You may remember that a few years ago a Boston Catholic priest was arrested in NYC after sneaking his way into a taping of Late Night with Conan O’Brien. There hasn’t been a ton of follow-up on the story, but with Conan’s new show premiering, I guess someone thought maybe it was time to get in touch with the alleged stalker (click here to see the video interview with Rev. David Ajemian.)
The dude is totally still crazy, as you can see in the interview above. He seems to be under the impression that Conan would somehow be amused by the threatening nature of letters he’d been sending him. He also says that he thinks that the Catholic church put him on probation because he’s too liberal and it’s not good for PR to have a priest that’s “challenging” a big TV star.
So basically, it’s obvious that Rev. David Ajemian is a very sick man. He’s been diagnosed as bi-polar and takes medication for it, but he clearly is dealing with much greater problems than that. The fact that he is under the impression that he’s somehow a peer of Conan’s and that he is deserving of such a large amount of his attention is unnerving. The Catholic church has a long history of hiding sickos in its seminaries, but this guy needs some serious, long-term treatment. I have a feeling that unless he gets it, this is going to be far from the last we hear of him.
Wow, Molls. This post is very offensive and ignorant; especially the last paragraph.
“he clearly is dealing with much greater problems than that”
– Like what?? And what has made this so clear to you?
“The fact that he is under the impression that he’s somehow a peer of Conan’s and that he is deserving of such a large amount of his attention is unnerving.”
– What you are describing here is a symptom of Mania (the high state in Bipolar Disorder) called grandiose delusions.
“The Catholic church has a long history of hiding sickos”
– this man has Bipolar and was/is manic; he’s not a pedophile or a murderer.
“… but this guy needs some serious, long-term treatment.”
– Bipolar disorder is a series of highs and lows; he is manic in this video and requires medical attention at this time; an increase in his mood stabilizer and some supervision. With the right med adjustment he will stabilize and be competent and capable to fulfill his duties. This man’s biggest issue is that he does not have insight into his problem; with some talk therapy and a touch more lithium to curb the mania he will be fine. Do not make this man sound worse off then he is. Instead of being to crude and nihilistic why don’t you educate yourself; find out what bipolar is all about if you are going to post an article about it.
Agreed.
And also, wtf is up with that “psychologist” who is a “contributor to Fox News”? He was clearly pulling things out of his ass, He should seek therapy for being a narcissist.
Apparently, Beth has bipolar disorder AND a stick up her ass.
Katie, ooooh you go girl! You hurt my feelings real bad! Why don’t you go back to sitting on your ass watching Fox News all day eating cheese puffs.
I have just a few points-
1. I don’t believe he said Conan and he were peers, he thought that Conan would recognize him in the audience from the letters. He supposedly described himself in the letters as “your most dangerous fan” not as a friend or peer or anything. Sick, yes. But the way you wrote that sentence about him thinking he was peers with Conan it was like “how could such a lowly peon even think he was on par with the incredible Conan. He must be ragingly ill to consider it.” Do I think this guy is ill? Yes, very. But not because of that.
2. The idea that he needs “serious, long-term treatment.” He likely does. And apparently the Church tried to make that happen. But if he was approached the way he said the Church approached it, I am not surprised he is now walking around the streets instead of in a facility. First,a lot of mentally ill people don’t want treatment. They don’t think they are mentally ill. So it’s hard to get them to agree to go for treatment at all and any barriers you throw up will just make it less likely they’ll stay. Putting a mentally ill person in with sex offenders and substance abusers is a bad idea because for one, they get completely different treatment, and secondly, if the patient is a priest, I imagine he would see them as sinners and would not want to be lumped in with them. They also seemingly suggested that he stay in this facility for the rest of his life. Who would want to hear that? If you are looking for a reason to leave treatment, that would do it. The fact that he was released meant that he could not be legally held against his will.
3. The psychiatrist is just shooting off his mouth. He has never met this guy and should not have said anything except what would generically be recommended for treatment in this kind of situation.
4. “This isn’t the last we’ve heard of him” Sounded to me like the reporter tracked HIM down, he didn’t go to the media to get any attention.
This guy is ill. There are a lot of mentally ill people walking around. Most of them are no threat to anyone. And even the ones that are are not all fixating on celebrities and you will never hear about them unless events conspire to make them actually carry out their thoughts.
Wow, thanks for standing up for this man!! Do you know David? I do and he is truly a nice person.
David does in fact have bipolar disorder that the Church did not treat in the right way, but they’ll never admit to that. He has been under a great stress recently. I really hope the media stops portraying him in such a negative light.
David borrowed the facitious titles “priest stalker” and “most dangerous fans” from a handful of young ladies that basically took over the Late Night w/Conan O’Brien forum. This came about after he mentioned that he was going to write to Conan. No crime in that.
These same ladies felt they needed to protect Conan, and so they reported David to NBC security early on. After he was arrested, they were bragging about it.
David grew up in the same apartment building that Conan was living in with his wife and children, and in one of his correspondences, he alluded to a story about Frank Costello, the gangster, who lived in the Majestic at one time as well. Conan’s a smart person and should have caught on to that, but, instead, his words were perceived as menancing.
Based on what I know, David was trying to create this mysterious persona, and dropping clues in hopes that Conan would become curious about him and invite him to appear on his show. Yes, he was displaying signs of mania, but he never meant any harm.
I started to write a book about this a few years ago so others could know the whole story and not just the bits and pieces as told by the media. It’s a story about a wonderful person that has touched my life in a meaningful way, his struggle with bipolar disorder, and the personal suffering he’s endured as a result of being greatly misunderstood.
Here’s a sneak peek:
November 9, 2007
“The Reverand David Ajemian, a priest in the Archdiocese of Boston, was arrested last week while trying to enter a tapping session of NBC’S late night with Conan O’Brien at New York’s Rockerfeller Plaza, said Barbara Thompson, a spokeswoman for the Manhattan prosecutor’s office.
The letters and emails, which started coming in September 2006, continued even after Ajemian was asked to stop and were “intended to cause annoyance and alarm,” Thompsons said.
If convicted, Fr. Ajemian could be sentenced to one year in prison.”
TEN MONTHS LATER
As I returned home and entered through the back door, the house was buzzing as usual with the sounds of vigorous children, and a dog who thinks his purpose in life is to bark relentlessly. Drained and feeling on edge, I beckoned them to calm down. I made my way over to the stack of mail that was assembled on the radiator, and on top of the pile, a letter was conveniently placed for me to see. I recognized David’s handwriting immediately.
Nervously, I opened the envelope, and upon reading its content, I was submerged in a state of disbelief.
“Oh, God, no! Please, no” I pleaded. This can’t be happening.”
Heaviness filled my chest and I could hardly breathe.
“Please, God, No,” I muttered over and over, finally surrendering to irrespressible sobbing.
My children, who were now quiet as mice, came rushing to my side.
“Mom! Mom! What’s wrong?” They whispered.
Trying to muster the strength to pull myself together, I managed to mumble those heart-wrenching words that I had just read on paper.”
“Fr. Dave has decided to take the only option the church is willing to give him–to live in a house of prayer for priest who need continuous care.”
This is bullshit, I thought, complete bullshit.