Judge rejects key evidence in NASA astronaut case

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - A judge threw out key evidence on Friday in a case against former NASA astronaut Lisa Nowak, who is accused of stalking and assaulting a romantic rival at Orlando International Airport.

Judge Marc Lubet ruled police violated Nowak's constitutional rights by the way they interrogated her on February 5 and searched her car, according to a court order signed on Friday.

"The defendant's admissions obtained by (Orlando Police) Detective (William) Becton and the evidence obtained from the search of her vehicle must be suppressed," Lubet wrote.

Nowak is charged with attempted kidnapping, battery and burglary after authorities allege she equipped herself with a knife, pepper spray, a wig and trench coat and raced from Houston to Orlando, Florida, to meet Air Force Capt. Colleen Shipman's plane at the airport.

Nowak and Shipman were involved in a love triangle with astronaut Bill Oefelein.

The suppressed evidence included Nowak's statements about the suspected crime in which she described how and why she came to be at the airport.

It also included details of her relationship with others in the love triangle as well a map to Shipman's home and receipts indicating she paid expenses for the trip only in cash.

A spokeswoman for Nowak's lawyer did not immediately return a call for comment on the impact of the order, which followed two days of hearings in August and September on Nowak's motion to stop prosecutors from using the evidence at the trial, due to start next April.

In the hearings, Becton said Nowak consented to talk to him and allow her car to be searched but acknowledged her consent was either inaudible on the tape recording or amounted to sounds like "mmhmm."

Nowak said she had requested a lawyer but was given the impression her car would be searched whether she consented or not.

In his order, Lubet said only about half of Nowak's interrogation was recorded by Becton and many of Nowak's answers on the tape were inaudible.

Lubet cited other grounds for suppressing the evidence, including Nowak's physical and emotional state, the length of her nine-hour detention and six-hour interrogation and promises and threats made to Nowak by Becton.

He also said Nowak gave no written waiver of her rights and no written permission to search her car.