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Sam Penrod ReportingThe woman accused of causing a disturbance yesterday on board a United Airlines flight was a no show in federal court today.
Bogdana Georgieva was arrested yesterday morning, when she forced the flight to make an emergency landing in Salt Lake. Today she was not in court, because she is in the psyche ward at University Hospital.
What really makes this case hard to understand is that the defendant is highly educated, with a doctorate in Mathematics, and was close to finishing a master's degree in physics. What caused her to become so unruly yesterday, that the pilot was forced to land in Salt Lake, is still not known.
The United Express flight which left Eugene, Oregon enroute to Denver, was forced to land in Salt Lake, after authorities say 35-year old Bogdana Georgieva became agitated on the flight, and at times violent. Today in federal court it was learned that she is now in the neurological ward at University Hospital, where doctors told prosecutors she suffered a psychotic episode, and do not know the cause of it.
Witnesses on the flight say that she started pushing other passengers around and began to be emotionally upset. Court documents state she claimed to be the mother of Jesus and that President Bush was behind it all. During landing she approached the flight deck and became violent with a flight attendant, even pulling out some of the attendants hair and an earring. She also yelled there was a bomb on board, prompting the plane to be evacuated
Georgieva has two graduate degrees from the University of Oregon in Eugene and is in the process of earning another, according to her web page.
Prosecutors plan to take the case to a grand jury on charges of interfering with a flight crew, which could mean up to twenty years in federal prison if she is convicted. Any previous history of the defendant was not discussed in court today.
When Georgieva is released from the hospital, the judge ordered that she be turned over to the FBI. That's when a competency hearing is likely to be held on how the criminal case against her will go forward.
