Runaway Mom Wants Her Life Back to Normal

Sweeten waived her preliminary hearing

Runaway mom Bonnie Sweeten was ordered to stand trial for charges connected to last month's abduction hoax.

The Bucks County woman made national headlines nearly a month ago when she frantically called 9-1-1 to say she and her 9-year old daughter were carjacked, kidnapped and thrown into the trunk of a car by two black men.

Investigators said what she really did was steal a friend's identity to buy one-way tickets to Disney World so she could run away from a world where the "walls were caving in."

Sweeten was also accused of stealing money from family, friends and a local charity, to fund a lifestyle she otherwise couldn't afford. Authorities say that investigation is ongoing, but Sweeten has not been charged with any financial wrongdoing. She'll stand trial on charges of identity theft and making a false report to police.

Sweeten, 38, was brought back from Orlando to Bucks County. She's undergoing mental health therapy set up by her attorney, Louis R. Busico.

Busico told NBC's Jeff Rossen earlier this month that Sweeten snapped under the pressures of a new baby, money problems and a troubled marriage.

"It could be physical, it could be mental, it could be hormonal or a combination of all three," said Busico.

Rossen said at that time, that Busico might be considering an insanity defense for Sweeten.

The Feasterville mom waived her preliminary hearing Monday, so the day was short on details. Preliminary hearings are usually when the first details of how each side is building their case, gets publicly revealed.

Busico said he didn't think there was any reason to put Sweeten through all that.

"There's no point in rehashing what she's already been through. She's emotionally distraught," he said.

Sweeten came to court with her husband, Larry and her father. Busico said she'll continue her therapy and supervised visits with her three daughters while awaiting trial and that she just wants her life to go back to normal.
 

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