Slit Their Throats': Man Arrested and Accused of Threatening News Anchors Over Coverage of Jodi Arias Trial

PHOENIX (TheBlaze/AP) -- A New York man has been arrested on allegations that he made threats on Twitter against two Turner Broadcasting anchors who angered him with their coverage of the Jodi Arias trial, Arizona authorities said Monday.

David Lee Simpson of Bath, N.Y, was infatuated with Arias and became upset by comments from the two female anchors, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said.

The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office claims that he tweeted about strapping the anchors to a tree and leaving them "to suffer all night." He also purportedly threatened to "slit their throats" and apparently discussed gutting them like a deer with one of his coworkers, KTAR.com reports.

Investigators found guns, handcuffs and other items in Simpson's car after taking him into custody in Bath, Arpaio said.

Jodi Arias talks with her defense attorney, Jennifer Wilmott, left, during a hearing on Tuesday, July 16, 2013, in Maricopa County Superior Court in Phoenix. Arias was convicted of first-degree murder in the stabbing and shooting death of Travis Alexander. A new jury could be impaneled to decide whether she should be sentenced to death or life in prison sometime in late September, a judge said Tuesday, as attorneys continue to file motions and keep mum on any talk of a deal to resolve the case without another trial. Credit: AP

The sheriff declined to name the two anchors because he says Turner Broadcasting had asked his agency not to publicly identify them. But he did say one works out of Atlanta and the other out of New York.

An indictment that charges Simpson, 48, with three counts of computer tampering and two counts of stalking had not yet been made publicly available late Monday afternoon.

And that's not all. Simpson also is accused of threatening a Phoenix woman who defended the anchors online.

Arpaio says Simpson quit his job last week at a Bath auto repair shop and was later pulled over by police as he was leaving town.

David Lee Simpson (Photo Credit: Maricopa County Sheriff's Office)

The sheriff said investigators don't know whether Simpson was intending to carry out his threats, but he said items found in Simpson's vehicle were disturbing. Authorities found several guns, handcuffs, zip ties and a news clipping about last December's mass shooting in Newtown, Conn.

Simpson is expected to be brought to Arizona on Wednesday, Arpaio said. Court records show he does not yet have a lawyer.

Earlier this year, a Maricopa County jury convicted Arias of murder in the death of her boyfriend Travis Alexander, but the jury later deadlocked at the sentencing phase of her trial.

A new jury could be impaneled to decide sometime in late September whether Arias should be sentenced to death or life in prison.

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