He is Killing Me!

He Is Killing Me!

(From Scotland to Hollywood)

Our system has had a long-standing failure to deal with mental health issues. I worked in a psychiatric hospital where I witnessed insurance companies repeated refusal to authorize a continuance of treatment for patients that had reached their allotted number of days. Further constraints involve legal issues regarding detention of patients hospitalized on an involuntary basis. As a facility you work and are often hampered by these restraints. There are times though, that a patient's mental health issues can allude the professionals treating them, and the following is one such case.

Enter into our story - Arthur Jackson

Arthur Jackson was from Aberdeen, Scotland. He had not been mentally well since childhood. He also did not come from a background of relatable relationships. His father was an alcoholic. His mother likely also had mental health issues but never received a formal diagnosis. Arthur was never shown much love. He had no genuine connection to anyone. In him existed a complete lack of a sense of self combined with an extreme inferiority complex. Arthur had a magical and twisted thought process. His mind connected him in a fantasized way to others whom he had never met and even to those who were no longer living. In his schizophrenic mind he would deem these relationships to be absolutely real and sometimes intimate. On occasion he would have violent outbursts due to his inability to separate fact from fiction. This thinking brought about his first admission into a mental health facility when he was an adolescent.

Arthur also had a passionate love of America and particularly American movies. Jackson managed to get himself to America on several occasions and was even inducted into the army. Yes, his schizophrenia was missed by the evaluating physicians. Of course, his stint in the army did not last as he never had been able to hold down a job or follow the direction of authority figures.

He was hospitalized several times for his mental health issues, but no one was able to get to the depth of his deep seated lack of reality.

Jackson's odd behavior got him noticed by police several times resulting in deportation back to Scotland. He had also come to the Secret Services attention following a letter to John F. Kennedy that was perceived as a threat.

Arthur's love of movies is what deepened his troubles and cemented a deep-rooted obsession. He first saw a beautiful up and coming actress from New York in the film Defiance. Arthur felt the messages in the film connected him to the actors. Jackson's "love" of actress Theresa Saldana turned into a constant driven psychotic fixation. His bizarre thinking led him to believe that he would unite forever with her by murdering her. This he thought would lead to his arrest and subsequent execution thus fulfilling his objective of eternal unity.

Jackson was now a man on a mission and he intended it to be a "mission possible" His goal in life now being to find Theresa Saldana and kill her!

He managed to penetrate the normal boundaries of our country and legally enter our borders yet once again although he had been named an undesirable alien. He immediately started seeking out information about Saldana in New York and was able to find through various research and resources that she spent most of the year in Los Angeles. Jackson used his little bit of money and bought an All pass on Greyhound and set off for California in search of his victim.

Arthur had tried to contact Saldana's New York agent Selma Rubin impersonating various industry people to no avail. He somehow reached Davina, Theresa's mom and claimed to be from Martin Sorcese's office. This was not a point of contention as Theresa had appeared in the movie Raging Bull. She innocently gave him Theresa's phone number. Selma contacted Saldana and let her know a "nut" was looking for her. Theresa then contacted authorities who said there was nothing they could do unless he was harassing her. Desperate Jackson sought out a private detective whom obtained Saldana's address from the Department of Motor Vehicles. Jackson had hit the jackpot!

It was March 15th, 1982. Saldana was no longer so worried as time had passed without anything unusual and she had relaxed her guard. Jackson was pacing outside carrying in his satchel the five inch long Korean steak knife that he had purchased for $5.00. It was now 9:30 am and Jeffrey Fenn, a Sparklets water delivery man appeared in his truck on the corner and was reading the paper. At 10:00 am Theresa said goodbye to her husband Fred and left for a class at Los Angeles City College. Saldana walked out of her apartment turning left toward her car parked at the adjacent apartment. She leaned forward slightly to unlock the car door. Jackson came up quite close to her left shoulder. She did not know he was there until he spoke. He asked, "Are you Theresa Saldana?" She turned and fear registered. She tried to run but he grabbed her shoulder with his right hand roughly. He then wrapped his left hand around her in a vice grip. She was struggling as he reached into his satchel and grabbed the knife. He started stabbing. She was trying to fend off the blows with her arms. At one point grabbing the knife being severely cut in the process. She was screaming "Help Me! Help Me! He is Killing Me! He is Killing Me! I can't breathe! I can't breathe!" Fenn hearing her screams went running and could see Jackson dragging her backwards. The attack had lasted two minutes before Fenn subdued Jackson. The knife dropped the blade bent from hitting bone. Jackson thought he had killed her and was trying to ascertain the time. Saldana though in shock made her way back to her apartment met by her husband who carried her inside. She told her husband " He found me He stabbed me." Theresa was taken to Cedars Sinai Hospital in a pressure suit to prevent further bleeding, but it was not working. Her pulse was barely palpable, and her blood pressure was not registering. The doctors started working and four and a half hours later had repaired her most serious injuries and pumped back in twenty-six pints of blood. Saldana was brought back from the brink of death. She spent the next three and a half months recovering in the Motion Picture and Television Hospital.

Jackson served only fourteen years for his crime and was eventually extradited back to Scotland to face possible robbery and murder charges there. California had done away with the death penalty, so he got 12 years for the assault and an extra two for the continuous threats against her which did not cease until his death in 2004.

Theresa became a strong victims advocate. She formed the foundation Victims for Victims and lobbied for anti-stalking laws. Through her efforts it is no longer possible to get individuals information from the DMV. She had a picture in her living room with Ronald Regan.

Although, I did not know Theresa at the time of the incident I was fortunate to meet her later and we became friends. She was a beautiful and generous of heart person. She did not let herself be defined by the actions of Arthur Jackson. My friend Theresa died June 6th, 2016, from complications of pneumonia.