Kathryn Erbe of Law & Order Breaks Down in Court; Recounts Meeting Alleged Stalker
NEW YORK (CBS) "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" actress Kathryn Erbe broke down on the witness stand Wednesday as she testified against her alleged stalker, Charles Nagel.
The prosecution showed the Brooklyn courtroom a crudely doctored photo of Erbe's 14-year-old daughter, which was allegedly created and posted online by Nagel, reports The New York Post.
"This is a seventh-grade graduation photograph of my daughter," an emotional Erbe managed to squeak out. "This is my daughter, who is innocent and relatively defenseless."
The photograph had a hand-drawn cockroach etched across the teenager's face, and was topped off with a dialog bubble that said, "I'm ugly."
According to the Post, Erbe was on the witness stand for 90 minutes recounting the first time she met her accused stalker at a Washington Heights location New York City in 2008.
Erbe claims she was taping a scene for "Law & Order" and was approached by Nagel and his wife and three children. She signed autographs and even took a few extra minutes to pose for some photos; however, the encounter scared her.
"I was extremely uncomfortable," she told the jury. "He stared at me openly."
Still feeling uneasy, Erbe mentioned the encounter to her chauffeur and was taken aback when she looked out the window and saw Nagel running alongside the car on the sidewalk and waving.
"This is trouble," she recalled.
Nagel, who has pleaded not guilty to interstate stalking, claims he traveled from Philadelphia with his family and visited the set because he believed that he had been corresponding with the actress on the Internet for the past several months, says The New York Post.
He explained how he met Kathryn Erbe on MySpace and was able to strike up a dialog with her.
"She was nice," Nagel said. "We would e-mail each other regularly. I told her about my kids and my music."
According to the Post, Nagel claims he never knew he was talking to an imposter and thought he was greeting a friend who had encouraged his musical creativity.
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April 1, 2010 - Law & Order's Kathryn Erbe Posed with Alleged Stalker on Set