Reported by Emery Jeffreys
ORLANDO -- Former astronaut Lisa Nowak pleaded guilty to burglary and a misdemeanor battery charge, and then she apologized to the woman she is accused of attacking three years ago. She was sentenced to one-year of probation.
Her sentence included credit for the two days she served in the Orange County jail, and she was ordered not to have contact of any kind with Colleen Shipman or Bill Oefelein, a former astronaut. She will also serve 50 hours of community service and take an 8-hour anger management class.
Both Nowak and her rival Shipman were in the courtroom during the hearing.
During a sometimes tearful statement to the court, Shipman said: "I believe 100 percent that Lisa Nowak came here to murder me. Lisa Nowak hunted me down and attacked me in a dark parking lot."
"I knew in my heart that when Lisa Nowak attacked me, that she was going to kill me," Shipman said. "It was in her eyes, a blood-chilling expression of limitless rage and glee."
She also said that Nowak ruined her health and cost Shipman her career.
"I am sincerely sorry I caused you fear," Nowak told Shipman just after she was told to do so by the judge. "I hope we can all move forward with this."
While Nowak was in court, a man waiting in the hallway was hoping she would sign his baseball. He collects autographs of politicians and astronauts. He says Nowak is now a celebrity.
The former astronaut is accused of attacking Shipman at Orlando International Airport.
The women were vying for the affection of Oefelein.
Timeline Of The Lisa Nowak Case
February 2007
Lisa Nowak was arrested at Orlando International Airport after police said she drove from Houston to Orlando to confront Shipman. Nowak was released from Jail on $25,000 bail.
Prosecutors said Nowak pepper-sprayed Shipman and tried to kidnap her. Both women were vying for the affection of Bill Oefelein, another astronaut. Those close to the case said Shipman gave several different accounts of the incident.
January 2008
The case was delayed while the Fifth District Court of Appeals in Daytona Beach ruled on several key issues.
December 2008
The appeals court ruled that items found in Nowak's car -- a steel mallet, a BB gun, rubber tubing and a knife -- could be used as evidence.
Prosecutors plan to use this evidence to show that Nowak intended to harm Shipman.
The appeals court also ruled Nowak's statements to police could not be used because she was not properly advised of her rights with a Miranda warning.
May 2009
Nowak's lawyers withdrew plans to use an insanity defense at trial.
July 2009
Bill Oefelein confirmed that he and Colleen Shipman were engaged to be married while living in Alaska. They also operate a Web site: Adventure Write
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