Womb-theft suspect transferred
2004-12-24 08:46
Chicago - The woman accused in the slaying of a pregnant woman and abduction of her infant, waived her rights to certain legal formalities on Thursday, paving the way for her to be transferred to the state where she allegedly committed the crimes, officials said.
Lisa Montgomery waived a preliminary and identity hearing in federal court in Kansas, and a judge ordered her transferred to the neighbouring state of Missouri.
The 36-year-old is scheduled to make an initial appearance in US district court there Tuesday, followed by a second one December 30, when prosecutors will request that she be kept in federal custody, according to the US attorney's office for the western district of Missouri.
Montgomery has confessed to killing eight-months pregnant Bobbie Jo Stinnett, 23, at her home in Skidmore, Missouri, December 16, and stealing her little girl, according to court papers.
Made contact 'over the web'
The 36-year-old apparently made contact with Stinnett over the web, posing as a customer for Stinnett's dog-breeding business, and making an appointment to visit the young mother at home.
After the murder, she allegedly took the infant back to her home in Melvern, Kansas, where she passed her off as her own - the fruit of a phantom pregnancy.
One day later, investigators came knocking, having tracked her down using computer records that matched Montgomery's telephone number to the email account she was using.
Court papers show the 36-year-old immediately confessed to the gruesome slaying, and abduction, and was taken into custody.
The little girl was taken to a Topeka, Kansas, hospital for check-ups, but released three days later after being given the all-clear by doctors.
She was discharged on Monday, one day before her mother, Bobbie Jo, was buried at a cemetery in her hometown of Skidmore.
Prosecutors have said they are still weighing whether to seek the death penalty for Montgomery, a twice-married mother-of-four.