A woman, Lisa Margaret Lines, a.k.a. Scarlet Ellis Lines from Australia, was ordered by Palau Supreme Court on Friday, November 17, 2023, to be extradited to Australia to face charges of attempted murder and conspiracy to murder her ex-husband in Adelaide, Australia.
Unsealed court documents revealed that Ms. Lines appeared in person at Palau court on November 17th, represented by Palau’s Chief Public Defender Watekini Mucunabitu, and did not oppose extradition.
The government of Australia had requested the extradition of Ms. Lines, based on Palau law, PNC Title 18, Section 10.101, Palau’s Extradition and Transfer Act of 2001.
The court order committed Ms. Lines to Palau jail under the custody of the Director of Public Safety until she can be transferred to Australia within the next seven (7) days.
From her arrest on November 15th to November 17th, Ms. Lines’s case was sealed. Palau Attorney General Ernestine Rengiil says cases can be sealed under Rule 50 of Criminal Procedure. The purpose of sealing the case “is to protect sensitive law enforcement information from being disclosed prematurely and protect the privacy of the individual involved during the early stages of the proceedings.”
Ms. Lisa Margaret Lines and her boyfriend, Zacharia Bruckner, are accused in South Australia on criminal charges of attempted murder and conspiracy to murder her ex-husband, Jonathan Hawtin.
In 2017, Lisa Lines’s ex-husband was attacked with an ax at his home in Adelaide and, as a result of the attack, was paralyzed from the neck down. During the attack, Ms. Lines’ boyfriend Bruckner was shot in the stomach.
After the attack, Mr. Hawtin was charged with attempted murder but was cleared of all charges by the jury. Meanwhile, Ms. Lines left Australia with her two children for Taiwan in 2020. In Australia, she and her boyfriend Bruckner were charged with attempted murders and conspiracy to commit murder.
Australia issued warrants for Ms. Lines’s arrest, and upon landing in Palau on November 15th, she was arrested by Palau police based on Australia’s charges and arrest warrants. Palau law allows it to arrest other nationalities with outstanding arrest warrants in their countries.