Bomb Hoax To Avoid Boyfriend

A woman charged with making bomb threats that shut down the Duesseldorf international airport for six hours last year pleaded guilty Wednesday, saying she phoned the threats to avoid going on vacation with her boyfriend.

Marina Busbosnjac, 29, testified in a Duesseldorf court that she was trying to keep the relationship a secret from her family.

"I couldn't say to my boyfriend that we couldn't travel" and hoped instead to get the flight canceled, Busbosnjac testified.

Prosecutors reduced their sentencing request from 3½ years to three years in light of the last-minute confession, adding that the plea came too close to Thursday's expected verdict to merit further leniency.

The Sept. 14 shutdown at Germany's third-busiest airport came after it received seven bomb threats warning of plans to blow up specific airplanes and buildings. About 15,000 people were evacuated from airport buildings.