Woman to plead guilty in abduction

CHICAGO -- A woman accused of abducting a toddler from a Chicago bus station on Christmas Eve plans to plead guilty to federal charges, her defense attorney told a judge on Monday.

Sheila Matthews, 35, plans to enter her guilty plea on May 24, defense attorney Mary Judge told federal Judge Matthew F. Kennelly.

Matthews is charged with kidnaping in the Dec. 24 abduction of 16-month-old Jasmine Anderson of Milwaukee. She is accused of taking the girl to West Virginia, where she was found on Dec. 27.

Judge asked Kennelly to order an immediate pre-sentence investigation, a move that could have speeded up the sentencing date and hastened the departure of Matthews from the Metropolitan Correctional Center to a federal women's prison.

The judge scheduled a hearing for April 15 at which he planned to question Matthews about what she wants to do.

After the hearing, Judge said she wouldn't discuss the case.