Hawaii woman accused with her husband of stealing identities of dead babies ordered to stay in prison
A woman accused with her husband of living in Hawaii under the stolen identities of dead babies will remain behind bars pending their trial, a U.S. magistrate judge ruled Wednesday.
According to prosecutors, Walter Glenn Primrose and Gwynn Darle Morrison are the real names of the couple who have been fraudulently living for decades under the stolen identities of Bobby Edward Fort and Julie Lyn Montague. Prosecutors say Primrose spent more than 20 years in the Coast Guard as Bobby Fort, where he obtained secret-level security clearance. After retiring in 2016, he used the secret clearance for a job as a U.S. defense contractor, prosecutors said.
There is no indication in court documents why the couple in 1987 assumed the identities of deceased children, who would have been more than a decade younger than them.
Previous rulings have kept them detained.
At a hearing Wednesday asking a judge to release the wife, she identified herself as "Lyn Montague."
"I understand the court's concern - the allegation is my client has used a false and fraudulent name for almost her entire life and we cannot verify who she is," her attorney Megan Kau said.
Kau said she is not accused of committing a crime using an allegedly stolen identity.
As Kau's client was led out of the courtroom after U.S. Magistrate Judge Kenneth Mansfield's ruling, she said, "As expected." She referred to the situation as, "this whole idiotic thing."
A hearing for a similar request by her husband hasn't been scheduled. He has a new attorney who said Tuesday that he won't be ready in time for the couple's May 22 trial date. The newly appointed lawyer, Marc Victor, said he doesn't think he will be ready anytime this year.
Kau said she is contemplating requesting a separate trial from her client's husband.
There was no mention in court Wednesday of Russian spy intrigue prosecutors introduced when the couple were arrested last year.
A search of the couple's home in Kapolei, a Honolulu suburb, turned up Polaroids of them wearing jackets that appear to be authentic KGB uniforms, an invisible ink kit, documents with coded language and maps showing military bases, prosecutors said at the time.
But prosecutors last month asked that jurors not hear about the uniforms, and a judge last week agreed.
The couple have pleaded not guilty to conspiracy, false statement in a passport application and aggravated identity theft.
According to a criminal complaint obtained by Hawaii News Now, Primrose was allegedly issued a total of five U.S. passports under the identity of Bobby Fort. Morrison was issued a total of three U.S. passports under the name of Julie Montague, the complaint says.
In a court filing last year, prosecutors released details from a small portion of what they said is Morrison's journal, Hawaii News Now reported.
The entry is titled: "12 things I would take with me if I had to flee my present life (Again?)"