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28038: Hermantin(News)Woman charged with carrying skull in luggage appears in court tod (fwd)
From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>
Posted on Thu, Mar. 02, 2006
Woman charged with carrying skull in luggage appears in court today
By Miami Herald staff
browardnews@MiamiHerald.com
Myrlene Severe, the woman charged with intentionally smuggling a human head
into the United States last month, will have to wait two weeks to hear the
charges against her.
Severe and her attorney, Kenneth Hassett, appeared in federal court in Fort
Lauderdale this morning, in front of U.S. Magistrate Barry S. Seltzer.
The prosecution did not present an indictment against Severe. The prosecution
and defense agreed to postpone the hearing until March 16.
After the hearing, Severe did not speak to the media. Her attorney said he
continues working with prosecutors to resolve the case, adding that a plea deal
could be possible.
''There is no ill will here,'' Hassett said. ``I think the government knows
that.''
Severe, 30 of Miramar, was released from a federal detention center Feb. 14
after posting $10,000 for her $100,000 bond, according to her attorney.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood
International Airport found the skull in Severe's luggage Feb. 9 after her Lynx
Airline flight arrived from Haiti. It was not clear if it was a manual search
or an X-Ray scan.
Severe told Customs officers she got the ''package'' from a Haitian man and
planned to use it to ward off evil spirits as part of her Vodou beliefs,
according to an Immigration & Customs Enforcement affidavit.
The skull, which had black curly hair, was found nestled inside a cotton rice
bag, tucked among a banana leaf, some dirt, small stones and a rusty iron nail.
It is against the law to bring human body parts into the United States --
unless you have proper paperwork indicating they are being used for scientific
purposes, such as for medical research or transplant.
Severe, a native of Haiti, was arrested and charged with intentionally
smuggling a human head into the United States and not having the proper
paperwork, as well as bringing hazardous material on an airplane.
Each count carries a five-year maximum sentence, meaning Severe could spend up
to 15 years in federal prison if convicted on all charges.
The skull was delivered to the Broward County medical examiner who determined
that it once belonged to a black male, roughly 40 years old or younger.
Severe's arraignment is now scheduled for 11 a.m. March 16 in front of U.S.
Magistrate Edwin G. Torres.