The women who kill for babies

This BBC News story relates to a US case, where a US jury has recommended the death penalty for a woman convicted killing a pregnant stranger, cutting her abdomen open and stealing her unborn baby. This very disturbing story unfortunately is nota once-off.

Lisa Montgomery, a mother of three teenage children, was desperate for another child to shore up her marriage. She met a pregnant woman, Bobbi Jo Stinnett, and hatched a plan.

The Stinnetts bred dogs at their home in Missouri. One morning in December 2004 Montgomery arrived at Bobbi Jo’s home on the pretext of buying a dog, but overpowered and strangled her. She then cut into her abdomen and removed her unborn baby girl before cleaning up and taking the child back to her home in Melvern, Kansas, where she proudly showed her to her husband, Kevin.

M William Phelps, who has written a book on the case, said: “Sometimes these women suffer from a condition called pseudocyesis, when they actually believe they are pregnant.

“But in Lisa’s case she was just a pathological liar. For three years in a row she said she was pregnant when she wasn’t and said she had lost the baby. She was backed into a corner. The lies caught up with her.”

Unfortunately, these cases appear to be on the increase.

In the last 20 years, paediatric experts have noticed an increase in such cases, although they still remain very rare.

One woman who came close to becoming a victim was Sarah Brady.

In February 2005 Sarah, who was nine months pregnant, fought off an attack by a stranger, Katie Smith, who had befriended her and lured her to her home in Kentucky.

Smith was fatally injured by Sarah and police later found a padded belly suit - Smith had been feigning pregnancy - and a bag containing surgical gloves, cutting instruments and an umbilical clamp.