Court Releases New Video of Lisa Nowak After Arrest

Aug. 10, 2007 — -- An Orlando, Fla., court released video Friday of former astronaut Lisa Nowak hours after her arrest for allegedly attacking a woman whom she perceived to be her romantic rival.

The video shows Nowak sitting on the floor of a holding cell in the Orlando International Airport Feb. 5, 2007, the morning she was arrested after the incident in the parking lot of the airport.

In the video, Nowak can also be seen pacing around the tiny cell for several hours before she was questioned by police. She had asked for a lawyer but was told that nothing could be done about her request at that time.

"The video shows the isolation and exhaustion of an emotionally distraught Lisa Nowak, who had been interrogated over a period of 15 hours between her arrest and booking, all the while being deprived of food, sleep and a lawyer," Nowak's attorney Don Lykkebak said.

The video could be useful during Nowak's next court appearance later this month. Lykkebak has filed several motions with the court, asking Judge Marc Lubet to suppress her interview with Orlando Police Detective Chris Becton following her arrest.

Nowak is expected to testify at the daylong hearing Aug. 24.

Lykkebak has argued that Nowak was held in custody for three hours at the airport, followed by a five-hour interrogation.

His court filing states, "The defendant had been deprived of sleep and was not permitted a phone call."

Lykkebak wants her statement to police thrown out as evidence, along with everything seized from her car the morning of her arrest. He contends that the search of her car was illegal.

Nowak was arrested early on the morning of Feb. 5 after Air Force Capt. Colleen Shipman told police Nowak had attacked her with pepper spray in the parking lot of the airport. Shipman and Nowak were both dating another astronaut, Bill Oefelein.

Nowak is accused of attempted kidnapping and attempted burglary with assault; if convicted of these charges she could go to prison for a very long time.

Nowak's attorney also wants the court to let his client ditch the ankle monitoring bracelet she wears as a condition of her release.

His filing with the court says the cost of the bracelet -- $105 per week and $2,940 total since her arrest -- is a burden.

He argues the bracelet does not allow his client to supervise her small children in a pool or exercise, and the battery doesn't last very long.

"The low battery buzz and siren interfere with going to public places to eat or shop for basic necessities," he wrote in court filings. "When the siren goes off it draws excessive attention to the person wearing the device and to anyone with that person. Batteries are supposed to last 12 to 14 hours, but they are not consistent. Some buzz only after four to eight hours even though they show that they have a full charge."

The evidence that has been released since Nowak's arrest in February documents an affair between former astronauts Nowak and Oefelein that began while they were both married to other people. The affair ended when Oefelein met another woman. He apparently did not make a clean break with Nowak, and continued to see both women at the same time.

Nowak, in her statement to police, described driving cross country almost nonstop in order to confront Shipman after she returned home to Florida, following a romantic weekend in Houston with Oefelein.

The evidence seized that night included a BB gun, knife, tape, garbage bags and used diapers, which police say Nowak wore to avoid stopping to use the bathroom.

Her attorney said the diapers were left over supplies from Hurricane Rita.

Nowak and Oefelein have both been fired by NASA and returned to active duty with the Navy. Nowak's trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 24.