INDIANAPOLIS - Police seized a computer used by a former girlfriend of slain Cincinnati Reds outfielder Dernell Stenson in a search of the newspaper office where she once worked.

Sheriff's deputies served a search warrant at The Indianapolis Star's downtown office Wednesday and seized the computer used by former employee Jennifer Gaddis, 24, who worked in the human resources department, Sheriff's Lt. Bob Hendrickson confirmed Friday.

Police also questioned Gaddis for at least nine hours last week and searched her Indianapolis home. Authorities removed items from the house but refused to provide details.

According to police reports, Gaddis had sent threatening text messages to Stenson's cell phone two weeks before he was kidnapped and killed in the Phoenix suburb of Chandler, where he was playing in the Arizona Fall League.

''U better pray I never see you U again, I swear Dernell U R worth a murder charge 4 & that is all U R worth,'' one message said, according to a report filed with Scottsdale, Ariz., Police Department.

Scottsdale police told Gaddis to stop contacting Stenson. According to the police report, Gaddis said she was pregnant with Stenson's child and that they had an 8-month-old child together.

Chandler police have called Gaddis an investigative lead in Stenson's death but said she is not a suspect.

Gaddis could not be reached for comment Friday. A telephone listing for her Indianapolis home had been disconnected.

Stenson, 25, was found dead Nov. 5 after a night out with friends. He had been shot multiple times and run over by a vehicle, according to police. Four men have been arrested in connection with the killing, including one who was found driving Stenson's SUV.