With our free press under threat and federal funding for public media gone, your support matters more than ever. Help keep the LAist newsroom strong, become a monthly member or increase your support today during our fall member drive.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Celebrity Beautician Accused Of Hiring Hitman After Being Cyber-Stalked
Here's one of the more bizarre stories you'll read today: a skin care expert with a client list full of celebrities such as Nicki Minaj and Alicia Silverstone has been arrested after attempting to hire a hitman to kill a guy she thought was cyber-stalking her.
Dawn DaLuise owned and operated a prestigious skin care salon in West Hollywood. After Gabriel Suarez, another person specializing in skin care, moved in a few doors down with his own business, tensions rose, the L.A. Times reports.
Not long after that, DaLuise began to receive dirty emails, fliers and even a Craigslist posting that said she offered a number of sexual favors involving rape fantasies, which included her home address and telephone number, the Times says.
After a friend, Edward Feinstein, fed into her suspicions that the pranks were from Suarez, DaLuise allegedly decided she wanted him dead. Police say she went to a friend of hers to get him to kill Suarez, but he refused.
Support for LAist comes from
She then went to the sheriff's department about the harassment. When they found text messages alluding to the murder plot, she was arrested, the Times says.
Turns out, authorities traced the harassing emails back to her friend, Edward Feinstein, who was arrested yesterday for stalking. Suarez had nothing to do with cyber-staking DaLuise. DaLuise is now facing nine years in jail and is being held on a $1 million bond.
What a mess.
At LAist, we believe in journalism without censorship and the right of a free press to speak truth to those in power. Our hard-hitting watchdog reporting on local government, climate, and the ongoing housing and homelessness crisis is trustworthy, independent and freely accessible to everyone thanks to the support of readers like you.
But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.
Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
It will be the second national day of protest against President Donald Trump. -
Restaurants share resources in the food hall in West Adams as Los Angeles reckons with increasing restaurant closures. -
The university says the compact, as the Trump administration called it, could undermine free inquiry and academic excellence. -
Metro officials said it will be able to announce an opening date “soon.” -
While working for the county, the DA’s office alleges that 13 employees fraudulently filed for unemployment, claiming to earn less than $600 a week. -
The L.A. County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to declare immigration enforcement actions a local emergency.
Best of LAist