Lisa Nowak make first public statements since arrest

Lisa Nowak, ex-astronaut is expected in court Friday and will make her first public statements since her Feb. 5 arrest, her attorney said.

Photo: Lisa Nowak make first public statements since arrest

Nowak, who is accused of attacking Air Force Capt. Colleen Shipman in a parking lot at Orlando International Airport, is expected to ask Circuit Court Judge Marc L. Lubet for her release from a GPS ankle monitoring bracelet, her attorney, Donald Lykkebak, said.

The former astronaut has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted kidnapping, battery and burglary with assault.

Nowak, now a Navy pilot, has prepared written remarks to read outside the courtroom after the hearing lets out, Lykkebak said.

In an interview with detectives, Nowak said she and Shipman were vying for the affection of former astronaut Bill Oefelein. She told them she confronted Shipman because she wanted to know "where she stands" in the bizarre love triangle.

Nowak, 44, is accused of attacking Shipman with pepper spray and trying to jump into her vehicle. Police say Nowak was carrying a duffel bag with a steel mallet, 4-inch-long (10-centimeter-long) knife and a BB gun.

At Friday's hearing, Lykkebak is expected to seek to suppress a five-hour interview Nowak gave at a police airport holding station and the search of her car at a nearby hotel.

Lykkebak contends police searched Nowak's car without her permission or a warrant. He said in additional court filings she gave the interview under duress - after being held three hours, deprived of sleep and a phone call and unadvised of her constitutional rights. It persisted, Lykkebak argued, despite Nowak saying "Should I have a lawyer?" three times.

In a court filing earlier this month seeking release from her ankle monitoring bracelet, Nowak said the device is bulky and interferes with her ability to exercise - a requirement for a Navy officer. It also inhibits her ability to drive, fly on a commercial airplane and monitor her children in the pool, according to the defense.

Kepler Funk, an attorney for Shipman, said he planned to fight the motion.