Orlando, Fla. – Florida prosecutors charged an astronaut Friday with trying to kidnap a romantic rival, but they declined to file an attempted murder charge recommended by police.
Lisa Nowak, 43, was formally charged almost a month after she was arrested at an Orlando airport parking lot.
Police have said the mother of three had raced 900 miles in her car from Houston to Orlando on Feb. 5 to confront a woman she viewed as a rival for a space shuttle pilot’s affection. Nowak donned a wig and trench coat, then sprayed a chemical into the woman’s car when she wouldn’t let Nowak enter it, police said.
Officers found a BB gun, a steel mallet, a knife and rubber tubing in Nowak’s car and recommended she be charged with attempted murder.
Nowak pleaded not guilty last month on all counts police recommended. Her attorney, Donald Lykkebak, said that she denies the charges filed Friday: attempted kidnapping with intent to inflict bodily harm, burglary with an assault using a weapon; and battery.
“The state attorney appears to recognize that the initial charges were overreaching,” Lykkebak said. “Unfortunately … the state’s current assessment still overstates the conduct.”
Nowak believed Colleen Shipman was romantically involved with Navy Cmdr. William Oefelein, a pilot during the space shuttle Discovery’s trip to the space station in December, according to police. After the confrontation, Shipman drove to a parking-lot booth for help.
Nowak flew on Discovery last summer and won praise for operating the shuttle’s robotic arm. NASA relieved her of all mission duties after her arrest and placed her on a 30-day leave, which ends Thursday. She is free on bond with an ankle tracking device.
After Nowak’s arrest, the space agency began reviewing its psychological screening process for astronauts.
