EXCLUSIVE: Former partner of accused Paul Pelosi attacker DePape reveals new details about suspect
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The former partner of the man accused of violently attacking Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband at their San Francisco home on Friday is revealing new details about the suspect.
"Hello this is Gypsy Taub. I am the ex-life partner of David DePape and the mother of his children," said Oxane Taub, calling from the Californian Institution For Women in Corona, California.
Taub -- better known as "Gypsy" -- is a well-known nudist activist who spoke with ABC7 in 2013 at a protest in San Francisco.
"We just wanted to test the waters to see how much the police department respected our first amendment rights," said Taub in 2013. Now she's revealing a longtime relationship with David DePape.
"He is mentally ill. He has been mentally ill for a long time," said Taub, who last year was found guilty on 20 counts, including the attempted abduction of a 14-year-old boy near his Berkeley high school.
RELATED: Who's David DePape? What we know about suspect in attack on Nancy Pelosi's husband at SF home
Taub told ABC7 News that she and DePape met more than 20 years ago. Together they raised their two sons and her daughter until about seven years ago.
She described a time DePape returned home after disappearing for a year.
RELATED: As Election Day looms, Bay Area leaders say tone, tenor of politics needs change amid Pelosi attack
"He came back in very bad shape. He thought he was Jesus. He was constantly paranoid, thinking people were after him," Taub said. "And it took a good year or two to get back to, you know, being halfway normal."
Tara Campbell: "Did he ever show any aggression towards politicians, were his political beliefs extreme in your opinion?"
Taub: "Well when I met him, he was only 20 years old ,and he didn't have any experience in politics, and he was very much in alignment with my views and I've always been very progressive. I absolutely admire Nancy Pelosi."
She sends the following message to the Pelosis: "I would like to express my deepest apology to Nancy Pelosi and her husband for the terrible tragic thing that happened."
If you're on the ABC7 News app, click here to watch live
