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Signs of strain preceded astronaut’s arrest on murder charge

By Mike Schneider

Even before she was charged with attempted first-degree murder, attempted kidnapping and three other crimes, there were signs that not everything was right in her life

UNTIL a few months ago, Lisa Nowak’s life seemed to be on a perfect trajectory.

She became an astronaut after winning a series of Navy service awards. She had flown on the shuttle Discovery, and was a mother of three children. She said in a September interview with Ladies Home Journal that her husband, Richard, “works in Mission Control, so he’s part of the whole space business, too. And supportive also.”

But even before she was charged on Tuesday with attempted first-degree murder, attempted kidnapping and three other crimes - all stemming from what police called a love triangle involving a fellow astronaut - there were signs that not everything was right in her life.

In a NASA interview last year, before her mission aboard Discovery, she spoke about the strain her career placed on her family. She has twin 5-year-old girls and a son who is 14 or 15.

“It’s a sacrifice for our own personal time and our families and the people around us,” she said. “But I do think it’s worth it because if you don’t explore and take risks and go do all these things, then everything will stay the same.”

In November, a neighbour reported hearing the sounds of dishes being thrown inside Nowak’s Houston-area home, and the police came. And weeks ago, Nowak and her husband separated after 19 years.

The final unravelling came this week after police arrested her for allegedly trying to kidnap a woman she believed was her rival for the affections of astronaut William Oefelein.

“Perplexed is the word that I’m sticking with,” said astronaut Chris Ferguson, who attended Nowak’s bail hearing in Orlando with chief astronaut Steve Lindsey.

Police officers charged Nowak with trying to murder Colleen Shipman based on weapons and other items found with Nowak or in her car: pepper spray, a BB-gun, a new steel mallet, knife and rubber tubing.

After Nowak posted a $25,500 (€19,700) bail Tuesday evening, she walked out of jail with a jacket thrown over her head, mobbed by two dozen reporters and cameramen. A tracking device was later placed on her ankle as a condition of her release. The judge ordered Nowak to stay away from Shipman.

Her lawyer, Donald Lykkebak, took issue with the most serious charges.

“In the imaginations of the police officers, they extend these facts out into areas where the facts can’t be supported,” Lykkebak said.

Shipman filed a request for a protective order against Nowak in a Florida court on Tuesday, asking that Nowak be prohibited from going within 500 feet (150 meters) of her, the Houston Chronicle reported. A hearing on the request was set for Feb. 20, the paper said.

In the handwritten request cited by the paper, Shipman said Nowak had stalked her for two months and did not say whether she is, in fact, involved with Oefelein.

NASA put Nowak on a 30-day leave and removed her from mission activities.

Nowak and Oefelein, who both live in the Houston area, had trained together as astronauts, but never flew into space together. Shipman works at Patrick Air Force Base near Kennedy Space Center. Details of Oefelein’s relationships with the women were unclear.

Earlier, Nowak was quoted by police as saying she and Oefelein had something “more than a working relationship but less than a romantic relationship.”

Neither Oefelein nor Shipman could be reached for comment on Tuesday.

Nowak’s two-story brick house remained unlit and empty Tuesday night. Mail and papers covered the dining room table. A pair of children’s white roller skates with pink wheels sat at the bottom of the stairs, toys were strewn nearby. Her husband could not be located.

“Personally, Lisa is an extremely caring and dedicated mother to her three children,” said a statement from Nowak’s family. “Considering both her personal and professional life, these alleged events are completely out of character and have come as a tremendous shock to our family.”

Police found a letter in Nowak’s car that “indicated how much Mrs. Nowak loved Mr. Oefelein,” an arrest affidavit said. And Nowak had copies of e-mails between Shipman and Oefelein.

Oefelein, a 41-year-old Navy commander, piloted a Discovery mission in December to the space station where astronauts rewired the outpost, installed a new $11 million (€8.5 million) section and dropped off a new American crew member.

Oefelein is unmarried but has two children. He began his aviation career as a teenager, flying floatplanes in Alaska.

Shipman, 30, is an engineer assigned to the 45th Launch Support Squadron, and a Federal Aviation Administration pilot directory indicates she is certified as a student pilot.

Nowak, accustomed to wearing astronaut diapers during the space shuttle’s launch and return to Earth, wore them on the drive from Houston so she would not have to make bathroom stops as she raced to confront Shipman at the Orlando International Airport, police said.

Then, according to police, Nowak donned a wig and trench coat, boarded an airport shuttle bus with Shipman and followed her to her car. Crying, Nowak sprayed a chemical into the car. Shipman drove to a parking lot booth and sought help. A police affidavit made public on Tuesday said Nowak had “stealthily followed the victim while in disguise and possessed multiple deadly weapons.”

The affidavit said the circumstances of the case “create a well-founded fear” and gave investigators “probable cause to believe that Mrs. Nowak intended to murder Ms. Shipman.”

Lykkebak said that Nowak only wanted to talk to Shipman. Asked about the weapons, he said, “You can sit and speculate all day”. ap

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