Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Just a few minutes ago, a judge in Orange County, Florida (near Orlando) has officially charged NASA astronaut Lisa Marie Nowak, 43, with attempted kidnapping and weapon charges.

Judge Mike Murphy rejected the charge of attempted murder for the time being despite the prosecutor's pleas. The judge upped Nowak's bail to $25,500 and ordered her to wear a GPS anklet as she is expected to return to Houston where she lives with her husband and three children.

The prosecutor said that the "add-on" charges are based on police findings and the fact that Nowak printed a map from Houston to Orlando, had dirty diapers, plus rubber hoses, mallet and a knife, not to mention a map directly to the home of the intended victim.

Nowak apparently confronted the other woman (yet to be named) and pepper-sprayed her through her car window. That is when police arrived and arrested her at approximately 3:30 am EST on Tuesday.

Nowak's lawyer argued that there is no evidence that she intended to kill anyone and that the police kept Nowak in secluded custody not allowing her to see her attorney for more than 10 hours.

The photos to the right show a healthy Nowak last year before she went on an Shuttle mission. She looks much different now in her mugshot, shown below. The photo also shows the alleged man of her affection, NASA astronaut Bill Oefelein.

Oefelein, 41, piloted the space shuttle Discovery in December. He and Nowak trained together but never flew a mission together.

The intended victim is apparently housed at Patterson Air Force Base.

Nowak was on a Space Shuttle mission this past summer and was hailed for her work maneuvering the shuttle's large robotic arm.

[check this website for continual coverage of this bizarre and sad story]

Labels: NASA arrest, NASA astronaut Arrested, NASA Love Triangle

posted by Googe | 1:02 PM   

 

 Choose your favorite to