This image provided by the Maricopa County Ariazona Sheriff’s Office shows the booking photo of David Lee Simpson. Simpson was booked Wednesday July 24, 2013 for making threats via twitter. Cable newscasters Nancy Grace and Jane Velez-Mitchell were the victims of the online threats that the New York man made because he was upset with their coverage of the Jodi Arias trial, Arizona authorities said Wednesday. (AP Photo/Maricopa County Arizona Sheriff’s Office)
July 24, 2013 - 4:37 PM
PHOENIX - HLN anchors Nancy Grace and Jane Velez-Mitchell have been identified as the targets of online threats that Arizona authorities say a man made because he was upset with their coverage of the Jodi Arias trial.
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio announced the arrest of David Lee Simpson, of Bath, N.Y., earlier this week. Arpaio says the 48-year-old was infatuated with Arias and became upset by Grace and Velez-Mitchell's comments about the case.
Arpaio originally declined to release the anchors' names because Turner Broadcasting had asked that they be withheld. But he released a statement Wednesday identifying Grace and Velez-Mitchell.
The sheriff's office says the anchors are being identified now because a news organization has already named them as the victims.
A Turner Broadcasting official declined to comment.
Records show Simpson doesn't have a lawyer yet.
News from © The Associated Press, 2013