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Ex-astronaut blames husband. NASA: We didn't recognize Nowak was
ORLANDO, Florida (AP) -- Former astronaut Lisa Nowak told a detective she came to Orlando to meet her rival for the affections of a fellow astronaut because she wanted to know where she stood in the bizarre love triangle, according to a police interview made public Monday.Lisa Nowak was fired by NASA after she was charged with attacking a romantic rival. A 72-page transcript of the interview conducted after her February arrest, with portions redacted, was released by the State Attorney's Office. In it, Orlando Police Detective Chris Becton asks Nowak about why she wanted to meet Air Force Capt. Colleen Shipman in a parking lot at the Orlando International Airport. Nowak, 44, is accused of attacking Shipman with pepper spray directed through the window of her car and trying to jump into the vehicle. She has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted kidnapping, battery and burglary with assault. Nowak repeatedly asked to speak to Shipman and asked the detective if Shipman, who was interviewed before Nowak, knew who she was. Nowak told Becton she wanted to tell Shipman of her involvement with Bill Oefelein, a colleague who told detectives he had a two-year relationship with Nowak but ended it some time after he started a relationship with Shipman. "I thought it was important that she knew," Nowak told the detective. "I wanted her to have the same awareness, I guess, for my potential, or whatever." But when asked if she intended to kill Shipman if she didn't talk, Nowak said no. Asked if it would have been acceptable for Oefelein to date both of them, she said "as long as everybody knows that that's the case." She also said it was her husband, not Oefelein, who hurt her. "My husband is the only person who broke my heart ... over the years, I guess," she said. "It happened over time." An attorney for Nowak, Donald Lykkebak, asked a judge last month to seal the transcript, but the judge took no action. Lykkebak also asked that the interview not be introduced as evidence during Nowak's trial, claiming she wasn't properly advised of her constitutional rights. However, the transcript indicates that Becton told her she had the right to remain silent, the right to an attorney and that what she said could be used against her in court. Nowak was dismissed from the astronaut corps a month after her arrest. Her trial is set for September. Oefelein was dismissed from the corps at the beginning of June. Posted by: Besoeker 2007-07-10 |
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