Woman guilty of tormenting star Billie

Billie Piper was left terrified and tearful by the abuse, court heard

LONDON, England -- A London woman has been found guilty of threatening to kill British pop star Billie Piper and her parents.

She made a string of chilling telephone calls to the singer's record company, the jury were told.

Juliet Peters, 32, of east London, had her sentence adjourned until March by a London court judge pending the results of psychiatric tests, British media reports said.

Peters had pleaded not guilty to five sample charges of threatening to kill and dismember the 18-year-old chart-topper and four similar counts against her parents.

Piper, who is currently dating millionaire DJ and TV presenter Chris Evans, described the answerphone messages as "the worst thing I have ever listened to."

Threats were a 'joke'

The calls, made in a 10-day period in August, were said to have started after Peters complained Piper had given her a "sly, dirty look" during the recording of a TV programme.

Peters variously branded the pop star a "whore," a "cow" and a "skinny bitch."

She also warned her of decapitation, dismemberment, burning, flogging and shooting.

The court heard how Peters embarked on her campaign of "calculated viciousness" after being part of the audience at one of Channel 5's weekly Pepsi Chart show, which had been jointly presented by Billie and DJ Dr Fox.

Peters, who admitted making the calls, insisted she had never meant to "scare" anyone.

The threats had been nothing more than a "joke," carried out against a background of boredom, depression and loneliness.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Pop star tells of death threats
February 7, 2001

Billie Piper

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