The Colorado couple accused of lying to authorities by saying that their 6-year-old son was aboard a runaway helium balloon last month will plead guilty in exchange for probation to avoid the possible deportation of the mother, a Japanese citizen, according to multiple reports.
Richard Heene will plead guilty to one felony charge of attempting to influence a public official and his wife, Mayumi, will plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of making a false report to law enforcement.
They have agreed to turn themselves in and are scheduled to appear in court on Friday, according to the district attorney's office.
Despite initially denying the incident was a hoax, according to an affidavit Mayumi told an investigator the couple devised the hoax two weeks before the flight "to make the Heene family more marketable for future media interest" and that they built the balloon specifically for that purpose. Mayumi also said she and her husband had instructed their three children to lie to authorities and the media, the affidavit said.
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