Original Plea Agreement Tossed Out Over Deportation Concerns

It all started on August 22, 1982 -- when 19-year old Jerry Ambrozuk and his 18-year old girlfriend, Dianne Babcock, took off from the airport in Penticton, British Columbia, headed for Vancouver. Instead, the Cessna 150 ended up over Montana -- and crashed into Bitterroot Lake in Flathead County.

As ANN reported, Ambrozuk called a friend and told him about the crash -- maintaining Dianne's seatbelt had jammed, so there was just "no way" he could get her out.

After 24 years on the run, Ambrozuk was arrested last August near Dallas, TX and charged with negligent homicide in Babcock's death. He maintained his innocence until a February 1 hearing, when he entered a plea of "no contest". This change allowed authorities to bypass a trial and move directly to sentencing. Prosecutors presented an agreement that recommended 10 years of probation.

KWTX-10 in Waco, TX reports this month, Ambrozuk reinstated his innocent plea. The judge allowed the plea change when authorities discovered Ambrozuk had been living illegally in the US all these years.

Now facing passport fraud charges in Texas, Ambrozuk would most likely be deported to Canada, a probation officer testified at the March 8 hearing. There, the US would have no jurisdiction, thus no sentencing enforcement. The judge also felt the plea agreement was "inappropriate".

Prosecutors later said that they did not realize that he would not be supervised in Canada, according to America's Most Wanted where this case has been profiled twice.

Prosecutors have since withdrawn the plea agreement. A new trial date has been set for May 21 in Montana.

This sad and bizarre series of events began when Ambrozuk hatched a plan to elope with Babcock. Phone calls to a friend indicated Ambrozuk planned to ditch the rented Cessna 150 in the Montana lake, after which he and Babcock would swim free of the wreckage and disappear to start new lives in the US.

That was the plan... but that's not what happened. When the plane hit the water, its nosewheel hit the water and caused the plane to flip. Ambrozuk was able to escape, but he says Babcock was unable to unbuckle her seat belt before the plane sank.

The teen did not report Babcock's death to authorities, instead calling a friend to ask him to call the police. Ambrozuk told the court last month he went to New York after the crash, changed his name, and eventually started a software development company.

FMI: Read The NTSB Report On The Accident