Space shuttle astronaut arrested at OIA on attempted kidnapping, battery charges

Orlando Sentinel ^ | February 5, 2007 | Henry Pierson Curtis

[burzum]

A NASA astronaut is charged with attacking her rival for another astronaut's attention early Monday at Orlando International Airport, the Orlando Sentinel has learned.

Lisa Marie Nowak drove from Texas to meet the 1 a.m. flight of a younger woman who had also been seeing the male astronaut Nowak pined for, according to Orlando police.

Nowak -- who was a mission specialist on a Discovery launch last summer -- was wearing a trench coat and wig and had a knife, BB pistol, rubber tubing and plastic bags, reports show. Once U.S. Air Force Capt. Colleen Shipman arrived, Nowak followed her to the airport's Blue Lot for long-term parking, tried to get into Shipman's car and doused her with pepper spray, according to reports.

[Cecily]

I haven't read about her case, but I saw the movie about her with Meredith Baxter. The trial scenes supposedly followed the actual court transcript, and if accurate, Betty said that she went to her ex-husband's house with a gun to scare him and make him listen to what she had to say, but at some point she was startled and the gun then mysteriously fired all those shots into her husband and his new wife. According to Betty, the couple was asleep, and some movement on the bed was what startled her (if I remember correctly). The jury didn't buy it.

[jobnick]

I SAID: beyond scaring Shipman, which Nowak says was her only intent

YOU SAID: Nowak did not say that. She said she only intended to talk to Shipman.

I say, why, yes she did. I quote the affidavit of the officer:
"During my interview with Mrs. Nowak, I asked her why she had the weapons with her at the time of the incident. Mrs. Nowak stated that she was only going to scare Ms. Shipman. When I mentioned to Mrs. Nowak that I figured she had come to Orlando to kill Ms. Shipman, Mrs. Nowak said she was never going to hurt Ms. Shipman, that she was just going to scare her. Mrs. Nowak said that if Ms. Shipman refused to talk with her, Mrs. Nowak was going to use the BB gun to force her to talk to her."

That she wanted to talk to Shipman before carrying out any further aspects of her plan is extremely likely. There was definitely going to be some talking going on. Your assumption is that she would have proceeded with her plan to kill after talking to her is speculation and is why this cannot be convictable attempted murder.

[wideawake]

I stand corrected. her lawyer's version is, of course, different from the police version and can be depended upon to be less accurate.

I quote Business Newswire: "'There's no evidence that she intended to do anything other than have a talk with the other woman,' her attorney, Donald Lykkebak, told the 9th Judicial Circuit Court."

[wideawake]

And, of course, her admission to using weapons to "scare" Shipman is a confession to the assault charge.

[jobnick]

And, of course, her admission to using weapons to "scare" Shipman is a confession to the assault charge.

Absolutely. That an assault occurred is not in dispute.

It is the greater charge of attempted kidnapping and attempted murder that requires a juror to go along with a number of assumptions that Nowak would have, beyond a reasonable doubt, continued on a certain path to the point where a kidnapping, followed by murder would have taken place. That path is long and frought with speculation and alternative outcomes to consider.

It is not enough that Nowak prepared for the possibility of kidnap and murder. She had to be carrying it out, and the maceing actually pretty much guaranteed she WOULD NOT have been able to carry it out, as a matter of fact.

Fate had taken a turn away from the possibility for kidnapping and murder and to "attempt" in the eyes of the law requires more than intent. It requires an action of carrying it out.

It is my belief and contention that by the point where an assault occurred, any potential plan to kidnap and murder WAS ALREADY NULLIFIED AND DIVERTED.

Her "target of opportunity" was to assault with mace, and she succeeded. Every other charge must be dropped.

[Abigail Adams]

I too think it's really surpising that they don't get evaluated before and after a mission. I mean, they are doing very dangerous work in a very confined space! You would want to make sure each member of the team is in top-notch condition mentally and emotionally and physically, right? And it's very stressful and public work, so you would want to make sure they can deal with things afterwards, right?

I'm not sure what you meant by this, can you clarify, namely the wife part?

{{ He also went into the "vacuum" that is created at the end of a mission, in the astronaut's life (such as his wife), when they have a real letdown and sometimes feel despondent or at loose ends. }}

I can see how she would have been in that place of letdown after the mission. I had no idea that she had waited 10 years for that mission! Imagine devoting 10 years of your life to a 2-week event or task, and then that task is over. Plus her marriage was not going well.

I personally think this was a long time in the making. Remember OJ? We were so surprised because we only knew his public persona, we didn't know about his real life and who he really was day-to-day. Same here. We are so surprised because we just saw Nowak on TV this summer doing some amazing things. But that's all we know of her. We don't know what she's like in real life, day in and day out. Seems to me she had a well-thought-out plan, and it looks like that plan was murder.

Remember when Scott Peterson was on his way to that girlfriend's house, and he was apprehended, and they found things in his trunk like a map to her house and a knife and some cash, etc.? Was there any doubt as to what his intentions likely were? Here we have a similar situation, but it's a woman, and she has a map to the other woman's house, a knife, gloves, etc. If she was a man, I don't think there'd be much doubt about what the intentions were.

Just some thoughts.

[wideawake]

She had to be carrying it out, and the maceing actually pretty much guaranteed she WOULD NOT have been able to carry it out, as a matter of fact.

I would argue that by macing Shipman she was attempting to get control of the vehicle before Shipman drove off, and that she would have been quite capable of still carrying out the kidnapping - if Shipman had been sufficiently disoriented by the mace Nowak could have gained access to the vehicle, knocked Shipman out with the steel mallet in her bag, tied her up with the rubber tubing in her bag, concealed her in the garbage bags she brought in her bag and driven off the lot in Shipman's car with an unconscious, hefty-bagged Shipman concealed under Shipman's luggage, Nowak's bag and Nowak's trenchcoat.

[jobnick]

I would argue that by macing Shipman she was attempting to get control of the vehicle before Shipman drove off, and that she would have been quite capable of still carrying out the kidnapping - if Shipman had been sufficiently disoriented by the mace Nowak could have gained access to the vehicle, knocked Shipman out with the steel mallet in her bag, tied her up with the rubber tubing in her bag, concealed her in the garbage bags she brought in her bag and driven off the lot in Shipman's car with an unconscious, hefty-bagged Shipman concealed under Shipman's luggage, Nowak's bag and Nowak's trenchcoat.

Though a two-inch gap in the window?
Come on.

The maceing was an act of sheer desperation to lash out at the woman who stole her man, not an attempt to gain control of the car. She could not get control of the car through that small gap.

Another point: The garbage bag was NOT in her bag. Read the affidavit again: It was found inside her car. Now, lets see what was inside it. OH OK, the dirty diapers. (It's right there in the affidavit) That actually MAKES A LOT OF SENSE, why carry dirty diapers where it can SOIL your upholstry.

[Stone Mountain]

Supposedly they had it on their class banner, though, and asked what it stood for, a Cadet said "Loyalty, Courage, Wisdom, and Bravery."

LOL! That reminds me of the time back in college when we played intramural football and named our team SOMD. An official asked my friend what it stood for and without missing a beat, he answered, "Superior Offense and Magnificent Defense!

And if any readers have trouble with the acronym, all I'll say is that the O stands for "on"...

[jobnick]

Wait, sorry, there were also garbage bags in her possession.
My bad.

[wideawake]

Wait, sorry, there were also garbage bags in her possession.

That plus the tubing bolsters the prosecution's case for kidnapping, in my view.

[Al Simmons]

"A first-year law student could win this case for Nowak."

Yes, by plea-bargaining it down, getting the attempted murder dismissed and getting her just a few years in jail. That would certainly be a victory under these facts. I am not sure that anything more is necessary for her. She is not exactly a career criminal or a likely repeat offender. But she does need to have serious psychiatric treatment.

I hope that the prosecutor's office will be reasonable when discussing a potential plea.

Nobody needs this thing to go to a full-blown trial.

But some jail time is a given.

I've said it earlier in this thread and I'll say it again - she is DAMNED LUCKY that the civilians have not ceded jurisdiction to the Navy. A Court-Martial would hit her with a MUCH harsher sentence than anything she'll get from the State of Florida.

[Al Simmons]

"There is a military legal component here. That will be brought out. Point taken. The case is much stronger in a military court, which works quite differently than in other forums. However, I personally fail to see the need for the military to sensationalize this more than the civilian courts already have. I think the military has a stronger desire to downplay this, because really, what point does it serve?"

As a former retired JAG, let me interject here: There will be NO court-martial if she is prosecuted in civilian court. She will just be administratively separated after a Board Hearing based on her civilian conviction.

The State would have to cede jurisdiction to the Navy (since this did not happen on a military installation) in order for her to be court-martialed. So she is lucky to be in civilian court, which will treat her much better than a jury of Admirals and Senior Navy Captains would likely do after her plea or conviction.

[ContemptofCourt]

The term "kidnapping" means forcibly, secretly, or by threat confining, abducting, or imprisoning another person against her or his will and without lawful authority, with intent to:
1. Hold for ransom or reward or as a shield or hostage.
2. Commit or facilitate commission of any felony.
3. Inflict bodily harm upon or to terrorize the victim or another person.
4. Interfere with the performance of any governmental or political function.

FL Crimes Code Sec. 787.01(1)(a)

A person who attempts to commit an offense prohibited by law and in such attempt does any act toward the commission of such offense, but fails in the perpetration or is intercepted or prevented in the execution thereof, commits the offense of criminal attempt, ranked for purposes of sentencing as provided in subsection (4). FL. Crimes Code Sec 777.04

Given the language of the law, I don't think that attempting kidnapping is a reach at all.

[ContemptofCourt]

What must be proven for attempted kidnapping:

----

FL. Jury Instructions

5.1 ATTEMPT TO COMMIT CRIME § 777.04(1), Fla.Stat.

Use when attempt is charged or is a lesser included offense.

[To prove the crime of Attempt to Commit (crime charged), the State must prove the following two elements beyond a reasonable doubt:]

Use when necessary to define "attempt" as an element of another crime (such as felony murder).

[In order to prove that the defendant attempted to commit the crime of (crime charged), the State must prove the following beyond a reasonable doubt:]

1. (Defendant) did some act toward committing the crime of (crime attempted) that went beyond just thinking or talking about it.

2. [He] [She] would have committed the crime except that

a. [someone prevented [him] [her] from committing the crime of (crime charged).]

b. [[he] [she] failed.]

Defense. § 777.04(5)(a), Fla.Stat.

It is not an attempt to commit (crime charged) if the defendant abandoned [his] [her] attempt to commit the offense or otherwise prevented its commission, under circumstances indicating a complete and voluntary renunciation of [his] [her] criminal purpose.

[Fitzcarraldo]

1. (Defendant) did some act toward committing the crime of (crime attempted) that went beyond just thinking or talking about it.

Nowak made extensive preparations and acted according to a plan demonstrating awareness of an intended crime up until the failure of the pepper spray to perform its intended function of allowing access to the interior of the victim's vehicle. Use of the pepper spray was logically inconsistent with the stated purpose of initiating a conversation.

[jobnick]

I'll grant you they have a case for attempted kidnapping with the tubing as the primary piece of evidence.

But the attempted murder would be much harder to prove and is more likely a negotiating chip for a plea bargain.

[jobnick]

Macing through a crack in the window was also logically inconsistent with the alleged purpose of kidnapping.

It was an assault, plain and simple.

[Fitzcarraldo]

Macing through a crack in the window was also logically inconsistent with the alleged purpose of kidnapping.

She had been stalking Shipman for two months. Surely not just to douse her with pepper spray?

[jobnick]

Lets go back a few steps.

Victim was supposed to leave for the car park earlier except she was delayed because her luggage was delayed.

Had her luggage not been delayed, she would probably have been on the bus with other potential witnesses who may have had their car parked within earshot of Shipman's.

It doesn't make complete sense to me that Nowak, who had planned so much, intended to leave it up to chance that a forceable kidnapping would go unheard and unnoticed in a parking lot where numerous people may be milling about. And keep in mind that such lots often have video surveilance and security details.

There is something important missing to this story and none of us have the answers.