www.justiceforchandra.com

[maryland missing]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Doylestown man tells 'eerie' tale of stalking
By: PATRICK LESTER (Mon, Oct/18/2004)


A Virginia woman who thrust herself into the middle of a high-profile legal war between former California congressman Gary Condit and a celebrity writer also managed to make waves of a less publicized variety in Bucks County.

Martha Jane Shelton, 40, was accused of harassing a Doylestown man with a barrage of bizarre e-mails and phone calls one police officer described as taking harassment to a "new level I've never seen."

Shelton managed to avoid court, the allegations and any news coverage of her alleged exploits in Bucks for more than two years after Doylestown police filed charges in 2002.

Then she chimed in on Condit's $11 million defamation suit against Vanity Fair writer Dominick Dunne, claiming Dunne had paid her to make up stories for him in the past. Condit sued Dunne for comments he made about the former lawmaker after the murder of former Washington, D.C., intern Chandra Levy.

With the media spotlight shining brightly on Shelton, she was picked up in Virginia on a warrant last month. She now faces an Oct. 25 trial date in Bucks County Court, not to mention questions about her credibility and her apparent fascination with an independent film and the people who made it.

"Certainly, while it was happening, there were a lot of scary moments," said Tom Brunt, a Doylestown television and movie engineer whom Shelton allegedly harassed. "I got the feeling that ... I don't know how far what she was doing went.

"It was a little eerie."

Shelton, who was charged with identity theft and harassment and stalking by communication, did not return a phone message sent to her through Craig Penglase, the Doylestown attorney representing her in the local case. Penglase wouldn't comment on the allegations against Shelton. He said his client had never received a notice about the charges against her or scheduled hearings before a warrant was served on her earlier this year.

"She did not even know the charges were pending against her," Penglase said, adding that Shelton is now cooperating with authorities.

Brunt said his e-mail and phone contact with Shelton started with friendly conversations about a film Shelton claimed she wanted to make about a 17-year-old girl who had escaped a "psycho" who was holding her captive in a basement. Brunt originally saw it as a job opportunity.

Shelton, authorities determined later, apparently contacted Brunt because of her fascination with "The Last Broadcast," a movie filmed in Bucks County that has been compared to "The Blair Witch Project." Brunt served as the video engineer on the project and even appeared in the low-budget film that has generated a wide following since it was first released in 1998.

Friendly conversations between the two turned to harassing e-mails and phone calls. When police ordered Shelton to stop contacting Brunt, she allegedly signed Brunt up to pornography Web sites and put his profile on dating Web sites.

To this day, Brunt says he's at a loss for why Shelton targeted him.

"I'm not a celebrity by any stretch of the imagination," Brunt, 35, said. "There didn't seem to be any financial motive. It seems like she did this, just because."

Brunt first began receiving occasional e-mails from Shelton in April 2001. Shelton told Brunt she was making a film, had support from grants to make it and needed "expertise and technical support" from Brunt to make it happen, court records say.

"Initially, the contact was cordial," Doylestown police Sgt. Patrick Penecale wrote in a lengthy police complaint filed at District Court in Doylestown Township. "However, it soon became sour ..."

Shelton initially struck Brunt as an "eccentric artist type," who convincingly portrayed herself as a woman legitimately making both a movie and the contacts she needed to get it done.

"She seemed really sincere," Brunt said. "I didn't really doubt that she was who she said she was."

But her e-mails became stranger and stranger as the days passed, according to Brunt and court records. Brunt says it seemed as though Shelton spent every waking hour e-mailing him during parts of a two-year period.

In December 2001, Shelton made reference in an e-mail to a time when she transported drugs, Penecale's complaint says. In response, Brunt removed her from his e-mail address book and said he didn't want to hear from her again.

The following day, Shelton called Brunt and they had a "pleasant conversation" and the two agreed to keep in touch, court papers say. In January 2002, Shelton told Brunt she was making a documentary and asked him for help in getting technical staff and actors for the film.

Their back-and-forth e-mails and phone conversations were leading up to a meeting to discuss the film, but shortly before the two were supposed to meet, Brunt received an e-mail telling him that Shelton and her agent had been killed in a car crash in California.

Brunt later found out the report of her death was a hoax, and he later received threatening e-mails from Shelton, police say. "She basically faked her death," Brunt said. Shortly after that e-mail, he received another telling him he was signed up for a free membership to a porn Web site.

In March 2002, Penecale called Shelton to tell her to stop calling and e-mailing Brunt. Shelton obliged, Penecale said, but she began harassing Brunt by signing him up on various Web sites. She also set up an e-mail address to represent herself as Brunt, the complaint says. Police filed charges in July 2002. Had Shelton stopped the phone calls, e-mails and other Web activity at his request, Penecale said he probably wouldn't have filed charges.

"I got a barrage of all these obscene phone calls and e-mails saying, 'I know you pay women for sex and I'm going to tell everyone that,' " Brunt said. "Irrational, bizarre stuff. She sounded like a naughty 5-year-old talking."

Brunt hasn't heard from Shelton in about two years. Brunt says Shelton had similar e-mail contact with others who worked on "The Last Broadcast."

Penecale, the Doylestown officer, said a former Buckingham man who worked on the film was harassed as well. In that case, Penecale said, police were able to get her to stop e-mailing him.

Brunt hadn't heard much about her until he found out about her arrest and extradition to Bucks County recently. Shelton spent about three days in prison and was released on bail. Brunt surmised that pressure was put on authorities to serve a Bucks County bench warrant on Shelton after her allegations against Dunne surfaced. Dunne has covered many celebrity trials over the years, including the O.J. Simpson and Menendez brothers cases.

Shelton claims Dunne owes her $100,000 for help she gave him on various stories over the years, according to several news reports. She went to The Washington Post and New York Post with claims that she made up stories for Dunne's stories at his request after Dunne didn't pay up.

Dunne has acknowledged giving Shelton $1,600 over the years, according to The Washington Post, but said he was just helping her during a difficult time in her life. He told the Post he has never paid Shelton for information or asked her to lie for stories.

Shelton has offered to help Gary Condit and his attorneys in their suit against Dunne, who they say made defamatory comments inaccurately tying Condit to Levy's disappearance.

Brunt said the next time he sees Shelton will be the first time they've met face to face. He's eager to have the case heard in court but says he has moved on from what he calls the "barrage" of harassment.

"It's always in the back of my mind that she might crop up somewhere," he said. "We all got snowed by her because she was convincing. It reads like a movie script."

Patrick Lester can be reached at (215) 345-3079 or plester@phillyBurbs.com.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Article's URL:

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/113-10182004-384692.html
_________________
Maryland's Missing persons
www.marylandmissing.com

[rd]

yeah, she says she'll help Condit unless Dunne pays her $100,000. Sounds like extortion to me. I say tell her to go for it.

rd

[rd]

Dunne doesn't have to worry about her extortion any longer, and Condit can forget her "help".

rd


from www.phillyburbs.com (fair use)

Virginia woman accused of harassment skips trial
By PATRICK LESTER
Bucks County Courier Times

A Virginia woman accused of harassing a Doylestown man with a barrage of bizarre e-mails is a wanted woman after she was a no-show for her trial Monday morning.

Martha Jane Shelton was scheduled to appear in Bucks County court on charges she harassed Tom Brunt, a Doylestown video engineer, and stole his identity.

Shelton has also been in the national news after claiming she made up stories for a Vanity Fair magazine writer who is the target of an $11 million defamation lawsuit filed by former California Congressman Gary Condit.

Shelton, who was charged with harassment and stalking by communication and identity theft in Bucks County, faces an additional charge of flight to avoid prosecution, according to Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Buck.

Buck said Shelton called Brunt late last week to tell him she wouldn't be showing up for her trial.

Craig Penglase, the Doylestown attorney who represented Shelton, said she called him last weekend saying she wouldn't be coming to her trial and that she no longer needed his services.

Buck said a new trial date would be scheduled once Shelton is found.

"Hopefully, the authorities will be able to find her again and bring her back to Bucks County," she said.

Shelton managed to elude authorities for more than two years after Doylestown police filed charges against her in July 2002.

Virginia authorities picked her up on a Bucks County warrant in September after she made news in the high profile legal war between Condit and writer Dominick Dunne. Shelton, who said Dunne owes her $100,000 for help she has given him on stories in the past, has offered to help Condit in his suit against Dunne, according to news reports. Condit claimed Dunne made comments that inaccurately tied him to the disappearance of former government intern Chandra Levy, who was murdered.

Shelton spent three days in Bucks County prison before she posted bail and returned to Virginia.

She allegedly harassed Brunt in 2001 and 2002 with e-mails and phone calls. Brunt and police believe Shelton contacted him because of a fascination she had with "The Last Broadcast," a movie on which Brunt served as a video engineer. The movie was filmed in Bucks County, has been compared to "The Blair Witch Project" and has developed a wide following since its release in 1998.

Brunt said his e-mail and phone contact with Shelton started with friendly conversations about a film Shelton claimed she wanted to make about a 17-year-old girl who had escaped a "psycho" who was holding her captive in a basement. Brunt originally saw it as a job opportunity.

Shelton, authorities determined later, apparently contacted Brunt because of her fascination with "The Last Broadcast."

Brunt first began receiving occasional e-mails from Shelton in April 2001. Shelton told Brunt she was making a film, had support from grants to make it and needed "expertise and technical support" from Brunt to make it happen, court records say.

"Initially, the contact was cordial," Doylestown police Sgt. Patrick Penecale wrote in a lengthy police complaint filed at District Court in Doylestown Township. "However, it soon became sour. ..."

Shelton initially struck Brunt as an "eccentric artist type," who convincingly portrayed herself as a woman legitimately making both a movie and the contacts she needed to get it done.

"She seemed really sincere," Brunt said. "I didn't really doubt that she was who she said she was."

But her e-mails became stranger and stranger as the days passed, according to Brunt and court records. Brunt said it seemed as though Shelton spent every waking hour e-mailing him during parts of a two-year period.

In December 2001, Shelton made reference in an e-mail to a time when she transported drugs, Penecale's complaint said. In response, Brunt removed her from his e-mail address book and said he didn't want to hear from her again.

The following day, Shelton called Brunt and they had a "pleasant conversation" and the two agreed to keep in touch, court papers say. In January 2002, Shelton told Brunt she was making a documentary and asked him for help in getting technical staff and actors for the film.

Their back-and-forth e-mails and phone conversations were leading up to a meeting to discuss the film, but shortly before the two were supposed to meet, Brunt received an e-mail telling him that Shelton and her agent had been killed in a car crash in California.

Brunt later found out the report of her death was a hoax, and he later received threatening e-mails from Shelton, police say.

"She basically faked her death," Brunt said. Shortly after that e-mail, he received another telling him he was signed up for a free membership to a porn Web site.

In March 2002, Penecale called Shelton to tell her to stop calling and e-mailing Brunt. Shelton obliged, Penecale said, but she began harassing Brunt by signing him up on various Web sites. She also set up an e-mail address to represent herself as Brunt, the complaint said. Police filed charges in July 2002. Had Shelton stopped the phone calls, e-mails and other Web activity at his request, Penecale said he probably wouldn't have filed charges.

"I got a barrage of all these obscene phone calls and e-mails saying, 'I know you pay women for sex and I'm going to tell everyone that,' " Brunt said. "Irrational, bizarre stuff. She sounded like a naughty 5-year-old talking."

Brunt hasn't heard from Shelton in about two years. Brunt said Shelton had similar e-mail contact with others who worked on "The Last Broadcast."

Penecale, the Doylestown officer, said a former Buckingham man who worked on the film was harassed as well. In that case, Penecale said, police were able to get her to stop e-mailing him.

Patrick Lester can be reached at 215-345-3079 or plester@phillyBurbs.com.
October 26, 2004 7:22 AM