Sheryl Crow told a New York court yesterday (Nov. 22) that an encounter with a former Navy diver charged with stalking her made her feel “really nervous” and “alarmed.” Testifying in the trial of Ambrose Kappos, 38, the singer/songwriter said she also feared for the safety of family members after the defendant showed up at her father’s office and repeatedly called her sister.
Kappos is charged with stalking, harassment and burglary stemming from his Oct. 6, 2003, arrest in New York. He is accused of breaking into a Manhattan ballroom where Crow was rehearsing and trying to get close to her before being stopped.
“All of a sudden, there was chaos … and I heard someone yelling, ‘Back away, Back away,'” Crow said. “It was chaotic and very alarming. That’s when I became aware of who he was.”
Kappos said to her, “Hi, I’m Ambrose” before he was hustled away, Crow testified. “I was alarmed, more than anything else. I was really nervous about it,” she said.
The performer testified she first heard of Kappos from her father, Wendell, after the ex-diver paid an unexpected visit to his office in Missouri. Crow’s sister, Kathryn, testified she received phone calls from Kappos at her home and office in Tennessee, starting in June 2002, asking her to arrange a meeting with her famous sibling.
Kathryn Crow said Kappos told her he had “a message from God” for her sister. Crow’s father recounted Kappos saying “he felt he was the soul mate for my daughter Sheryl and wanted me to make contact with her.”
In a videotaped statement, Kappos, who is free on bail, said he felt “an unexplained closeness, a familiarity” to Crow.
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