolover's Blog -- as "Horatiolover"

These are obsessively updated on a daily basis, typically several times each day on one blog (e.g., David Caruso Revealed) and then cross-posted to any number of others listed above.

But, of course there's much, much more.

This "cyberstalker" also has the propensity to troll mainstream movie/television sites, entertainment news sites, TV/movie-based snark message forums and of course, celebrity gossip sites -- generally, anywhere that'll guarantee captive audiences. You'll thus also find her handiwork:

on Amazon.com -- as "H. Schnitzer"
on CSI-Forensics.com -- as "Karen Spelling or KarenS"
on Yahoo! Groups -- as "Karen Spelling / Heidi Schnitzer / dchc2005"
on bebo.com -- as "Karen Spelling / BadassVixen" (UPDATE: Note this original screen shot)
on DCWackoHunter.blogspot.com -- as "Carmen" (BANNED/DEFUNCT)
on Hollywood Rag -- as "Carusoaddict"
on The Republic of Bitch -- as "Greta Caruso"
on Hollywood Rocks -- as "QueenBitch"
on PerezHilton.com -- as "Horatio Caine"(DEFUNCT)
on Evalarue.com -- as "laruerules"
on blogspot.com -- as " SweetCorn"
on TelevisionWithoutPity.com -- as "TaylorAnn"
on TelevisionWithoutPity.com -- as "MelodyA"
on Flickr.com -- as "dchc2005"
on forums.cigaraficionado.com -- as "Hunchback of Paris"
on CSIfanatic.com -- as "Arin" (BANNED)
on CSImiamiwiki.cbs.com -- as "F73U" (BANNED)
on CSImiamiwiki.cbs.com-- as "CrazyLacy" (BANNED)
on CSImiamiwiki.cbs.com -- as "IndianRunner" (BANNED)
on CSImiamiwiki.cbs.com -- as "Snowprincess2" (BANNED)
on CSImiamiwiki.cbs.com -- as "Jason5" (BANNED)
on CSImiamiwiki.cbs.com -- as "MaterialGirl" (BANNED)
on CSImiamiwiki.cbs.com -- as "MoniqueLalique" (BANNED)
on WhosDatedWho.com -- as "Golden Angel"
on Viply.de (German language only) -- as "Anonymous"
on CBS.com (CSI: Miami forums) -- as "MISTRESS2"
on CBS.com (CSI: Miami forums) -- as "AnnaHanna"
on CBS.com (CSI: Miami forums) -- as "fansupreme"
on CBS.com (CSI: Miami forums) -- as "Mannus"
on Typekey.com -- as "Vixen / KarenSpelling"
on Forums.Manpaper.com -- as "KarenS"
on Manpaper.com -- as a slew of transparent pseudonyms
on TVGuide.com -- as SouthernBelle89 (NEW)

Additionally, consider that beyond blogs and social networking sites, this peculiar 'cyber-stalker' also obsessively sets up shop on various Internet/blog search engines. This is evidently a ploy to increase (read: inflate) the visibility of the libelous material that is published on her multiple blogs and web profiles. Thus you'll find her inflating her visibility:

on Digg.com -- as "Karen Spelling / QueenBitch2die4"
on Digg.com -- as "CrazyRabbit2"
on Digg.com -- as "QueenBitch2die4"
on Technorati.com -- as "QueenB2die4"
on Technorati.com -- as "Queen2die4"
on Technorati.com -- as "ColeP"
on Zimbio.com -- as "DavidCaruso" (NEW)
on Digg.com -- as "Karen Caine / StealthQueen" (NEW)
on Digg.com -- as "Mermaid7" (NEW)
on Digg.com -- as "sugarpuss2" (NEW)

In any case, most of the links (some defunct/inactive/banned) typically reflect the same characteristically vitriolic content/tirades. Almost all are marked by the same focuses, obsessions and themes, including:

fabricated rumors about Caruso/his family/past and present associations
an obsession with referencing outdated/90s-era supermarket tabloid pieces about Caruso
stolen/misappropriated photos of Caruso with fans, family or associates
confidential information on Caruso/his family/his associates (e.g. SSNs, phone#, financial records, addresses)
sloppy and emotional diatribes on anything or anyone remotely associated with David Caruso

There are also "bonus" pseudonyms, falling into 3 categories.

(1) The "Too Obvious" Category:

on IMDb.com -- as "tfb1956"
on IMDb.com -- as "miamilover"
on IMDb.com -- as "QueenB2"
on IMDb.com -- as "Dixiebabe"
on IMDb.com -- as "ladyKSC"
on IMDb.com -- as "MelodyAnn"
on IMDb.com -- as "sks97" (NEW)
on IMDb.com -- as "KitKatClub" (NEW)
on IMDb.com -- as "Puppeteer67" (NEW)

...Obvious because they clearly belong to the"Vixen" character, who has spammed the IMDb message boards for CSI: Miami, Eva LaRue, Emily Proctor, and David Caruso for well over two years because they are relatively unmoderated. In the process, some of the sockpuppet aliases have become inactive or otherwise banned, including:

HeidiSchnitzer, SeXyKiTTen1975, norakuusik, ladycc,
stephaniecc, angel_girl19, yelina, and WingChick

--Thanks to whatever4024 for supplying these.

Nevertheless, the ones listed just above them remain active. Sadder still, the deranged Austrian national goes through the trouble of logging in and out of the various IMDb.com accounts on a daily basis, and all to forge the pretense of "support" that the NY Times quote points out.

(2) The "Too Creepy" Category:

on justblogme.com -- as "David Caruso" (DEFUNCT)

...Creepy because The Vix-meister attempted to impersonate David Caruso, publishing entries that solicited sex from female web surfers. In other words, this "Vixen" character felt she could compel people to believe that a TV actor would peruse a cheap, adware-riddled blog platform, not for publicity, but rather to sleep with random strangers from the internet. We suspect that only Freudian psychology can explain the cyberstalker's resentful yet intensely sexual preoccupation with Caruso (Exhibit "A").

(3) The "Too Hilarious" Category:

on Topix.com -- as "Angel Wing 5" (BANNED)
on Topix.com -- as "SunnyMind (BANNED)
on Topix.com -- as "Miriam" (BANNED)
on Topix.com -- as "Stella" (BANNED)
on Topix.com -- as "Anonymous" (BANNED)

...Hilarious because initially, the cyberstalker wasn't aware that Topix automatically displays posters' IP location. Consequentially, every post she submitted revealed that she accessed the web from Austria, inadvertently discounting past claims of being a German national residing in Beverly Hills, CA (or sometimes, "Miami, FL"). Indeed, on one occasion, the cyberstalker even accidentally used one username from two different IP locations within the very same thread post: as "SunnyMind" from Innsbruck, Austria AND from Dornau, Austria. Topix.com thus made it obvious that she likely accessed the web from both home and at work, depending on the time of day.

Finally, the pseudonyms "Stella" and "Miriam," of course, appeared on the forum solely to "support" and "corroborate" posts made by "SunnyMind." Suffice it to say, however, that "Stella" and "Miriam" were not having daily slumber parties at "SunnyMind's" house. With the aliases interchangeably pegged as posts from Innsbruck and Dornau, it was embarrassingly clear that one was busy juggling three sockpuppet names.

Since that time, most of the registered pseudonyms have been banned from Topix. In a desperate bid to stay relevant, the peculiar woman uses internet IP proxy software ("web anonymizers") to dodge scrutiny from Topix's administration. Nevertheless, she is summarily banned on a regular basis. During those periods, she then quietly lurks the site for weeks to months at a time, presumably determined to forge the pretense that there's no obvious connection between the previous and future site disruptions.

***

So there you have it -- a repository of one wacko, two hands, and a million web IDs. To the people who have left notes here or emailed us with info on the pseudonyms, To Catch a Wacko thanks you!

How a Deranged Cyberstalker was Born

2007-04-24T23:30:00.000-05:00

Hell hath no fury like a fan, with boundaries issues, scorned.

Or so that we've been lead to believe after encountering someone who goes by the screen name "Vixen" all over TV and movie sites and discussion forums. Whoever this mysterious person was had some kind of David Caruso fanatic blog up and running since approximately late July of 2006. In passing, her web-presence and the content she spammed --and the manner in which she spammed--was 'funny,' or at least fascinating in a bizarre "scene-of-a-gruesome-murder" kinda way. No matter how hard you tried, you couldn't avert your eyes from this peculiar person's fixation with one red haired, shades-wearing, CSI-portraying actor.

By January of 2007 though, the question semi-seriously became: What gives? Why Caruso?

We're not talking about the general feelings toward the Horatio Caine character of CSI: Miami. Even within the Miami fan circles, it's not unusual to hear or read arguments about the show's writing, accuracy and characters. It certainly ain't illegal to find shows, movies or actors/actresses annoying/unwatchable, either. This didn't seem to be the internet stalker's issue, though -- at least, we assume that she would have just moved on to better, alternative programming if that were really the issue.

So the question remained: What is this chick's malfunction, exactly? Not long after we began to half-jokingly/half-seriously ask these questions, I stumbled across what were the first hints of The Vix-Meister's malfunction.

It would seem that every stalker, or socially awkward/freaky "stalker-type" in general, has a "sob story" that defines their obsession(s). Upon discovering that the "Delusional One" had several, indeed, multiple internet monikers on sites ranging from perezhilton.com to IMDb.com, we deduced that The Vix-Meister had her own "sob story," too.

Hints of this were revealed in one particular blog post (scroll down to the comment section) under The Vix-Meister's alternative name, "Horatiolover", at tvguide.com.

However, after we initially drew attention to her original response, "Horatiolover" promptly deleted it. Fortunately, our cyberstalker was much too dim to realize that Google cache retained the original post in tact, which enabled me to grab a screen shot (click the above-right image for larger).

An "unpleasant run-in on July 22, 2006"? Naturally, this stoked our curiosity. It didn't take very long to discover The Vix-Meister elsewhere on the net, this time under the decidedly creepy web handle, "GretaCaruso", offering the reasons behind how and why she became David Caruso's unofficial cyberstalker (click for larger):

Boo-hoo-hoo, indeed. Two things appeared to trigger almost a year's worth of amassing financial information, badly "doctored" photos and rehashing National Enquirer articles aimed at one presumably oblivious David Caruso:

a warped sense of fan entitlement, and
a deluded overindulgence of celebrity worship.

We still haven't determined the veracity of the sob story; in the mean time, we generally don't know what to make of this peculiar fixation. We just presume that most normal people do not require an "anti-blog" more than a dozen different internet pseudonyms, and a year-long grudge to get over some uneventful celeb encounter.

...But then The Vix-Meister doesn't appear to be like most normal people. Consequently, a jilted "e-Stalker" was born.

Welcome/Welkommen!

2007-04-24T16:07:00.000-05:00

What started out as a surreal joke is now an effort to diffuse the web disruptions of a middle-aged woman with a delusional and vitriolic obsession with one middle-aged TV actor, David Caruso.

Under her primary internet moniker ("Vixen"), and more than two-dozen various web pseudonyms, the woman -- reportedly, once an overly-obsessed fan of the actor -- has spent an inordinate amount of time disrupting entertainment news and TV/movie forums, in a melodramatic exercise of "score-settling" against the [presumably oblivious] actor.

This stranger engages in a variety of on-line weirdness that, we figure, can only be described as "cyberstalking". In most situations, formal complaints are discreetly forwarded to site mods, who then dispose of th spam associated with this mysterious woman. Sometimes however, there are no moderators on hand to restore order or remove the apparent cyberstalker's annoying spam.

That's where To Catch A Wacko comes in.

Evidently, internet anonymity is conducive to the mysterious woman's ability to hide behind multiple web handles, making it easier for her to disrupt sites/discussion boards with virtual impunity. With this in mind, the purpose of To Catch A Wacko is simple -- that of:

(1) "outing" the troll's many web handles,
(2) undermining her reliance on internet pseudonyms , and
(3) hopefully, providing a reference for web surfers who need to report abuse to the moderators of external sites that have been disrupted by the character in question.

Thanks to the help of contributors and resourceful web surfers, this blog revolves around:

>> One Wacko, Two Hands, & a Million Web IDs <<

...a regularly updated list of pseudonyms that belong to the aggressive but clumsy internet troll.

The rest of this blog offers secondary/supplemental content, including theories (e.g., how and why the cyberstalker assumed her ridiculously volatile alter-ego), handy alerts (e.g., on intellectual property theft committed by the cyberalker) and good ol' fashioned humor (e.g., satire and snark on the stalker's apparent descent into cyber-madness).

Welcome to
To Catch a Wacko:
Outing David Caruso's eStalker.