Stories related to: celebrity trials

Cheating hubby Peter Cook was in tears during Christie Brinkley’s sensational divorce trial yesterday—which the supermodel insisted be open to the public—as he confessed to a laundry list of sexual excesses including spending $3,000 a month on porn, pleasuring himself on web cams, and trolling swinger sites for “young, fit girls,” the New York Post reports. More »

The star witness in R. Kelly's child pornography trial said she was threatened for coming forward, AP reports. According to documents unsealed yesterday—a week after Kelly was acquitted—Lisa Van Allen claimed an employee told her she should have been killed for damaging the R&B star. Allen had testified that she had sex with Kelly and an underage female on tape. More »

Both sides in the R. Kelly child porn case have presented their closing arguments, and the jury will resume deliberating the fate of the R&B singer tomorrow morning, the New York Post reports. Jurors today watched parts of the infamous tape that prosecutors say shows Kelly having sex with an underage girl. Kelly and the alleged victim both have denied being on the tape. He faces up to 15 years if convicted. More »

Amy Winehouse’s husband pleaded guilty to assaulting a pub owner and perverting the course of justice, the Sun reports. Blake Fielder-Civil, 26, who’s been in prison since his November arrest, hammered out the pleas with his three cohorts during court proceedings last week. His troubled better half made two appearances to support him, mouthing I-love-you’s. More »

The R. Kelly jury was treated to a short course in video doctoring yesterday, as the rapper's defense team worked to discredit the tape prosecutors say shows him having sex with a very underage girl. The issue is the now-infamous R. Kelly mole the defense says isn't there in the man on the video. The defense broke down footage the prosecutors say shows the mole, and found that it appears on exactly 2 frames of video, and then disappears. More »

A key witness in R. Kelly's child porn trial told the court yesterday how the singer on three occasions videotaped himself having threesomes with her and a girl then believed to be 13, reports the Chicago Tribune. Lisa Van Allen, now 27, believes the sex tape at the heart of the case was made in 1998 when she had sex with the two, "as they both looked exactly the same way." More »

CSI co-star Gary Dourdan sidestepped 3-4 years in jail yesterday by copping a plea in a case involving cocaine and ecstasy, the AP reports. Dourdan, whose character was killed off in the season finale, pleaded guilty to two counts of felony drug possession after an arrest last month near Palm Springs, Calif.; a heroin charge was dropped after he agreed to a 30-hour diversion program. More »

Surly supermodel Naomi Campbell was officially charged today with assaulting a police officer, reports the Daily Mail, dating back to an April incident at Heathrow Airport in which she was hauled screaming and spitting from a British Airways jet after a dispute over baggage. The cantankerous catwalker—also slapped with disorderly conduct and use of threatening words—could face up to 6 months if convicted. More »

The R. Kelly trial will resume today, after the defense called a 24-hour halt so it could interview a surprise new witness. The defense said yesterday that someone called them, promising to undermine the prosecution’s key witness, who is expected to testify that she had a threesome with Kelly and the girl in the video. The prosecution will call that witness today. More »

The kiddie-porn trial of R&B superstar R. Kelly kicked off yesterday with a viewing of the tape behind it all, E! Online reports. "You will see the sex acts he commands her to do—vile, disturbing, and disgusting sex acts that were choreographed, produced, and starred in by Robert Kelly," said the lead prosecutor before showing the 26-minute tape. More »

The Columbia student who claimed Lindsay Lohan swiped her $12,000 fur coat after a night at a New York club is now suing the troubled actress over the unauthorized pilfering, the AP reports. Maria Markova, 22, proved the theft with paparazzi photos of Lohan donning her golden mink and got it back after contacting LiLo’s lawyer. She seeks unspecified damages. More »

R. Kelly's jury is complete, and the arduous process of getting it filled contains a lesson: Should you ever be called upon to weigh in at a child pornography trial, the Chicago Tribune offers some proven ways—at least they worked in this case— to avoid getting trapped in the jury box: Mention your teenage daughter. Argue the age of consent is too high. Explain that you're a doctor with lives to save. More »

It seems Chicago cops are dead serious about keeping the media on a short leash during the R. Kelly child-pornography trial: Today, deputies rejected doughnuts from radio reporter Brendan Greeley, worried it could be interpreted as a sign of favoritism. Greeley was told he was “being a distraction” and threatened with the revocation of his media credentials, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. More »

Paul McCartney is 6 weeks from being officially single again, the AP reports. The same judge who awarded Heather Mills $47.5 million and called her a "less than impressive witness" today granted a preliminary divorce for McCartney, 65, and Mills, 40, that will become final in 6 weeks and a day—if no one objects. More »

A Chicago judge today denied R. Kelly's attempt to further delay his child-pornography trial—already six years in the making—and began jury selection before recessing for the weekend, reports the Tribune in its gavel-to-gavel coverage. A circus atmosphere earlier prevailed outside the court, with fans and detractors of the R&B singer loudly heralding his arrival. More »

A Wall Street Journal reporter who served on the jury that convicted Uma Thurman’s stalker yesterday looks back today, recalling just over a week of debate, junk food, and weird dreams. “The fact that she was a famous movie star made us partly charmed, partly suspicious," writes Emily Steel, who normally covers online advertising. More »

A man accused of shadowing Uma Thurman and repeatedly following her home was convicted today of stalking and aggravated harassment, the New York Times reports. Both charges are misdemeanors, with potential jail time of 90 days for stalking and up to a year for aggravated harassment. Jack Jordan, 37, had rejected a plea deal for 18 months of psychiatric care. More »

A man accused of stalking Uma Thurman for years has told a court he never meant to scare the star, the New York Post reports. Jack Jordan says the bizarre letters he sent Thurman—including pictures of razor blades and open graves, descriptions of aborted fetuses, and reference to her children being "an illusion"—were just creative writing. More »

Uma Thurman had barely begun her testimony against alleged stalker Jack Jordan when the waterworks began, E! Online reports. Appearing pale, with nary a trace of makeup, Thurman teared up as she told the court how she’d feared for her kids’ and family’s safety. She described an incident in which Jordan had tried to break into her trailer, saying she felt “sick” and “freaked out.” More »

Wesley Snipes is not merely an actor trying to get out of a jail sentence on tax charges. He is a "mighty oak," says Denzel Washington. "True citizen of the world," says Woody Harrelson. "Goodness in his heart," says Judge Joe Brown. Snipes is hoping such character references will persuade a judge to go easy on him at tomorrow's sentencing, the Ocala (Fla.) Star-Banner reports. More »