Astronaut Meets Rival in Court

Nowak Apologizes, Asks to Have Ankle Bracelet Removed

ORLANDO, Aug. 24 -- Former astronaut Lisa M. Nowak apologized Friday to Air Force Capt. Colleen Shipman, the rival she is accused of attacking and trying to kidnap during the unraveling of a love triangle with a fellow astronaut.

In her first public statement since her Feb. 5 arrest at Orlando International Airport, Nowak said she had been "shocked and overwhelmed at the media coverage" of the case.

Nowak, who grew up in Rockville and graduated from the Naval Academy, is scheduled to go on trial Sept. 24. She is charged with attempted kidnapping, battery and burglary stemming from allegations that she stalked and attacked Shipman after driving from Texas to Florida.

"I know this has also been very hard for Colleen Shipman, and I would like her to know how very sorry I am for having frightened her in any way and about the subsequent public harassment that has followed all of us," Nowak said outside an Orange County courtroom. Shipman attended a hearing Friday but was not present when Nowak spoke to reporters.

Inside the courthouse, Nowak asked Circuit Judge Marc L. Lubet to let her stop wearing an ankle bracelet that monitors her movements and said she would alert the court if she traveled to the Florida county where Shipman lives.

Responding to the request, Shipman had her attorney read a statement during the hearing. She had not planned to speak, but Nowak's lawyers persuaded Lubet to make her testify.

"When I'm home alone and there's nobody there with me, it is a comfort," Shipman said of Nowak's ankle bracelet.

Under questioning from Nowak attorney Donald Lykkebak, Shipman acknowledged that she had visited her boyfriend in Houston, Nowak's home town, several times since February. She did not say whether that boyfriend was Navy Cmdr. William A. Oefelein, who had a romantic relationship with both women. He and Nowak were dismissed from the astronaut corps after the arrest.

Lykkebak urged Lubet to exclude an Orlando police detective's interrogation of Nowak and items police found during a search of her car, because she did not sign written forms authorizing a search and waiving her Miranda rights.

Lubet, who said the defense had made a strong case that there was no warrant for the search, will rule at a later date on all defense motions.

The hearing marked the first time that Nowak, who once flew on the space shuttle, and Shipman appeared together in court.