LOS ANGELES, April 7 (UPI) -- Songwriter Leonard Cohen testified in Los Angeles he feared for his safety after his ex-business manager allegedly launched a flurry of threats against him.
Cohen, 77, took the stand Friday in the trial of Kelley Lynch, who allegedly violated a restraining order and bombarded Cohen, his lawyer and others with irate phone calls and e-mails.
Cohen said he was afraid the alleged vitriol could lead to violence.
"It makes me feel very conscious about my surroundings," Cohen told the jury. "Every time I see a car slow down, I get worried."
The Los Angeles Times said prosecutors played a series of voicemails purported to be Lynch lambasting Cohen. The caller said in one that Cohen "needed to be taken down and shot."
The Times said Cohen acknowledged a brief romantic relationship with Lynch that occurred during the 17 years she handled his affairs. Cohen wound up suing Lynch in 2005 – a year after she was let go – for allegedly embezzling money from him and was awarded a $9.5 million judgment.
