Five acquaintances of woman accused of cutting baby from womb testify at her trial

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A day after a Missouri woman was killed and a baby cut from her womb, her accused killer was showing off the newborn as her own, much to the surprise of several acquaintances.

Five women testified Friday that Lisa Montgomery and her husband, Kevin, seemed ecstatic about the new baby girl. The women, who lived or worked in Montgomery's hometown of Melvern, Kan., said Montgomery showed no signs of trauma or being upset, and had answers for all their questions about the birth.

Also Friday, a medical examiner testified that she believed Bobbie Jo Stinnett, 23, was conscious and trying to defend herself when Montgomery, now 39, used a kitchen knife to perform a crude Caesarean section Dec. 16, 2004.

The baby, Victoria Jo Stinnett, who was one month shy of her due date, survived and lives with her father.

Law enforcement officers tracked down Montgomery and the baby the next day in Melvern, thanks in part to investigators who searched Stinnett's computer for clues.

Prosecutors said Montgomery, who had been faking a pregnancy, made arrangements online to buy one of the rat terrier dogs Stinnett breed at her home in the northwest Missouri town of Skidmore.

The federal trial recessed for a three-day weekend after testimony concluded Friday.

All but one of the women testified that they were skeptical when they heard that Montgomery was pregnant in 2004, partly because Montgomery had claimed to be pregnant twice before and did not have a baby. And they said she did not look pregnant, even a week before she was introducing her new baby.

One of the witnesses, Jennifer Sage, said she had heard on the morning of Dec. 17, 2004, that a woman had been killed in Skidmore and a baby stolen. When Montgomery came to the Osage County Courthouse and said she had given birth in Topeka, Kan., Sage called the birthing center.

'Just too weird for me'

Sage said she didn't hold the tiny baby because of her suspicions.

"It was very odd," she said. "It was just too weird for me."

Sage was not allowed to testify about what the center told her, but she said she told some co-workers about her concerns and one of those co-workers went to the Osage County Sheriff's Department.

Montgomery was arrested later that day in Melvern.

Lisa Green, who believed Montgomery was pregnant, said Montgomery seemed in touch with reality and happy to be home when she called her the night of Dec. 16, 2004, and said she had given birth and was home with the baby.

Green, who worked with Montgomery at a Casey's convenience store, also testified Montgomery seemed to always be fighting with her mother and siblings. She also said that Montgomery told her she had been raped by her stepfather as a teenager and her mother blamed her for trying to take her husband away from her.

Montgomery has pleaded guilty by reason of insanity. Her attorneys said Thursday that they would argue that Montgomery suffered from mental illnesses, including post-traumatic stress disorder brought on by years of abuse in her dysfunctional family.

Earlier Friday, Dr. Mary Case, the St. Louis County medical examiner, said she believed Stinnett was coming in and out of consciousness when Montgomery was cutting into her womb. Case, who did not perform Stinnett's autopsy, said the large amount of blood on the bottom of Stinnett's feet showed she had her feet flat on the floor -- either standing or sitting with her knees raised -- when she was cut.

"The evidence to me shows that she regained consciousness while the incision was being made, a struggle ensued and she was strangled again," Case said.

Coroner Miguel Laboy, who performed the autopsy and showed several graphic autopsy photos, said Stinnett had eight jagged cuts across her abdomen and what he called defensive wounds on her hands, face and elbows.

In other testimony Friday, a man who knew Montgomery and Stinnett because of a shared interest in raising rat terriers testified that he and others in the dog-breeding community distrusted Montgomery, but Stinnett defended her.

Jason Dawson of Kansas City said he met both women in 2002 and for the next few years frequently chatted with them online or met them in person to exchange dogs. Eventually, he said, he came to believe that Montgomery told frequent lies and could not be trusted.

"Bobbie Jo was a real sweet spirit. She was kind. She always gave Lisa the benefit of the doubt," Dawson said.

Defense attorney Fred Duchardt said Dawson, Montgomery and another trainer were involved in a personal feud over breeding.

"You got mad at her and plain didn't like Lisa," Duchardt said.

Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty if Montgomery is convicted of kidnapping resulting in death.

If Montgomery is found not guilty by reason of insanity, a judge would decide whether she would be released or committed to a mental institution. If she is sent to a mental institution, she would undergo a mental evaluation, then go before a judge who would determine if she is well enough to be released, or must receive more treatment.

If she's found to be a threat, she would be held until a judge determines she has made enough progress to be released.