Father: Woman Accused Of Cyberstalking Kardashians Is Bipolar
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- The father of the woman arrested Thursday for terrorizing one of the most famous celebrity families in the country told KPIX 5 his daughter has been coping with mental issues since she was a teen.
Federal investigators arrested Christina Bankston, 36, Thursday morning at her Newark home, which she shares with her parents.
She's accused of stalking reality TV star Kris Jenner, the mother of the Kardashian siblings, as well as Jenner's assistants and Caitlyn Jenner.
Bankson's father, who did not want to appear on camera, spoke to KPIX 5 during a phone interview.
He and his wife have been dealing their daughter's mental issues for most her life. She was diagnosed as bipolar when she was 14-years-old
"You hate to say that about your daughter, but we've been going through hell over the last few months," he said.
When she told her parents she was going to Southern California in 2014, Bankson said she was going to Disneyland. But that wasn't where she went.
"She spent about $50,000 of her savings to go down there and live at the Beverly Hills Hotel and stalk these poor people," explained her father. "We didn't know what to do. She wouldn't come home. I said, 'Baby, come home.'"
Bankson allegedly sent Jenner a massive number of emails and texts, including one that described herself as the "best hacker in the world."
The federal indictment said that Bankston told Jenner she installed a tracking device in her car, and even had a sex tape of Jenner that she would release.
She also allegedly told federal agents some type of massacre would take place at Jenner's Southern California home.
Bankson was released Friday on a $20,000 bond after making her first court appearance a day after her arrest.
Friday morning, Bankston calmly walked into the federal courtroom in Oakland clad in a jail jumpsuit.
She looked back several times to see if her family had shown up and told her attorney she didn't see them there.
Bankston told the judge she just started a job at the Kaiser hospital in Santa Clara, and that she previously worked for Stanford.
The judge decided to release Bankston on a $20,000 bond with several conditions she must follow, including not contacting the alleged victims.
Bankston, who faces a list of charges, is expected to be in court again Monday morning to figure out who her lawyer will be.
She is also expected to make a future appearance in a Los Angeles federal courtroom where charges are pending.
