Madonna's "Psychotic," "Very Violent" Convicted Stalker Escapes From Mental Hospital, Still at Large

LAPD are searching for Robert Dewey Hoskins after the 54-year-old terror to Madonna and Halle Berry fled from a Los Angeles-area facility last week

By Gina Serpe Feb 10, 2012 4:15 PMTags
MadonnaCharles Eshelman/Getty Images

Well, this puts all those petty showbiz feuds into perspective.

Madonna today is dealing with a real and terrifying threat after the man who was convicted of stalking and threatening the pop superstar in the '90s—and who served 10 years in prison for those charges—escaped from a Los Angeles-area mental hospital and is currently being sought by police.

Making matters worse, this is the same man who's reportedly set his current sights on Halle Berry.

The 54-year-old Robert Dewey Hoskins—who once threatened to slit Madonna's throat from "ear to ear" if she did not agree to marry him—fled from the Metropolitan State Hospital in Norwalk, Calif., unnoticed last Friday. He remains at large.

Police believe he may have since taken a bus to the Long Beach area, though despite a search, have not yet been able to track him down.

"Hoskins is highly psychotic when not taking his medication and has very violent tendencies," the LAPD said in a statement. "The public is being warned to notify police immediately if he is found, and to not engage him on their own."

Hoskins was first arrested on the charges back in 1995 and Madonna testified at his trial the following year that his repeated attempts to scale and break into her home left her with nightmares. On one attempt, the singer's bodyguards were even forced to shoot him.

Though Hoskins served his time, he was arrested again in July of last year on charges of vandalism and sent to the mental health facility.

As for Berry, earlier this week, she claimed in court that an increased number of death threats is behind her request to move to France with her 3-year-old daughter, Nahla. Hoskins is reportedly among those who have been adding to the Oscar winner's terror.

Here's hoping he's caught soon.