Seriously... Why?

[Easy Mac]

What on Earth would posses a person to do this...


Woman Charged in Stolen Fetus Case Friday, December 17, 2004


SKIDMORE, Mo. — Authorities have charged a woman with killing Bobbi Jo Stinnett, an eight-months-pregnant mom-to-be whose fetus was cut from her womb. The charge was filed against Lisa M. Montgomery, 36, of Melvern, Kan., who was in possession of a baby girl believed to be the stolen fetus when police found it on Friday.

Two people were taken into custody and the baby, said to be in good health, was taken to a hospital in Topeka, Kan., authorities said. FBI agent Rick Thornton said the father has been reunited with his child.

Police made the discovery via a telephone tip, and said the baby girl matched the description of the fetus they were searching for.

An adult man and woman were at the home where the baby was found. A red Honda hatchback matching the description of the one authorities were hunting for was parked in front of the house.

"We’re going to cancel the Amber Alert — we’re that confident that we have the girl taken from Skidmore [Mo.]," said Nodaway County (search) Sheriff Ben Espey at a Friday evening press conference. "We may have not ever recovered this little baby if the Amber Alert system was not put into place. We’re happy, we’re very happy." Authorities said the baby was being held overnight for observation but was doing well. They weren't commenting on details of the investigation, other than to say that it was ongoing.

Earlier Friday, investigators put out the Amber Alert (search) for the missing fetus and had expanded their search outside Missouri, where 8-months-pregnant Bobbi Jo Stinnett (search), 23, was found slain in her house by her own mother Thursday afternoon. The fetus had been cut from her womb.

Espey said authorities are awaiting DNA testing to confirm the girl is Stinnett's child.

"It's about as good as we can get, people," Espey said.

Espey believes Stinnett, a factory worker married a year and expecting her first child, was likely strangled and resisted the attack. Her husband was at work at the time and is not a suspect, he said.

Authorities hoped that strands of hair found in the dead mother's hands will help find the killers.

"The autopsy is going to show us there was some blond hair probably found in her hands," the sheriff said. "That would also help us with the DNA."

Authorities expanded their search for the premature baby into surrounding states Friday, hoping to find the infant in time to offer much-needed medical attention.

In Kansas, the state's bureau of investigation issued a public "secondary alert" Friday seeking help in finding the girl, who doctors said could have suffered a variety of traumas during the assault, including a lack of oxygen. But the girl could likely survive if treated.

"Ninety-five percent are going to do pretty well given a modest amount of medical attention," said Dr. Perry Clark, medical director of the neonatal intensive care unit at The University of Kansas Hospital.

Six FBI agents left Kansas City to go to what officials described as a “place of interest” as they tried to solve the murder mystery.

"The doctors who examined Bobbi Jo gave us information indicating we probably would have a live child if we could find it," Espey said Friday. "The child would be in danger because of being one month premature."

The Nodaway County Sheriff's Department issued the Amber Alert about 12:30 a.m. for the child, believed to be female. Espey said early tips indicated the abductors might be trying to sell the child, although investigators are unsure how solid that information might be.

"We need to look at the states that just surround us," Espey said.

Espey said investigators were looking for a car that had been reported seen in the driveway at the Stinnett home Thursday afternoon, a red two-door Honda hatchback from the late 1980s to early 1990s.

He said that at about 12:45 a.m. officers in Atchison County saw a car that appeared to match that description and began chasing it, but lost sight of it after its lights were turned off.

Espey said he had been in contact with FBI agents from Virginia who are specialists in abduction of babies. Although he declined to say specifically where investigators were looking, only that their focus will be on states adjacent to Missouri.

The Missouri Major Case Squad (search), the Missouri State Highway Patrol (search) and an investigation team from neighboring Buchanan County were assisting Nodaway County officials in the investigation.

An autopsy was to be conducted in Kansas City by the Jackson County medical examiner.

Espey said investigators knew Stinnett was still alive within an hour of being found around 3:30 p.m. Thursday. Paramedics tried to revive the young woman, who was pronounced dead later at a hospital. Espey was frustrated that it took hours for a statewide Amber Alert to be issued. It didn't appear until about 12:30 a.m.

"We had a live baby, and I thought that should qualify as an Amber Alert," he said. "The information I was getting was that we didn't have enough information such as hair color, eye color, skin complexion, size and weight."

Espey said there were no visible signs of struggle on the victim's body, and no indication of forced entry into her small white home in this small community of about 500, located north of St. Joseph in the extreme northwest corner of Missouri.

The sheriff said Stinnett worked at Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing (search) in Maryville, was married little more than a year and had been expecting her first child.

A neighbor, Bill Dragoo, told the St. Joseph News-Press she raised rat terrier dogs (search).

"They stayed to themselves," said Dragoo. "They didn't bother anybody. It blows my mind that this happened. She was such a shy person. They didn't deserve this."

Chris Smock and his wife Elaina went to school with Bobbi Jo Stinnett and live right behind the Stinnett's house. The couple, who found out about the killing while they were at work, said they were "shocked and horrified."

"It's not your average everyday thing, of course," Chris Smock said. "I think Skidmore will react the same way any town would react. I mean, how would you react?"

Several pregnant women have been killed in recent years by attackers who then removed their fetuses, in some cases to pass the children off as their own.

In the most recent case, a 21-year-old woman was shot to death in Oklahoma in December 2003, allegedly by another woman who pretended the 6-month-old fetus was her child. The fetus died and prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

[duckman]

Originally Posted by Easy Mac

What on Earth would posses a person to do this...

I don't know, but I wanted to vomit after reading that article. That has to be one of the worst things I've ever read or heard. I hope the couple possessing the baby gets everything that is coming to them.

Absolutely disgusting.

[kcchief19]

Obviously been a big story here in Kansas City. Very bizarre and disturbing.

Here's what I find even more disturbing ... this case and the case in Oklahoma last year are not that much different than the Lacy Peterson case -- woman murdered, fetus removed.

I realize that the Peterson case had more "drama" since the husband was involved and there was a mystery. But what makes one of these horrific cases -- for lack of a better phrase -- "more interesting" to people? To me, all of these cases are equally senseless. Is it just the "attractiveness" of the people captures the attention of people?

I don't understand why people give so much attention to the Peterson case and turn a jaundiced eye toward similar cases. I guarantee this case won't be on Court TV and CNN 24/7.

[duckman]

Originally Posted by Shorty3281

i want a fetus for christmas

Nice.

[korme]

i want a fetus for christmas

[cuervo72]

Bobbi Jo Stinnett (search), 23, was found slain in her house by her own mother

This could be interpreted two different ways...

[Havok]

the old "Special place in hell for people like this" saying applies here i think....

[BigJohn&TheLions]

This is one of those thinkgs that just make me wonder what the hell is wrong with people.

[Tekneek]

That is pure evil. Our legal system has no worthy punishment for them.

[judicial clerk]

Looks like the cops have caught the perpetrator