Saldana Attacker’s Trial for Letter Threats Begins

The attacker in the near-fatal stabbing of actress Theresa Saldana began trial Thursday on charges of sending death-threat letters to the movie star and her rescuer.

Arthur R. Jackson, 55, faces six years in prison if convicted of sending the letters to Saldana and Jeff Fenn, the water deliveryman who subdued Jackson and held him for police after Jackson nearly stabbed Saldana to death in West Hollywood in 1982.

In the letters, Jackson said it was his “divine mission” from God to kill Saldana so that she could have a future heavenly rendezvous with him. The Scottish drifter, who has a history of mental problems, entered the United States illegally in 1982 to stalk the actress.

Jackson was convicted of attempted murder after the March 15, 1982, knife attack outside her apartment. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison, which was cut in half for good behavior. Authorities learned about the letters just weeks before his scheduled June, 1989, release.