Kathleen Kearney (Credit: Chicago Police)
UPDATED 07/23/12 11:12 a.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) — The Massachusetts woman accused of stalking Chicago Cubs president Theo Epstein will be allowed to leave the state for mental health treatment.
As WBBM Newsradio’s John Waelti reports, Kathleen Kearney, 44, of Canton, Mass., is facing two felony counts of stalking. She appeared for a preliminary hearing Tuesday.
LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s John Waelti reports
The Cook County State’s Attorney’s office told CBS 2 that Kearney will be allowed to leave the state for treatment. But she must appear back in Cook County Criminal Court on Aug. 13.
Kearney was warned to stay away from Epstein back in 2010 when he was general manager of the Boston Red Sox.
Published reports say Kearney’s attorneys allow that she may be a bit obsessed with celebrities, but call the stalking charges completely overblown. They say Kearney is guilty of nothing more than a friendly conversation with Epstein’s wife.
But Cook County prosecutors do not agree. They say back when Epstein was with the Red Sox, she went twice to Fenway Park in Boston to try to meet Epstein, visited a Boston home where she thought Epstein lived, and wrote him letters that went unanswered.
Then in recent weeks, while still in Massachusetts, she Googled his new home address. On Monday, she went to Logan International Airport in Boston, and boarded a fight for a place she’d never been: Chicago.
At O’Hare International Airport, she rented a red Ford Mustang convertible, and – using a GPS device, drove to Epstein’s $3 million dollar Lakeview mansion.`
Proseuctors said, when Epstein’s wife Marie answered the door, Kearney introduced herself, saying, “Hi, I’m Kathy. You must be Marie.”
Kearney also told Mrs. Epstein that she had brought a gift for the Epsteins’ young son: a backpack, and a birthday banner.
But, after a few minutes, Epstein’s wife became suspicious and fearful for her safety.
Kearney then left and went to Wrigley Field, searching for Epstein, to no avail.
Then she returned to Epstein’s home that evening, and waited outside the house. When Theo Epstein arrived, she shouted his name, but he didn’t respond. He ignored her, walked inside, and alerted police again.
Minutes later, Kearney was arrested in the 1400 block of West Addison Street.
Kearney has no criminal record, made no threats, and caused no harm to Epstein or his family.
She told an assistant public defender last week that she is a Harvard graduate, who formerly worked as a librarian at a Boston culinary school. She’s been ordered to have no contact with Epstein or his family.
