‘Serial stowaway’ doing well as she awaits trial
It’s been a year and a week since “serial stowaway” Marilyn Hartman snuck aboard a British Airways flight from Chicago to London, where she was promptly arrested and flown home to face criminal charges.
On Tuesday, a Cook County judge was pleased to hear that Hartman, 70, is doing “quite well” at the West Side nonprofit housing facility where she’s receiving support.
A representative from A Safe Haven provided the update to Judge Peggy Chiampas at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse.
“I’m really happy to hear you’re doing so well there,” Chiampas told Hartman.
Although the living arrangement allows Hartman to avoid a jail cell as her case winds through the court system, other precautions were made to keep her away from airports.
A wrist-worn GPS device complements the clunky electronic monitor that protruded from her left ankle, above a pink gym shoe, in court Tuesday.
The measures were deemed necessary when Hartman, days after being released from custody following her unauthorized trip to London, was arrested again at O’Hare Airport.
In July, Cook County Judge Maura Slattery-Boyle ruled that Hartman was fit to stand trial following months of therapy and medication while in the custody of the state Department of Human Services.
Hartman, who has a long history of trespassing in airports and airplanes, has been living at A Safe Haven since then. Hartman was ordered to appear in court again Feb. 19 for another status hearing.