Kris Jenner’s alleged stalker—who threatened to release a sex tape of the momager and impersonated her in phone calls and texts to family—will undergo a mental competency evaluation, court records show.
Christina Bankston, 37, is accused of harassing the Keeping Up with the Kardashians matriarch over a period of six months in 2014. Prosecutors say she infiltrated Kourtney Kardashian’s email account, too.
In messages to Jenner, Bankston allegedly described herself as “the best hacker in the world” and threatened to hijack Jenner’s Twitter account next.
The FBI arrested Bankston on federal hacking and cyberstalking charges in August 2016, after a grand jury indictment. The former nursing assistant, who lived with her parents in Newark, California, has pleaded not guilty.
For the last 18 months, Bankston was out on bond and staying with her family. But she was detained Monday after a competency hearing, and her lawyers have asked a judge to reconsider the order revoking her release.
It’s unclear if, and how, Bankston violated the terms of her bond. “While Pretrial [Services] identified Ms. Bankston’s mental health as a concern, this is not, in and of itself, a violation of her terms and conditions of release,” her attorneys wrote.
A spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles told The Daily Beast he was unable to comment on why Bankston was remanded into custody.
Bankston’s alleged scheme began in March 2014, unleashing hundreds of anonymous text messages toward the Kardashian clan.
According to the indictment, Bankston identified herself as “Troy” and asked to meet Jenner in person in Beverly Hills so they could discuss a “sex tape” of Jenner. Bankston allegedly claimed she sent the video to a website.
“Oh you can’t block me forever love,” one March 12 text read. Another said, “Die! I feel special and honored to rock it! Love u momma Kris.”
On March 14, Bankston allegedly demanded fame. In texts from multiple phone numbers, she allegedly wrote, “Hey beautiful remember when you were getting all the crazy calls from the uk and you posted it! Why won’t you post one with me contacting you?
“Instagram me make me famous,” she allegedly added.
Another text message pleaded, “Kris put this on TMZ make me famous!!
“Ohhh Kris I looked on the FBI most wanted list and I’m not there,” the sender concluded, according to court papers. “I’m disappointed in you. Put me on Instagram tho ;) :) goodnight you!”
The alleged stalker then sent 34 anonymous texts to Jenner on March 22, suggesting they sell a “sex tape” of Jenner to an adult film studio.
“Let’s talk,” Bankston allegedly wrote. “My bad lets [sic] stalk.”
Most of this terrifying pursuit was conducted while Bankston was in Northern California, prosecutors say.
On March 24, Bankston allegedly called one of Jenner’s friends and impersonated the reality TV star, claiming information about the friend was published online.
“This is getting creepy [again],” Bankston allegedly texted Jenner the following day, after mentioning how Jenner was unable to “block” the communications.
In April, the alleged stalker used the name “Troy Leatherby” and multiple phone numbers.
“Me you and sex tape...ya? I’m in your area today lets [sic] do it,” one message read, after another text suggested they make a video for millions of dollars.
Later that month, Bankston allegedly impersonated Jenner while calling one of the reality maven’s friends 22 times and texting her twice. Bankston claimed that Jenner had cancer and needed her then-spouse Caitlyn Jenner’s phone number to get a ride to the hospital, the indictment states.
The alleged stalker even “swatted” the Jenner household.
Prosecutors say Bankston impersonated Kris Jenner again—in a false emergency call to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
On April 27, Bankston allegedly called cops and claimed Jenner’s sister was attempting suicide at her house. Emergency personnel arrived soon after.
In early June, the alleged stalker gained access to Jenner’s Apple iCloud account multiple times and changed the password, court papers allege.
Around this time, Caitlyn Jenner and one of Kris Jenner’s minor daughters were roped into the alleged web of lies.
Bankston again posed as Kris Jenner in a flurry of text messages. But Caitlyn Jenner became aware of the act, prosecutors say.
In response to Caitlyn, Bankston allegedly wrote, “U could try but u could never find me” and “Good luck I fuck your wife,” followed by, “And she loves it.”
Bankston then told Caitlyn that “Kris hates blacks,” the indictment says.
On June 10, Bankston accessed Kris Jenner’s Instagram account and publicly posted negative comments about “blacks” and derogatory remarks about one of Jenner’s relatives, according to court documents.
As part of the ruse, Bankston allegedly called employees at Facebook and Instagram and identified herself as Jenner. She attempted to change Jenner’s passwords on her social media accounts, prosecutors say.
On June 11 and 12, she allegedly gained access to an email belonging to Jenner’s daughter, identified in the indictment as Victim B. (A court filing by the defense this month revealed Kourtney Kardashian’s account was hacked on June 11.)
According to the indictment, Bankston “read and copied private email messages between Victim B and Victim B’s husband.”
Bankston allegedly sent three anonymous texts to Victim B on June 24 and claimed she was pregnant by Victim B’s husband, court papers state.
The same day, Bankston allegedly sent 20 texts to Caitlyn Jenner, including one that said, “I saw you getting coffee in your blue bike shorts today.”
Prosecutors say Bankston also called Jenner’s assistant that month, before making several attempts to call the assistant’s mother. During a call with the assistant, Bankston allegedly told the woman she was “coming after” her mother “next.”
“This is the fun part about it,” Bankston allegedly said in one June 19 text to Jenner, later adding, “no matter how much you change numbers we find them.”
By August, the alleged stalker was demanding a free iPad from the Jenner family and claimed to be tracking Jenner’s movements.
“Call in extra security tonight,” Bankston allegedly wrote in an email, adding, “Btw I’m tracking you..Who’s in Glendale? Look somewhere on your car…There’s a tracking device lol lol. Well you do like the cameras don’t you?
“I have private intamate [sic] shots of you too :) :) they will be published on lipstick alley tonight if I get no call or iPad,” the missive continued.
Meanwhile, in an email to Jenner’s assistant, the alleged stalker warned, “Clear the fucking house I’m in the area. I’m now connected to KJ wireless.”
The mystery correspondent claimed to see everything on Jenner’s network, the indictment states.
“Don’t play matlock or Sherlock Holmes,” the person wrote. “You won’t find me.”
The creeping came to an end that September, sometime after Bankston told FBI agents that someone named “Troy Leatherby” would be at Jenner’s home.
Troy Leatherby was going to “TNT the house or set it on fire” or spark “some kind of massacre,” Bankston claimed, according to the indictment.
After Bankston’s arrest made national headlines, her father told a local CBS station that she had a history of bipolar disorder.
The distraught dad, who didn’t want to be named or appear on camera, said Bankston told him she was heading to Disneyland in 2014. Instead, she allegedly ended up stalking the Jenner-Kardashian clique.
“She spent about $50,000 of her savings to go down there and live at the Beverly Hills Hotel and stalk these poor people,” her father told CBS San Francisco. “We didn’t know what to do. She wouldn’t come home. I said, ‘Baby, come home.’”
Bankston had just started a job at a Santa Clara hospital and previously worked for Stanford, according to her statements to a judge.
“I don’t why she picked that lady, her husband,” the dad added. “It’s a mystery to me.”