A woman who stalked Linkin Park lead singer Chester Bennington was sentenced Wednesday to two years in prison for using her work computer at Sandia National Laboratories to track and harass him and his wife. Devon Townsend has 60 days to surrender to a minimum-security prison in Phoenix, where she is expected to receive mental health care. She had pleaded guilty to stalking and other counts.
Townsend, who worked in Sandia’s technology and manufacturing group, used lab computers to illegally access private information about Bennington and his wife, Talinda, in 2006.
According to a plea agreement, Townsend said she obtained family photos, monitored voice messages and traveled to Arizona to meet Bennington, using information she learned about his travel plans. She also obtained correspondence between Warner Bros. Records and Linkin Park’s business attorney, including a copy of a check made to Bennington from the record company and a copy of the band’s recording contract.
Investigators said Townsend also hacked into the e-mail of Bennington’s wife and at one point called the former Playboy model and threatened her.
