Ricardo Lopez (stalker)
| Ricardo López | |
|---|---|
| Born |
January 14, 1975 Uruguay |
| Died | September 12, 1996 (aged 21) Hollywood, Florida, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Suicide by shooting |
| Body discovered | September 16, 1996 |
| Nationality | Uruguayan/American |
| Other names | "Björk Stalker" |
| Occupation | Exterminator |
| Known for | Attempted murder of singer Björk |
Ricardo López (January 14, 1975 – September 12, 1996), also known as the "Björk stalker", was a Uruguayan-born American pest control officer who attempted to kill Icelandic singer and musician Björk in September 1996. López had become obsessed with the singer in 1993 and later became angry over her relationship with musician Goldie.
Over a nearly nine-month period, López made a video diary at his Hollywood, Florida apartment wherein he mused about Björk and various other topics while making a letter bomb rigged with sulfuric acid intended to kill or disfigure the singer. On September 12, López sent the package to Björk's residence in London, returned home and filmed his suicide. His decomposing body, along with his video diary and handwritten diary detailing his plot to kill Björk, were found by Florida police four days later. After viewing the tapes, police contacted Scotland Yard, who intercepted the package without incident.
López was born in Uruguay into a middle-class family. The López family moved to Southeast United States and settled in Georgia. López had a good relationship with his family; he was described as easy going, but was introverted. López had a few male friends but never had friendships with women or had a girlfriend. He had feelings of inadequacy and was awkward with girls.
With aspirations to become a famous artist, López dropped out of high school. He did not seriously pursue an artistic career due to his feelings of inferiority and fear of being rejected entry into art school. He intermittently worked for his brother's pest control business to support himself. By the age of 18, he had become socially reclusive and, as a means of escape, retreated into a world of fantasies and became enthralled by celebrities. He became obsessed with an American actress but became angry with her after she ended a long term relationship with one man and quickly began a new relationship with another man. López forgot about the actress when, in 1993, he became fixated on Icelandic singer Björk. He began gathering information about her life, followed her career and began writing her numerous fan letters. Initially, López cited her as his artistic muse and would later recall the "euphoric feeling" his infatuation with her gave him. As time passed, his fixation and fantasies about Björk became all consuming and he grew more disconnected from reality. In his written diary, López wrote of longing to be "accepted" by Björk and wanted to be a person who had "an effect on her life". He began fantasizing about inventing a time machine that would enable him to time travel to the 1970s to become friends with her. His fantasies about Björk were not of a sexual nature; in his diary, he noted that, "I couldn't have sex with Björk because I love her."
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