Like father, like son? DiMaggio’s father held 16-year-old at gunpoint
Aug 12, 2013, 7:52 AM | Updated: 11:16 am
Like father, like son?
Suspected kidnapper and murderer James Lee DiMaggio’s father had an extensive criminal past and once held a teenage girl at gunpoint.
That teenager, who is now 41, went to high school with the man who kidnapped Hannah Anderson.
“Did he have a chance, could he have been different? A little bit of me aches for that person I knew as a friend, before,” the woman told CBS 8 in San Diego. Her identity was concealed in CBS’ report.
She said DiMaggio’s father, James senior, professed his love to her when she was 16. He gave her concert tickets and told her he wanted to be with her forever.
After she refused, she said DiMaggio, Sr. became violent. He broke into her house had a shotgun and handcuffs and threatened to kill her, her boyfriend and her mother.
“He wanted to take me away from my mom and give me a good life. A better life. He could take care of me,” she described.
Unlike Hannah Anderson, she was able to get away and her family was not harmed.
The elder DiMaggio was also accused of beating another woman and her boyfriend with a baseball bat. He committed suicide 18 years ago, on the same day his son was killed by authorities in Idaho.
KIRO Radio’s Linda Thomas contributed to this report.
