On Wednesday, Grammy-winning singer Ashanti sat in the Manhattan Supreme Court House as her stalker, Devar Hurd, cross examined her for the third time.
Hurd, who was convicted in 2009 of stalking and harassing Ashanti’s family, opted to represent himself in the case. In December 2014, his first trial resulted in a mistrial after a juror became ill. During Hurd’s second trial he was convicted, but juror’s could not reach a verdict on the top count, stalking in the second degree.
Here’s Why You Should Be Paying Attention to the Supreme Court’s Landmark Abortion Rights Hearing
During the cross examination, Ashanti relived the details of Hurd’s disgusting behavior: lurid tweets, sending disturbing sexually-explicit texts to her family, and texting photos of his genitals to Tina Douglas, Ashanti’s mother and manager, claiming they were gifts.
Eventually, Ashanti pled with her stalker to end things once and for all.
Department of Justice Discourages Courts From Jailing People Over Unpaid Fines
“I wish you to stop. I just wish you to stop.”
It’s appalling that Ashanti has to go through this and defend herself to a man who has tried his best to ruin her life, popping up at various events despite there being a protection orders against him and harassing the singer’s family. Hopefully, this will all be over soon and Ashanti can get back to her life.
WANT MORE FROM ESSENCE? Subscribe to our daily newsletter for the latest in hair, beauty, style and celebrity news.