Nowak, 43, had earlier posted a $15,500 bond on charges of attempted kidnapping, battery and attempted burglary of a car with battery. But, her release was halted as Orlando Police brought the attempted murder charge.
As a condition of her release, Nowak was ordered to wear a global positioning satellite device, known as a GPS. [Do those things work in outer space?–Ed.)
Nowak, a Navy Captain, is accused of accosting Air Force Capt. Colleen Shipman, 30, in the parking lot of Orlando International Airport early Monday and spraying her with pepper spray. Nowak and Shipman were both “in a relationship” with Navy Cmdr. Bill Oefelein, another astronaut, according to a police report of the incident.Nowak, a married mother of three, made both of her court appearances shackled and wearing a dark-colored jumpsuit. In the afternoon session, for the attempted murder charge, she kept her eyes straight ahead. According to the arresting affidavits, Nowak drove from Houston to Orlando after discovering Shipman’s flight plans on Oefelein’s computer.
She printed out detailed maps for the trip, which were found in her car during a police search, along with handwritten directions to Shipman’s home. En route, she paid cash for hotel stays and
registered under an assumed name.
Once in Orlando, according to the arresting affidavits, Nowak followed Shipman from the airport to her car in a satellite parking lot, where the confrontation took place about 3:45 a.m. Wearing a wig and glasses, Nowak approached Shipman as she got into her car and told her Nowak’s boyfriend had not shown up to pick her up and she needed a ride.
Shipman refused, saying she would send help instead. When Nowak complained she couldn’t hear Shipman and started to cry, Shipman opened her car window “about two inches” — and Nowak sprayed pepper spray into the car, police said.
Shipman drove away and found police, who located Nowak at a bus stop. They also found a wig and a plastic bag containing a carbon dioxide-powered BB pistol in a nearby trash can, the report said.
Inside a bag Nowak was carrying, the officer found a tan trench coat, a new steel mallet, a new folding knife with a 4-inch blade, 3 to 4 feet of rubber tubing, several large plastic garbage bags and about $600 in cash, the report said.
Nowak admitted the details of Shipman’s story, according to the police report, and permitted a search of her car.
Inside the car, police found an a half dozen latex gloves, MapQuest directions from Houston to Orlando International Airport, e-mails from Shipman to Oefelein, diapers Nowak said she wore to reduce stops along the highway and a letter indicating how much she loved Oefelein.
It is standard procedure for astronauts to wear diapers when they suit up for launch and re-entry.
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