[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
28266: Craig (news) Haitian Woman Plead Guilty in Skull Case (fwd)
From: Dan Craig
April 13, 2006
Haitian Woman Plead Guilty in Skull Case
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 1:17 a.m. ET
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -- A Haitian woman who was found with a human skull
in her luggage pleaded guilty Wednesday to illegally storing human remains.
Myrlene Severe, 30, a permanent U.S. resident, had originally been charged with
smuggling a human head into the United States without proper documentation,
failure to declare the head and transporting hazardous material in air
commerce.
Severe could have faced up to 15 years in jail. Under a plea deal, she now
faces a maximum sentence of one year in jail.
''She is glad that part of it is over,'' her attorney, Kenneth Hassett, told
The Miami Herald. ''She is anxiously awaiting the sentencing for closure. We
are cautiously optimistic as to the result.''
Hassett has said a misdemeanor conviction would less likely lead to
deportation.
The remains were found when Severe arrived at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood
International Airport in February from Haiti. She told authorities she intended
to use it as part of her Voodoo beliefs.
Severe's sentencing is scheduled for July 28.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-BRF-Skull-in-Luggage.html