28038: Hermantin(News)Woman charged with carrying skull in luggage appears in court tod (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Thu, Mar. 02, 2006



Woman charged with carrying skull in luggage appears in court today

By Miami Herald staff
browardnews@MiamiHerald.com

Myrlene Severe, the woman charged with intentionally smuggling a human head 
into the United States last month, will have to wait two weeks to hear the 
charges against her.

Severe and her attorney, Kenneth Hassett, appeared in federal court in Fort 
Lauderdale this morning, in front of U.S. Magistrate Barry S. Seltzer.

The prosecution did not present an indictment against Severe. The prosecution 
and defense agreed to postpone the hearing until March 16.

After the hearing, Severe did not speak to the media. Her attorney said he 
continues working with prosecutors to resolve the case, adding that a plea deal 
could be possible.

''There is no ill will here,'' Hassett said. ``I think the government knows 
that.''

Severe, 30 of Miramar, was released from a federal detention center Feb. 14 
after posting $10,000 for her $100,000 bond, according to her attorney.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood 
International Airport found the skull in Severe's luggage Feb. 9 after her Lynx 
Airline flight arrived from Haiti. It was not clear if it was a manual search 
or an X-Ray scan.

Severe told Customs officers she got the ''package'' from a Haitian man and 
planned to use it to ward off evil spirits as part of her Vodou beliefs, 
according to an Immigration & Customs Enforcement affidavit.

The skull, which had black curly hair, was found nestled inside a cotton rice 
bag, tucked among a banana leaf, some dirt, small stones and a rusty iron nail.

It is against the law to bring human body parts into the United States -- 
unless you have proper paperwork indicating they are being used for scientific 
purposes, such as for medical research or transplant.

Severe, a native of Haiti, was arrested and charged with intentionally 
smuggling a human head into the United States and not having the proper 
paperwork, as well as bringing hazardous material on an airplane.

Each count carries a five-year maximum sentence, meaning Severe could spend up 
to 15 years in federal prison if convicted on all charges.

The skull was delivered to the Broward County medical examiner who determined 
that it once belonged to a black male, roughly 40 years old or younger.

Severe's arraignment is now scheduled for 11 a.m. March 16 in front of U.S. 
Magistrate Edwin G. Torres.