Britney Spears urged to attend tomorrow’s court hearing

Britney Spears has been strongly urged to attend tomorrow's court hearing for the latest round in her bitter custody battle with estranged husband Kevin Federline, according to sources closely connected with the case.

Sources tell TMZ.com that Spears' legal team know that Commissioner Scott Gordon expects Britney to address a number issues surrounding the commotion at her Beverly Hills home a week ago. In particular, Gordon wants the troubled 26-year-old mother of two to explain why she violated the custody order by not turning the two children over to Kevin Federline's security guard at 7:00 that, now infamous Thursday evening. The commissioner is also keenly interested in Britney's behavior that caused her to be placed on a 5150 hold at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Britney's lawyers are aware that if the Toxic singer does not attend tomorrow's hearing, Commissioner Gordon will extend the ban on visitation until the April trial.

Meanwhile, Britney reportedly made a series of terrifying calls to a close friend in which she threatened: "I'll kill myself before I let them lock me up again!"

She is said to have made the alarming calls while driving erratically on Tuesday night - the day before she fled the country to hide in Mexico.

"They're not sending me to the nut house!" Britney screamed to her friend, according to a report in the U.S. "No one can make me go if I don't want to go - and I ain't goin'!"

Britney is said to have made the call to "a close friend" while being chased by paparazzi - with her driving getting increasingly erratic and dangerous. "See that? I just went through another stop sign!" Britney shrieked. "See what you made me do? I'm gonna hurt someone out here!"

While the friend was trying to reason with her, Britney then made the chilling promise: "I'll kill myself before I let them lock me up again! So tell Mama and Daddy I said so!"

Just before she hung up, she uttered a final few words. "Oh, my God," she moaned, "it's over for me."

The chilling words were repeated to biographer J Randy Taraborrelli, who says he has "known and liked Britney for almost a decade," He told the New York Post: "I find what she had to say utterly chilling.

"In one short week, it seems, Britney's life has become a living nightmare, turning a troubled young star into a woman on the brink of insanity."

By Owen Williams, Jan 14 2008 © Copyright 2008 - Showbiz Spy