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Serial Stowaway Ruled Unfit To Stand Trial; Will Undergo Mental Treatment

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A Cook County judge has ruled serial stowaway Marilyn Hartman unfit to stand trial, and ordered her to be treated at an inpatient mental health facility.

Hartman has been held at the Cook County Jail since Jan. 28, after her latest arrest for trespassing at O'Hare International Airport.

During a hearing on Thursday, psychologists for prosecutors and defense attorneys both told a Cook County judge they had conducted clinical interviews and psychological tests on Hartman, and determined she is unfit to stand trial.

The prosecution's doctor recommended Hartman undergo inpatient mental health treatment, while the psychologist for her defense called for a less restrictive option.

Judge Maura Slattery Boyle ruled Hartman unfit to stand trial, and ordered her placed in the custody of an Illinois Department of Human Services facility in Elgin, or another appropriate mental health facility to begin her mental rehabilitation.

According to police reports, Hartman "slipped past TSA document checkers" at an O'Hare checkpoint around 2 p.m. on Jan. 14, "as both TSA agents were busy checking other passengers."

Police said Hartman could be seen covering the left side of her face as she walked past TSA agents.

Once she bypassed the TSA document check and got through an X-ray screening, she made her way to a gate and tried to get on board an American Airlines flight to Connecticut, but was turned away by a gate agent.

Hartman ended up sneaking onto a shuttle bus to the International Terminal by joining a group of passengers, then spent the night at the airport. The next day, she managed to board a British Airways flight to London by waiting for the gate agents to be occupied screening passengers, and slipping past them undetected.

When Hartman arrived in London without a ticket or passport, she was arrested and sent back to Chicago, where she was charged with trespassing and theft – in connection with the $3,200 price of a ticket on the flight. She was released on bond on Jan. 25, with a warning to stay away from airports, but was arrested at O'Hare again three days later, after allegedly trespassing once again.

Hartman has been arrested several times over the past few years after sneaking past security at airports across the country, many times managing to board planes without a ticket.

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