So-called "serial stowaway" Marilyn Hartman remains in custody, ordered held without bond on Wednesday while doctors perform a psychiatric exam to determine her sanity and fitness for trial. A Cook County judge set her next hearing for Feb. 13.
But she could soon be free again.
Hartman's attorney, assistant public defender Parle Roe-Taylor, says she will come back to court "as soon as possible", seeking to have the no-bond order modified so her client can be released.
"I don't think jail is an appropriate place for Ms. Hartman," Taylor said. "She's not violent. She's not hurting personnel even when she's at the airport. She's very defenseless, if anything, when she's at the jail."
After her latest stowaway escapade where she made it all the way to London, Hartman was released on bond but ordered to stay away from Chicago's O'Hare and Midway international airports.
It took her just three days to violate that order, appearing at O'Hare where she was immediately arrested early Sunday morning.
Hartman appeared in two different courtrooms Wednesday. When she faced felony charges in Branch 50, Judge Adam Bourgeois asked if she had any family.
When her lawyer attempted to answer, Hartman interrupted.
"No I don't!" she exclaimed. Hartman has been estranged from her Chicago-area relatives for many years, and has cited a litany of woes at their hands as part of the root of her troubles.
Later in misdemeanor court, with a man snoring loudly in the back of the courtroom, Hartman said nothing as her next appearance was scheduled for Feburary 13th. The charge of trespassing at the airport is a misdemeanor.
During that hearing, Taylor said she would seek to have Hartman released on electronic monitoring in the care of a "safe haven" agency where she might be housed in Cook County. The 66 year old Hartman has an apartment in Grayslake, which is in Lake County, but the court will not grant monitoring in a separate jurisdiction.
Her attorney expressed confidence that a release could be fashioned in such a way that Hartman could be monitored effectively.
"There are signals that would be sent if she is outside the parameters," she said. If it's 150 feet, or those things. GPS is also available."
"But she would have to have a place to live."
