Threats scare octuplet mom publicists

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- A Los Angeles publicist said she and her husband decided Saturday to stop representing Nadya Suleman, the mother of octuplets, because of death threats.

Joann Killeen, president of the Killeen Furtney Group, told the Los Angeles Times she and her husband, Mike Furtney, put their dogs in a kennel because of the threats. She said Los Angeles police told her Friday the threats were the most intense they had heard of since the O.J. Simpson trial.

"They hope I die, they hope my business goes under, they want to rip her uterus out," Killeen said. "They say I should be anesthetized and put down like a dog."

Suleman, 33, already had six children conceived through in vitro fertilization when she gave birth to octuplets in January. News reports soon revealed that Suleman is single, unemployed and living with her parents.

"The American public have just lashed out," Killeen told the Times. "I think it has to do with the economy, healthcare -- there's not a lot of jobs, people are unemployed and are trying to take care of their families."

Killeen said she has been swamped with telephone calls, mail and e-mail, most of it angry.