Woman Carrying Voodoo Skull Agrees To Plead Guilty

Plea Deal On State Charge Would Help Woman Avoid Deportation

BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. -- A woman who was arrested after a human skull was found in her luggage has agreed to a plea deal that might keep her from being deported to Haiti. Myrlene Severe's case has proved complicated for prosecutors because she says that she was carrying the skull for protection as part of a voodoo ritual. Her lawyer said that she had no criminal intent and the skull was strictly to be used for protection as part of her religion.

Severe was on Lynx International Airlines Flight 203 from Haiti on Feb. 9 when customs officials examined her luggage and found the skull in a rice bag filled with grass, banana leaves, dirt, rocks and an iron nail. She had not declared in her paperwork to enter the country that the skull was in her luggage.

Severe, who lives in Miramar, is a Haitian national who has permanent residency status in the U.S. Her attorney said she is seeking citizenship.

If a federal judge agrees to the plea deal, Severe will plead guilty to a misdemeanor state charge of illegal storage with a maximum penalty of one year in prison. If she had been arraigned on federal charges, she could have been sentenced to up to 15 years in prison.

After a hearing Friday, Severe said she wants to be left alone and get her privacy back. She has expressed anger about reporters trying to question her regarding the case. Severe's lawyer said if she is allowed to plead guilty to the state charge, she will stand a better chance of not being deported.

At a hearing on April 13, Severe will find out if a federal judge will approve the deal.