14 DAY TRIAL // Earlier this week, at the Hollywood premiere of his latest movie, the sci-fi “Transcendence,” Johnny Depp had the rather unpleasant surprise of being served with legal papers. He has been subpoenaed in an ongoing murder trial, it has emerged.
However, he’s not directly involved in the case. In a very bizarre twist, the famous actor is actually asked to appear in court to prove that he has nothing to do with the woman accused of a brutal murder that occurred in 2009, TMZ reports.
By doing that, he backs up her plea of not guilty on the grounds of insanity.
In 2009, Nancy Lekon drove a battered up limousine in downtown Los Angeles’ Skid Row neighborhood with the specific purpose of killing a woman with whom she had engaged in a very bitter argument just moments before.
She hit the victim, Sonia Taunauu, with the car and dragged her almost a mile down the street. She even passed a police station like this, and only stopped the car after a long chase with an unmarked police car.
Reports online note that the dispute between Lekon and her victim was, most likely, drug-based.
“Lekon has been charged with murder and will stand trial later this month. She pled not guilty by reason of insanity,” TMZ reports.
Her public defender believes she actually stands a chance in making her case because, at the time of the arrest, when police officers got her to pull over and get out of the limo, she told them she was in the neighborhood because she was supposed to meet her boyfriend there.
Said boyfriend, you probably guessed, was identified as Johnny Depp by Lekon. She told cops they had been seeing each other for some time and her attorney thinks that, by bringing the actor to the stand and having him testify to not knowing her, he can “show the jury she’s delusional,” the aforementioned media outlet notes.
As of now, a rep for Depp has refused to take calls looking for comment on the bizarre situation.
On a more upbeat note, the actor has been treating fans with precious insights into his personal life, by opening up in a series interviews on his relationship with former co-star Amber Heard, their engagement, and their wedding plans.
Depp is a notoriously media-shy celebrity but, on this particular occasion, he seems particularly happy to tell the world all about the new woman in his life and even to explain why he’s wearing a “chick’s engagement ring” on his engagement finger.