Posted on 01/12/2005 6:20:58 PM PST by Ellesu
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - (KRT) - Lisa Montgomery used a rope to strangle Bobbie Jo Stinnett and a kitchen knife to cut her fetus from the womb, according to an indictment of Montgomery on Wednesday.
A federal grand jury in Kansas City indicted Montgomery on one count of kidnapping resulting in the death of Stinnett in Skidmore, Mo., on Dec. 16. Montgomery took Stinnett's baby home to Melvern, Kan., the indictment said.
Montgomery was charged the day after the crime, but a grand jury indictment was required within 30 days, U.S. Attorney Todd Graves said. The 16-person jury heard evidence this week.
The indictment said Montgomery "committed the offense after substantial planning and premeditation." The crime was described in the indictment as "especially heinous, cruel and depraved."
Montgomery, 36, will be arraigned soon and then enter a plea. She is being held without bond in a federal holding facility in Leavenworth.
Montgomery is accused of going to Stinnett's house under the guise of wanting to buy a dog. Stinnett bred rat terriers. Instead, Montgomery allegedly strangled Stinnett, 23, and cut out her fetus.
The indictment Wednesday was the first time authorities had identified the weapons Montgomery allegedly used in the crime. Graves would not say at what point Stinnett died. Stinnett's mother found her lying in a pool of blood shortly after the killer left the house, authorities said.
Montgomery, who had told her husband and others that she was pregnant, took the baby to Topeka, which is near her home. She called her husband, Kevin Montgomery, and told him she had given birth to a baby girl she named Abigail.
Kevin Montgomery said he was convinced that his wife was pregnant. He has not been charged. Graves said Wednesday that the investigation was continuing but that he did not expect other charges.
The newborn was returned to her father, Zeb Stinnett of Skidmore, and he named her Victoria Jo.
If convicted, Montgomery could face life in prison or the death penalty. The indictment Wednesday lays the groundwork for a death penalty request, but Graves said considerable review would precede that determination. The U.S. Attorney General will make the final decision, Graves said.
Montgomery, who has four children from her first marriage, has faked five pregnancies since 1994, family members told The Kansas City Star. They said Montgomery could not become pregnant because she had a tubal ligation in 1990.
Graves would not speculate Wednesday on whether Montgomery might argue insanity as a defense. Montgomery's case has been assigned to two federal public defenders.
Montgomery, who has four children from her first marriage, has faked five pregnancies since 1994, family members told The Kansas City Star. They said Montgomery could not become pregnant because she had a tubal ligation in 1990.
And her husband had no idea?
The weird thing is, supposedly her relatives were trying to tell people that she was making these stories up, but nobody listened.
It's weird, and disturbing that no one would pay attention to that. I have to take it with a grain of salt.
It would not necessarily follow that a husband would be duped by a wife having her tubes tied and stating she was pregnant, nor would he necessarily have to know that she'd had a hysterectomy.
But, he still could have been part of the crime.
Funny how we never hear this about the wives of male criminals. Maybe we should.
As for the husband not knowing about her tubal ligation, he wasn't her husband when she had it.
Finally, if Montgomery is 36 now and has 4 kids and had her tubes tied in 1990 (14 years ago) that means she had the 4 kids before she was 22 or 23.
I don't trust the initial news reports on any crime of this sort that happens, whether it's done by the husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, lover, or whatever.
My point, which I obviously didn't make very well, was that the husband might not have known that his wife was unable to become pregnant, and assumed she was because she said she was. Having one's tubes tied or having a hysterectomy could easily be kept from someone.
That is what I have read. That she got married young and had four kids in little more than three years.
She didn't marry him until later. Why is it hard to understand that she could have lied to him and told him all about the babies she wanted to have with him?
Have you seen the poor guy on TV? Her husband I mean?
He is a devastated mess. I can't image he knew anything. He might not be the brightest crayon in the box, but he seems genuinely innocent.
I'm sure she lied to him. I thought her family had told him, but don't know that for sure. I suppose even if her family had told him about her previous fakes and tubal, she might still convince him that her family was lying.
I guess I find it hard for a man to be fooled by his wife that she is pregnant, but anything is possible. Have to wait for the trial to find out.
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