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ASTRONAUT LISA NOWAK HELD ON ATTEMPTED FIRST-DEGREE MURDER CHARGE IN LOVE-TRIANGLE CASE

Astronaut accused of stalking romance rival
(GulfNews)
Orlando, Florida: A US astronaut was to be charged with attempted murder, after police arrested her for allegedly attacking and trying to kidnap a rival for the affection of a space shuttle pilot, CNN reported, citing a Florida prisons spokesman, yesterday.

Lisa Nowak, 43, will not be released from jail, Florida's Orange County prisons spokesman Allen Moore told CNN.

A Florida court earlier granted her $15,000 bail and ordered her to wear a tracking device after she was charged with attempted kidnapping, battery, attempted burglary of a car and destruction of evidence. "She was about to be released when the Orlando police department showed up with an additional charge of attempted first degree murder," Orange county prisons spokesman Allen Moore told CNN.

Nowak, 43, was expected to appear at a hearing on the new charge Tuesday.

US Navy Captain Nowak, who flew on the space shuttle Discovery last July, drove from Houston to Orlando - wearing diapers so she wouldn't have to stop to urinate - to assault a woman she considered competition for the affections of a male astronaut, police said.

A flight engineer with three children, she disguised herself in a dark wig, glasses and trench coat to confront Colleen Shipman at Orlando International Airport but said she "only wanted to scare" the woman, police said.

Wearing a jail uniform, shackled at the waist and head bowed, Nowak said little during her first court appearance on a video link from the Orange County jail, where she was held on charges of attempted kidnapping, attempted burglary of a vehicle and battery.

Nowak went to Orlando airport around midnight on Sunday night, waited for Shipman's flight from Houston to arrive and then followed Shipman to the parking garage armed with pepper spray, a steel mallet and a BB gun, police said. She also carried black gloves, a folding knife with a 10cm blade, rubber tubing and trash bags, police said.

In her statement to police, Nowak said she did not intend to physically harm Shipman but "only wanted to scare Ms Shipman into talking with her".

In the statement, Nowak described her connection to male astronaut Bill Oefelein as "more than a working relationship but less than a romantic relationship".