© 2024 Hawaiʻi Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

No release for Oʻahu woman accused of using dead baby's ID

This undated photo provided by the United States District Court District of Hawaii shows Gwynn Darle Morrison, aka Julie Lyn Montague. Morrison and her husband a U.S. defense contractor who federal authorities say lived for decades under the identities of two dead Texas children have been charged with identity theft and conspiring against the government. Walter Glenn Primrose and Morrison were arrested, Friday, July 22, 2022, in Kapolei on the island of Oʻahu. (United States District Court District of Hawaii via AP)
AP
/
United States District Court
This undated photo provided by the United States District Court District of Hawaiʻi shows Gwynn Darle Morrison, aka Julie Lyn Montague. (United States District Court District of Hawaii via AP)

A woman accused with her husband of living in Hawaiʻi 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.

This combination of undated photos provided by the United States District Court District of Hawaii shows Walter Glenn Primose, left, also known as Bobby Edward Fort, and his wife Gwynn Darle Morrison, also known as Julie Lyn Montague, purportedly in KGB, the former Russian spy agency, uniforms. (United States District Court District of Hawaii via AP)
AP
/
United States District Court
This combination of undated photos provided by the United States District Court District of Hawaii shows Walter Glenn Primose, left, also known as Bobby Edward Fort, and his wife Gwynn Darle Morrison, also known as Julie Lyn Montague, purportedly in KGB, the former Russian spy agency, uniforms. (United States District Court District of Hawaii via AP)

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.

The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers.
Related Stories