Kansas City, Missouri jury recommends death sentence for Montgomery
From the Herald Sun. By Stefanie Balogh.10/28/07
A jury recommended killer Lisa Montgomery be sentenced to death for cutting a baby out of a mother's womb in one of the US's most chilling murders.
Jurors reached their death penalty decision after more than five hours of deliberations in Kansas City, Missouri. The judge sentencing Montgomery, 39, is obligated to consider their recommendation.
Earlier, Montgomery was convicted of kidnapping and slaughtering eight-months pregnant Bobbie Jo Stinnett on December 16, 2004, to steal her unborn child, Victoria Jo. Montgomery was arrested the day after the strangulation murder, which she planned for weeks, if not months, and researched on the internet how to perform a caesarean section.
Montgomery, who had faked pregnancies to gain financial benefits, was found at her home in Melvern, Kansas, where she was showing off Victoria Jo as her child. Victoria Jo is now a healthy three-year-old who has been reunited with her father, Zeb Stinnett.
Assistant US Attorney Matt Whitworth told the court that every time Victoria Jo had a birthday, "it will be the anniversary of the slaughter of her mother". Federal prosecutor Roseann Ketchmark said Montgomery had committed the "worst crime" and violated the expectant mother "in the most wicked way possible".
Victoria Jo was nearly four weeks premature and prosecutors said Montgomery had not sought medical attention for her. Montgomery's defence team asked for mercy, saying she was mentally ill and did not fully comprehend what she was doing because she had suffered physical and sexual abuse as a child.
Montgomery met the Stinnetts at a dog show in April 2004 and struck up a casual acquaintance over the internet. At the same time, Montgomery told people she was pregnant. After she learned about Ms Stinnett's pregnancy online, she created an online identity and set up a meeting on the pretence of buying a puppy.
She strangled Ms Stinnett with a rope and cut Victoria Jo from her mother's womb in the Stinnett home in Skidmore, Missouri. A sentencing date has not been set.
Retrieved October 28, 2007 from http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22659039-663,00.html
A jury recommended killer Lisa Montgomery be sentenced to death for cutting a baby out of a mother's womb in one of the US's most chilling murders.
Jurors reached their death penalty decision after more than five hours of deliberations in Kansas City, Missouri. The judge sentencing Montgomery, 39, is obligated to consider their recommendation.
Earlier, Montgomery was convicted of kidnapping and slaughtering eight-months pregnant Bobbie Jo Stinnett on December 16, 2004, to steal her unborn child, Victoria Jo. Montgomery was arrested the day after the strangulation murder, which she planned for weeks, if not months, and researched on the internet how to perform a caesarean section.
Montgomery, who had faked pregnancies to gain financial benefits, was found at her home in Melvern, Kansas, where she was showing off Victoria Jo as her child. Victoria Jo is now a healthy three-year-old who has been reunited with her father, Zeb Stinnett.
Assistant US Attorney Matt Whitworth told the court that every time Victoria Jo had a birthday, "it will be the anniversary of the slaughter of her mother". Federal prosecutor Roseann Ketchmark said Montgomery had committed the "worst crime" and violated the expectant mother "in the most wicked way possible".
Victoria Jo was nearly four weeks premature and prosecutors said Montgomery had not sought medical attention for her. Montgomery's defence team asked for mercy, saying she was mentally ill and did not fully comprehend what she was doing because she had suffered physical and sexual abuse as a child.
Montgomery met the Stinnetts at a dog show in April 2004 and struck up a casual acquaintance over the internet. At the same time, Montgomery told people she was pregnant. After she learned about Ms Stinnett's pregnancy online, she created an online identity and set up a meeting on the pretence of buying a puppy.
She strangled Ms Stinnett with a rope and cut Victoria Jo from her mother's womb in the Stinnett home in Skidmore, Missouri. A sentencing date has not been set.
Retrieved October 28, 2007 from http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22659039-663,00.html