Posted on 03/06/2007 1:50:58 PM PST by Palladin
ORLANDO, Fla. - The space shuttle pilot at the center of a bizarre love triangle that now has astronaut Lisa Nowak facing attempted kidnapping charges told detectives Nowak "seemed a little disappointed" but accepting when he told her he was dating another woman, court records released Tuesday show.
That conversation was in January. On Feb. 5, Nowak drove 900 miles from Houston to Orlando to confront the other woman.
Police say Nowak, a mother of three, donned a wig and followed Colleen Shipman from an airport terminal to her car to confront her, then pepper sprayed her through a cracked window when Shipman wouldn't unlock the door. Police who arrested Nowak and searched her car reported finding a BB-gun, new steel mallet, knife and rubber tubing.
Nowak, 43, pleaded not guilty to attempted kidnapping and burglary with assault and was released on bond with an ankle monitoring device.
Investigation documents released late Monday and Tuesday by the Orange-Osceola State Attorney's Office discuss shed some light on the astronauts' relationships.
They include the shuttle pilot, Navy Cmdr. William Oefelein's, conversations with detectives about the romantic relationship he had had with Nowak since 2004 and how she reacted with no emotion when he said he was dating another woman.
"She seemed a little disappointed, but she seemed to be accepting of that," Oefelein told detectives, according to the documents.
The documents also include an undated letter to Oefelein's mother in which Nowak wrote that she was taking steps to divorce her husband so she could be with Oefelein.
"Bill is absolutely the best person I've ever known and I love him more than I knew possible," Nowak wrote.
A NASA spokesman didn't immediately return a call seeking comment Tuesday.
Since her arrest, Nowak, has told police that her relationship with Oefelein was more than a working relationship but less than a romantic one. But Oefelein, 41, told investigators they had been romantically involved since 2004.
Nowak's frantic road trip to confront Shipman _ she wore adult diapers to avoid having to stop for breaks _ may have been sparked after she uncovered steamy e-mails Shipman sent to Oefelein, including one he received during his mission aboard the shuttle Discovery in December, according to documents released Monday. The e-mails do not mention Nowak.
"First urge will be to rip your clothes off," Shipman wrote to Oefelein. "But honestly, love, I want you to totally and thoroughly enjoy your hero's homecoming."
Just like Mount St. Helens before it erupted.
"Nowak "seemed a little disappointed"
Yet again, another man fails to understand women.
Yup, they seem a little out there.....
He needed that space robot, "Danger Will Ronbinson, woman on hormones about to attack"!
Considering both Nowak and Oefelein are naval officers, couldn't they both be indicted for adultry if they had an affair since Nowak is still married?
They were "romantically involved since 2004" and he thought she was just a "little disappointed" when he told her that he was seeing someone else???
What planet is this astronaut on??
Yeek. No accounting for taste.
You say that like it's a rare occurance.
It's a minor point but i think she's a mission specialist, not a pilot.
"Yet again, another man fails to understand women."
What is it about "My way or the pepper spray that you don't understand"? ;-)
I think they were referring to Oeffelein there.
Astronut. The Grim Leaker...
This is just too much fun.
Ya think?
'Shuttle Pilot' in the title referred to Oefelein, the man in the triangle, who is indeed a shuttle pilot.
Hypoxia. The flight surgeon needs to check out Shipman.
I wondered how Nowak got to read Oeffelein's personal email.
Now it can be told...she kept the key to his apartment after they broke up. She used it to get in and read those hot emails from Shipman. Guess that's what drove her nutz!!!
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