by Playfuls Staff |
2nd March 2007
NASA astronaut Lisa Marie Nowak, who tried to kidnap a love rival, was charged only with attempted kidnapping and two other criminal offenses. Florida prosecutors decided to drop the attempted murder charge, which could have landed her in jail for life.[more]
The three formal charges are attempted kidnapping with intent to inflict bodily harm or terrorize, burglary of a conveyance with a weapon and battery. Nowak is currently free on bond with an ankle tracking device.
Lisa Nowak raced 900 miles by car from Houston to Orlando in order confront U.S. Air Force Capt. Colleen Shipman, who she considered a rival for the affection of fellow astronaut Bill Oefelien. The police said she donned a wig and trench coat, then sprayed a chemical into the woman's car when she would not let Nowak in.
She was armed with a steel mallet, knife and BB gun at the time of the incident. She also carried black gloves, rubber tubing and trash bags. At the time of arrest, on February 6, the police charged Nowak, 43, with attempted first-degree murder, which carried a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Shipman said Nowak was stalking her for about two months prior to the attack.
"The charges we brought forward, we believed the elements were there," Orlando Police Sgt. Barbara Jones said, per Reuters. "We do the probable cause and they have to decide the formal charges and what can they prove beyond a reasonable doubt and these are the charges."
Nowak's attorney, Donald Lykkebak, tried to convince at the time the police only brought the murder charges to stop her release. Nowak was preparing to leave the Orange County Jail on bond when the police filed the additional charge of attempted murder, requiring a corresponding additional appearance before the magistrate.
Nowak returned to Houston Feb. 7 wearing an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet as a condition of her release pending trial. She was relieved of her duties and NASA officials put her on 30-day leave after her arrest, which ends Thursday.
"As of this morning, there is no change in her status and I do not have information on what her status will be when the 30-day leave is up," said NASA spokesman James Hartsfield in Houston.
"We are pleased that the Office of State Attorney analyzed the facts and the law and was receptive to our input in deciding to formally charge Lisa Nowak," said Kepler Funk, Shipman's attorney, per AP.
