Arthur Jackson's Diary Entry Reveals Chilling Intentions Before Embarking on Murderous Mission
Four decades ago, the world was shocked by a brutal knife attack orchestrated by Aberdeen killer Arthur Jackson against Hollywood actress Theresa Saldana.
In a chilling diary entry, Jackson described Saldana as an angel who didn't belong in the showbusiness world and expressed his belief that she would be with the angels if she were dead.
This article explores the life of Jackson, from his humble beginnings in a shabby tenement to becoming Aberdeen's most notorious criminal.
Jackson's upbringing was far from ideal, with an alcoholic father and a mother diagnosed with an obsessive mental illness.
Growing up, he developed a fear that he had inherited his mother's illness, which made him a quiet and isolated child.
His classmates at Ashley Road Primary School found him strange, as he had no friends and kept to himself.
Despite his introverted nature, Jackson found solace in the fantasy world of film.
Every Saturday morning, he would escape to the Odeon Cinema to watch gangster movies starring Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, and Edward G. Robinson.
His love for movies continued into adulthood, where he spent his days at Aberdeen cinemas or researching films and their stars in local libraries.
People who encountered him during this time remember him as a smartly dressed individual, always carrying a briefcase and jotting down notes in tiny writing.
Jackson's obsession with the United States led him to attempt emigrating twice, but he was deported both times.
During one of his stays in the US, he was drafted into the Air Force but was discharged due to his paranoia.
In 1967, back in Aberdeen, Jackson resorted to a bank hold-up in London's Chelsea to fund another trip to America.
The robbery ended in tragedy when he shot and killed Tony Fletcher, a father-of-two who tried to apprehend him.
For nearly three decades, the murder went unsolved.
However, at the beginning of the 1980s, Jackson fixated on Theresa Saldana after watching her in the film “Defiance.”
He believed that Hollywood producers had stolen his ideas and cast Saldana in the leading role.
Slowly, he developed an evil plan to kill the actress and then die in the electric chair for her murder.
On New Year's Day in 1982, Jackson flew to New York using money he had saved for rent.
From there, he stalked Saldana to Los Angeles, calling her agent and various studios in an attempt to find her address.
He even posed as Martin Scorsese's assistant to deceive Saldana's mother into revealing her residential address.
On March 15, 1982, Jackson attacked Saldana as she walked to her car, repeatedly stabbing her with a Korean jungle knife.
The attack was only stopped when a delivery man intervened and wrestled Jackson to the ground.
Saldana miraculously survived the attack but was left physically and emotionally scarred.
Jackson, disappointed that he hadn't used a gun, expressed his desire for a reunion with Saldana in heaven.
Police found a list of people Jackson intended to kill if he failed to assassinate Saldana, including an Aberdeen woman named Nancy, who was involved in a violent incident with Jackson in their hometown.
Jackson was sentenced to 12 years in prison but continued to send death threats to Saldana, causing her immense fear and distress.
Consequently, he received an additional five-year sentence.
In 1996, after years of extradition attempts, Jackson was finally brought back to Britain, where he was linked to the unsolved murder in Chelsea from 1967.
He died in 2004 at the age of 69.
Saldana, on the other hand, founded a support and lobbying group called Victims for Victims and portrayed herself in a TV movie based on her own experiences.
Her ordeal with Jackson became a landmark case for celebrity stalking, leading to significant changes in how the courts dealt with such crimes.
Saldana passed away in 2016 at the age of 61.
The story of Arthur Jackson's attempt to murder Theresa Saldana serves as a reminder of the dangers of obsession and the lasting impact it can have on victims.
