The man accused of breaking into Paul Pelosi’s multimillion-dollar California home and attacking him with a hammer in the early hours of Friday morning, David DePape, has been “mentally ill for a long time,” according to his former life partner, Oxane “Gypsy” Taub, who is currently in prison for stalking and attempting to abduct a 14-year-old boy from his school in Berkeley.
Taub, 53, made the comments about her ex from prison in an interview with ABC7, telling the local news outlet that she met DePape about two decades ago when he was just 20 years old, and that they shared two children together.
Taub’s own criminal past demonstrates a faulty grasp on reality. She was convicted in August 2021 on 20 counts for disturbing behavior towards a 14-year-old boy, including stalking, attempted child abduction, child molestation, dissuading a witness, and other charges.
Nudist Gypsy Taub speaks with reporters after removing her clothing at the U.S. Courthouse in San Francisco, California January 17, 2013. Nudists gathered prior to a hearing on a lawsuit seeking to block implementation of San Francisco’s ban on public nudity. (REUTERS/Robert Galbraith )
She became fixated on the boy in 2018, according to a probable cause complaint obtained by Fox News Digital, and sent him dozens of emails from January 2019 to June 2019, when the victim’s family obtained a restraining order against her.
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The messages show a pattern of manipulation and verbal abuse.
On May 1, 2019, Taub sent an email to the victim that said, “I know that you have feelings for me.”
“I have feelings for you too. I feel that I have known you for a very long time,” Taub wrote to the child. “We came to this planet at this crucial time to help humanity survive and strive, to facilitate global transformation of consciousness. My kids and I are very powerful people. And so are you.”
David DePape, right, records the nude wedding of Gypsy Taub outside City Hall on Dec. 19, 2013, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
David DePape, center, records Gypsy Taub being led away by police after her nude wedding outside City Hall on Dec. 19, 2013, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
Later that day, Taub wrote the victim an email about “ibo,” an apparent reference to the psychedelic drug ibogaine, which she said “makes you really telepathic (sic).”
“A few days ago I took a strong microdose of ibo. I was chilling with my eyes closed. I asked the universe to show me what kind of relationship I hd (sic) with you in one ofthe (sic) more significant pas (sic) lifetimes. In response I literally felt contractions like l was going to give birth. They weren’t that strong, the kind of like the ones you get in the beginning of labor but the message was conveyed clearly. I was your mother.”
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On June 6, school officials reported that Taub had continuously been trying to contact the boy at school. In one letter that was intercepted by school officials, Taub appeared to try to convince the victim that age of consent laws wouldn’t prevent them from dating.
“As far as dating goes, for instance, the law makes it clear that dating is not illegal as long as there is no sexual intercourse,” the letter read. “I know you like me a lot.”
The San Francisco home of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Paul Pelosi is seen after police say David DePape violently assaulted Paul Pelosi early Friday, Oct. 28, 2022. (KGO-TV)
DePape and Taub, who was born in Moscow, Russia, made news in Berkeley for their nude protests over the years. A 2013 article in the San Francisco Chronicle described DePape as a “father figure” in their Berkeley home who served as best man at Taub’s wedding that year to another nudist who was half her age.
The former couple also routinely pushed conspiracy theories. Two online blogs linked to DePape contained numerous posts from 2007 to 2022 about “censorship,” “Big Brother,” and pedophiles, as well as calls for violence and antisemitic content.
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Taub, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, hosted a public-access TV show called “Uncensored 9/11,” in which she disseminated conspiracies about the terrorist attack and other issues while in the nude.
San Francisco Police Chief William Scott said that police received a call at 2:27 a.m. on Friday about a break-in at the Pelosi home. Officers arrived to find Paul Pelosi, 82, and DePape “both holding a hammer.”
A law enforcement source tells Fox News that DePape was shouting, “Where is Nancy, where is Nancy?”
After officers arrived, he allegedly “pulled the hammer away from Mr. Pelosi and violently assaulted him with it.”
Nancy Pelosi and Paul Pelosi attend the 23rd Annual Mark Twain Prize For American Humor at The Kennedy Center. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images)
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Paul Pelosi underwent surgery for a fractured skull but is expected to make a full recovery.
DePape is facing charges of attempted homicide, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, burglary, and several other felonies.
Fox News’ Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.
