Remember Lisa Nowak, the astronaut-in-diaper who attacked her rival?

[Deb in IA]

She got 1 year probation.

Ex-Astronaut Pleads Guilty in Attack on Rival
Former astronaut Lisa Nowak pleads guilty, gets 1-year probation in attack on romantic rival
By MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press Writer
ORLANDO, Fla. November 10, 2009 (AP) The Associated Press
Nowak, the former NASA astronaut charged with confronting a romantic rival in an airport parking lot after driving 1,000 miles from Houston to Orlando, pleaded guilty Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009 to an attack on a romantic rival.

A former astronaut who drove 1,000 miles from Houston to Orlando to mount a bizarre attack on a romantic rival pleaded guilty Tuesday to reduced charges and was sentenced to a year on probation.

Lisa Nowak, a Navy captain, pleaded guilty to third-degree felony burglary and misdemeanor battery. She originally had been charged with two felonies — attempted kidnapping and burglary — along with misdemeanor battery. She could have faced up to life in prison under the more serious felony charges.

Nowak confronted her romantic rival, Colleen Shipman, in the parking lot of Orlando International Airport in February 2007 after driving from Houston. Shipman had begun dating Nowak's love interest, former space shuttle pilot Bill Oefelein.

Wearing a wig and trenchcoat, Nowak followed Shipman to the parking lot and tried to get into her car, then attacked her with pepper spray. Shipman was able to drive away.

Police arrested Nowak a short time later in the parking lot near a trash can where she was seen getting rid of a bag. In Nowak's bag police found a steel mallet, a knife, a BB pistol, rubber tubing and several large garbage bags.

"Almost three years later, I'm still reeling from her vicious attack," Shipman told Circuit Judge Marc L. Lubet after Nowak's plea, holding back tears. "I know in my heart when Lisa Nowak attacked me, she was going to kill me.

"I believe I escaped a horrible death that night," said Shipman, a former Air Force captain who worked at Patrick Air Force Base near the Kennedy Space Center.

Shipman described how she still fears for her life, suffers nightmares, migraines, high blood pressure and other medical problems and has bought a shotgun and has a concealed weapons permit. She said her Air Force career was ruined by medical problems stemming from the attack. She now lives in Alaska with Oefelein.

"The world I knew before Lisa Nowak is unrecognizable," Shipman said. "Every stranger I see is a potential attacker."

After being told by the judge to face Shipman, Nowak apologized for the pain she brought to Shipman's life.

"I hope very much that we can all move forward from this with privacy and peace," Nowak said.

Lubet ordered her to have no contact with Shipman or Oefelein and to write Shipman a letter of apology. The sentence included two days in jail but the judge waived it for time already served. He said the plea could adversely affect her career and retirement benefits with the Navy.

"You brought this on yourself. I don't have any sympathy for you in that respect," Lubet told Nowak.

The plea came after an appeals court ruled last year that diapers, latex gloves and other items found in Nowak's car could be used as evidence in a trial that had been scheduled for next month, but her six-hour police interview after her arrest could not. The court said investigators took advantage of the former astronaut, who had not slept for more than 24 hours, coercing her into giving information.

Prosecutor Pam Davis had asked for jail time and at least five years of probation, dismissing claims from Nowak's defense attorney that Nowak had been "over charged" by police detectives because of her high profile.

"This has nothing to do with Ms. Nowak being an astronaut. This is about what she did," Davis said.

Nowak, 46, is a married mother of three. She flew on the space shuttle in 2006, but was dismissed from the astronaut corps after her arrest and has since been on active duty at a Navy base in Corpus Christi, Texas. Oefelein, 44, also was forced out of NASA.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/WireStory?id=9043350&page=1

[happygirl]

I figured she would have got a longer sentence then that. I hope this woman gets some help

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Originally Posted by happygirl

I figured she would have got a longer sentence then that. I hope this woman gets some help

I hope so, but I recall a story a little while ago that Shipman's statements did not match up with paramedics or something. That only served to assist Nowak.

Did not know that her police interview was inadmissable.

[DWGal210]

Wow, just 1 year?!?!

I think since the beginning of this case, this is an example of how women can sometimes be treated differently as it relates to what I would consider violent crime. (I think the same thing about female teacher sex offenders as well, most of whom just get a slap on the wrist.) Do you think that if a man had stalked a woman AND had all that crap in his car would just get a year's probation? I think not.

It just seems to me like a double standard.

[FireDancer]

That lady is a crack pot and deserves some time in a rubber room. What kind of a nut case puts on a diaper to drive cross country even if you ignore all of the other facts of the case.

My conclusion: psycho.

[clovergirl5]

Fatal attraction anyone?! WOW This weirdo needs more than just probation. I would be scared if I was the other woman. How is she supposed to live a productive, normal life if she is always looking over her shoulder.
I can't imagine wearing a diapy cross country like that, wonder if she loaded up with butt cream to prevent diaper rash

[hvsteve1]

This was something right out of "Law and Order". Almost all the evidence gathered at the scene was disallowed because the cops apparently screwed up. Even the infamous diapers were banned from being mentioned as they had been disposed of with no photos or other documentation. The victim has told conflicting stories about being pepper sprayed and not being pepper sprayed. Statements made by the suspect were also thrown out. A minor felony and midsdomeanor were all that was left so she was allowed to plead. I have to apologize to my wife. I keep telling her the L&O shows annoy me because they always seem to end with the perp walking because all the evidence is thrown out. I guess that happens more than we think in real life.

[allison443]

Originally Posted by hvsteve1

This was something right out of "Law and Order". Almost all the evidence gathered at the scene was disallowed because the cops apparently screwed up. Even the infamous diapers were banned from being mentioned as they had been disposed of with no photos or other documentation. The victim has told conflicting stories about being pepper sprayed and not being pepper sprayed. Statements made by the suspect were also thrown out. A minor felony and midsdomeanor were all that was left so she was allowed to plead. I have to apologize to my wife. I keep telling her the L&O shows annoy me because they always seem to end with the perp walking because all the evidence is thrown out. I guess that happens more than we think in real life.

The appeals court ruled that the diapers, gloves, and other items from her car COULD be used as evidence against her at trial. Her statement to police was not going to be allowed. (according to the article in the OP).

[JerseyJanice]

I feel bad for her children. That's one year they'll be without a mother. And call me cynical, but Shipman sounds like she's going for disability and/or a civil lawsuit. I don't doubt it was a traumatic event in her life, but she's blaming a huge number of health problems on it. IIRC, the police got to Lisa before she got anywhere near Ms. Shipman.

[snookiedoodles]

Great.....if I did this, they would throw away the key!!

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Originally Posted by JerseyJanice

I feel bad for her children. That's one year they'll be without a mother. And call me cynical, but Shipman sounds like she's going for disability and/or a civil lawsuit. I don't doubt it was a traumatic event in her life, but she's blaming a huge number of health problems on it. IIRC, the police got to Lisa before she got anywhere near Ms. Shipman.

Does her probation have to be in Florida? I think she could feasibily be monitored in her own state. So it isn't a year without their mother necessarily.

Though she is cookoo for cocoa puffs, so they've been without a true mother for quite some time I'm afraid.

[Hillbeans]

This whole story was so bizzare, I also feel bad for her children.

I know it's in poor taste but LOL at the butt cream comment...just the fact she wouldn't stop to take a bathroom break is so out there...

[Stacerita]

Originally Posted by clovergirl5

Fatal attraction anyone?! WOW This weirdo needs more than just probation. I would be scared if I was the other woman. How is she supposed to live a productive, normal life if she is always looking over her shoulder.
I can't imagine wearing a diapy cross country like that, wonder if she loaded up with butt cream to prevent diaper rash

[EMom]

No two ways about it, Lisa Nowak is dangerous. I don't care if the other woman is exaggerating or not........Nowak is a nutjob who is highly motivated to do harm when she fixates on something. Heaven help the next person who gets in her way.......