The story of "C.J." - a vengeful woman who tried to infect men with AIDS - was a hoax concocted by a teenager and copied by several women, police said.
"We want to assure the community that this purported danger does not exist," Deputy Police Chief Ray Hawkins said Monday.A letter from "C.J." to Ebony magazine in September and subsequent calls to area radio and TV stations alarmed many in Dallas. In the letter, "C.J." said she carried AIDS and had unprotected sex with men in retaliation against the man who infected her.
The 15-year-old girl, who does not have AIDS, wanted to raised awareness after a friend died of the disease, police said.
Hawkins said handwriting analysis confirmed the letter was written by the Dallas teenager. The girl's mother called police on Oct. 10.
Six or seven women called radio and TV stations around Dallas claiming to be "C.J." Police identified one of the copycats as a 29-year-old Dallas woman.
"She did it as a joke, as a lark," Hawkins said of that woman. "She didn't intend for it to hurt anyone. We fail to see the humor in it."
Health officials said requests for blood tests and information about AIDS rose sharply after the letter appeared. Police began looking for the woman earlier this month.
"It's definitely caused a little bit of paranoia, I can tell you that," said Dr. Clay Cockerell, a member of the Physicians Association for AIDS Care.
Police wouldn't name the 15-year-old or 29-year-old and said they didn't know each other.
Hawkins said the teenager probably copied the idea from a similar letter written to Dallas KKDA-AM radio personality Willis Johnson two years ago. Johnson read the letter on the air several times.