Woman arrested in threats to KSL

PROVO — Recycling flowers at a cemetery? Good idea. Calling a news station to report on your project? Good idea.

Threatening the news station if it fails to return your phone call? Bad idea.

One Provo woman was arrested after she threatened to kill a KSL news producer and bomb the station if she didn't get immediate coverage of her "solutions to world problems," according to a police affidavit filed in 4th District Court.

The woman, 38, called KSL around 7 a.m. Thursday demanding that a camera crew meet with her at the Provo cemetery, according to the affidavit and news director Con Psarras.

"She was belligerent," Psarras said. "The conversation was, 'I'm a genius, have you ever heard of me? I can solve the world's problems.' "

The producer told the woman they would not be able to meet her at the cemetery, but they would discuss it and perhaps call her back. In less than 30 minutes, Psarras said the woman called back and upon learning that no camera was coming, threatened to kill the producer. If she couldn't find him, she said she would bring a bomb to the station, police and Psarras said.

At that point, KSL employees called police, and so did the woman.

The woman told them she was holding a gun to her girlfriend's head at a parking lot in Provo and demanded officers respond, the affidavit states.

When officers arrived, they arrested the woman, who then told them she had cocaine and a marijuana pipe in her pocket, plus marijuana at her apartment, and requested that officers go get it, according to the affidavit.

The girlfriend said the woman was just trying to get attention for her idea of recycling flowers at the cemetery and that she had never actually been threatened.

The woman was booked in to the Utah County Jail for investigation of terroristic threats, possession of cocaine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia. She bailed out Friday morning.

Psarras said KSL doesn't get many bomb threats, and although it didn't foresee any real danger in this situation, it still takes threats seriously and contacts law enforcement.

E-MAIL: sisraelsen@desnews.com