A California woman is heading to trial on an escape charge more than three decades after she fled a Michigan prison. Susan LeFevre waived a preliminary examination Monday afternoon in district court in Plymouth.

The 53-year-old is back in Michigan serving at least 5 1/2 years of her remaining sentence for selling heroin.  She was convicted in a Saginaw County case.  If convicted of escape, she could face probation or another five years in prison.

LeFevre was arrested in April outside her San Diego home. The mother of three had served about one year of a 10- to 20-year sentence before climbing a Detroit-area prison fence in 1976.

Attorney William Swor has said he will "aggressively defend" LeFevre and hopes she ultimately will be released.