As the saying goes, beauty hurts. Denise Marie Woodrum, 51, was charged over importing a commercial quantity of the drug after arriving at Sydney Airport on August 4 last year. Border officials found cocaine stuffed inside high heels and other belongings in her luggage.
In January, she pleaded guilty to the illegal import but told the court she was a victim of an online romance scam.
However, a judge found she had willingly participated in the operation, and on Thursday, the New South Wales District Court sentenced Woodrum, who is from Missouri, to a maximum of seven-and-a-half years in jail. Woodrum will be eligible for parole after four-and-a-half years.
Woodrum’s lawyer, Rebecca Neil, described Woodrum as a deeply religious woman who was associated with an order of Sisters called the Adorers of the Blood of Christ. Neil claimed a man had groomed her client online. In her scam argument, the man, who went by the name Hendrik Cornelius, exploited Woodrum’s trust for financial gain, Ms Neil said.
Woodrum had visited South America before journeying to Australia with 756 grams of cocaine. She told authorities that she had no knowledge of the drugs and “it was supposed to be just clothes,” the Australian Associated Press reported.
However Judge Wass was not convinced by the story, and said the defendant had shown little remorse for her “reckless actions.”
By: Maytinee Kramer
