Baby Be Mine (25 page)

The new indictment replaced the criminal complaint originally filed with U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Hayes on December 17 by FBI Special Agent Craig Arnold to incarcerate Lisa. The grand jury ruling now provided the authorization to keep Lisa behind bars.

“The wording of this indictment,” Graves said, “lays the groundwork for the pursuit of the death penalty.” The final decision of that matter was not up to the local federal prosecutor's office, though. “It'll take months to go through that process. That is a decision that will be made by the Department of Justice as a whole, and at the highest level of the Department of Justice.” The final approval of that decision required the signature of no one less than the Attorney General of the United States. “The nature of these charging documents,” Graves said, “is to protect our opportunity and our option to seek the death penalty.”

When asked about the possibility of charges being filed against Kevin Montgomery, Graves said, “The investigation is ongoing. I do not anticipate any other charges against this defendant, but I will not rule out charges against other potential defendants.”

Swarmed by the media, a weary Judy Shaughnessy did not offer any excuses for her daughter's behavior or argue in defense of her innocence. She said, “All her lies were catching up to her. I think the desperation got to her. I did not have any sense she could murder someone. I thought she could maybe steal or buy a child—but not kill to get one.”

Bobbie Jo's mother, Becky Harper, did not try to hide the seething anger and intense loathing she had for Lisa Montgomery. When she spoke to reporters, she said, “I hope she gets the death penalty. I don't want to have to pay for her to be in jail.”

O
n January 20, 2005, Lisa Montgomery returned to court for her formal indictment on federal charges that made her eligible for the death penalty. The jingle of the chains at her wrists and ankles preceded her into the chamber.

Her face was flat, slack and empty. Any small flicker betraying her underlying emotional turmoil disappeared as quickly as it arrived. She spoke not a word during her fifteen-minute hearing. Her public defender entered her pleas of not guilty to U.S. Chief Magistrate John Maughmer.

“Has the United States made any judgment as to whether it will seek certification of the death penalty?” Maughmer asked the prosecution.

“The investigation in this case is ongoing,” Graves said. “The final determination will be made by the attorney general. But that is the direction that we are going, and that is our present inclination.”

The judge indicated that the possibility of a death penalty case required that he appoint a third attorney for the defense of Lisa Montgomery. A tentative trial date was set for March 14, 2006.

On February 9, attorneys for the defense and the prosecution met for a scheduling conference in Todd Graves' office. The state presented a number of items, including the incriminating statements made by the defendant. Lisa's lawyers admitted their client did not have an alibi, but would instead rely on the defense of general denial—in other words, she would claim she did not do it.

They laid out the basic facts accepted by both sides—including that there was no electronic surveillance and the defendant had no prior criminal record. They reached agreement on when they were required to share particular documents and evidence, on when motions were due in court and regarding what background information needed to be revealed about both lay and expert witnesses. This meeting paved the way for a smooth formal procedure before the judge on February 25. The court proposed that the trial would commence on April 24,2006. The defense countered with a request for an August trial. They were overruled and the calendar was set for April.

Also at that hearing, the defense informed the court that they did not intend to argue that their client was incompetent to stand trial or help in her own defense. They did, however, reserve the right to prepare a defense based on insanity or on diminished mental responsibility.

Many lawyers, forensic psychologists and other court observers felt that it was the only defense with any hope of success. It was an approach taken by only one percent of all defendants in criminal court. The likelihood of its working had diminished to a great extent since John Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity in his trial for the shooting of President Reagan. Potential jurors across the country were hardened by that verdict and defense attorneys were reluctant to use it again.

Current federal law stated that the pursuit of an insanity
defense was appropriate if the “defendant as a result of severe mental disease or defect was unable to appreciate the nature and quality or the wrongfulness of his acts.”

Under that definition, the defense had grounds to pursue the plea. The first and most obvious avenue was that Lisa had faked pregnancies on five separate occasions—in at least one, her stomach grew as hard and large as that of a genuine expectant mother. Second was the gruesome nature of the crime. Although the state's position was that this justified seeking the death penalty, the defense could argue with ease that it proved mental instability in their otherwise law-abiding client. Third was premeditation. Once again, this was an area that the state would argue was a reason to impose the ultimate penalty. Lisa's attorneys, on the other hand, could use it to demonstrate Lisa's delusional thinking.

A plea of insanity was a tool Lisa's public defenders could pull out of their belts at any point—as a pre-trial motion or in the acquittal phase or the punishment phase of the trial. Success before the commencement of the trial could result in the judge throwing out Lisa's confession. If that occurred, it could impact the outcome of the trial. It is the duty of a jury to determine the facts of the case and to decide if they fit the definition of the charged crime. In doing so, they can consider only the pieces of evidence that the judge deemed legally admissible.

There was good news, though, for those who feared that a potentially dangerous Lisa would be judged insane and be put out on the streets again. A recent study by the American Psychiatric Association demonstrated that defendants found not guilty on these grounds spent as much or more time in custody as those who are convicted and sent to prison.

In the first week of February, Attorney General John Ashcroft prepared to step down from his office and turn the reins of the Justice Department over to his replacement, Alberto Gonzales. He addressed the Heritage Foundation focusing on the importance of the Patriot Act.

He credited that act with facilitating the quick arrest of Lisa Montgomery and the successful recovery of Victoria Jo Stinnett. Without the act, he said, authorities could not have had the instantaneous access to the email on Bobbie Jo's computer that led them to the perpetrator in record time. The safe return of the abducted infant he said was “a final act of grace in a sad, savage drama.”

Later that week, the United States Senate confirmed the appointment of Alberto Gonzales. He now bore the responsibility for the Department of Justice, including the decision on whether or not to seek the death penalty for Lisa Montgomery.

At Leavenworth Detention Center, Lisa was removed from suicide watch. She was out of her cell on recreation time when a jailer searched her space. In it, he found a letter indicating that she was stockpiling medications for a suicide attempt.

Another search ensued and the hidden prescription drugs were recovered. Also seized from her cell were correspondence and other documents, including a letter to her daughter Desiree that had a “strong suicidal theme.” The U.S. Marshall's Office turned all those papers over to Judge Maughmer. Anita Burns, assistant public defender, argued successfully that some of the documents should be withheld from the prosecution, since they fell under attorney-client privilege.

But Burns could not conceal the medications or prevent the inevitable outcome of their discovery. A psychiatrist ordered Lisa back on suicide watch. She was placed in a private cell in the medical unit. The prison issued her a “suicide gown” and a “suicide blanket”—both made of a tough, tearresistant fabric that made it difficult, if not impossible, to use in the construction of a noose. All of Lisa's belongings were removed from her possession and corrections officers were assigned to watch her at all times. After being moved, Lisa cried for forty-five minutes without stopping.

As Lisa languished behind bars, her family members paid for her sins. Patty had a part-time job as an on-site manager for an apartment complex. A perk of that position was the apartment where she lived with her family.

According to Judy, a pregnant woman in the complex complained about Patty's presence there. She was worried that Patty's “crazy sister” would visit and take her baby. Patty lost her job and was evicted from her home.

Judy said that she received many threatening phone calls. She developed a habit of traveling to a different town to do her shopping to avoid the people who knew her and her family. Now raising Teddy's little boy Justin, she was determined, she said, “to keep it together for my grandson.”

W
hile the homicide committed by Lisa Montgomery tore apart the lives of her own family and kept her lawyers busy fighting for her life, another woman obsessed and fantasized about pregnancy. But when she attacked a pregnant woman, the outcome was remarkably different.

Katie Smith grew up in Independence, Kentucky. Some childhood friends remember her as a spirited, fun-loving girl. Her family, however, remembered her panic attacks, which began at an early age. They knew of the hypochondria that led her to believe that she suffered from an ever-changing series of medical problems ranging from fibromyalgia to Crohn's disease. In junior high school she insisted she was pregnant when she was not. They tried to get help for Katie—tried to liberate her from her delusions and obsessions—but nothing seemed to help.

When Katie was 17 years old, she claimed she had sex with a boyfriend. In the middle of the act, she saw her father's face supplanted over her lover's. At that moment, she said, suppressed and repressed memories of childhood sexual abuse emerged. The young man, denied any sexual activity with Katie. In fact, he even denied being her boyfriend at any time.

Katie filed a criminal complaint against her father, Timothy Smith, alleging that he'd molested her from the time she was 7 years old until she was 12. He denied her accusations. Despite his protestations of innocence, he was convicted of first-degree sodomy and sentenced to 20 years in an eastern Kentucky state prison.

After a family funeral in April 2004, Katie told a cousin, “I've had two miscarriages in the past year and the second time, it was twins I buried.” She carried a sonogram image of the twins she claimed to have lost and showed it to many friends. Katie also insinuated that when she claimed sexual abuse at the hands of her father, she made these accusations for one self-serving reason—she wanted to get him out of the house.

In the summer of 2004, Katie claimed she was expecting again as she moved out of her apartment in Wallace Woods. A neighbor there said she was wearing maternity clothing and appeared to be pregnant. Among the items she packed up for the move were a baby seat and books on parenting and baby care.

Katie moved into another apartment located in Fort Mitchell. She set up a nursery in one room as soon as she arrived. She stocked it with baby furniture, infant's clothing, diapers and formula. She also added surgical equipment including an umbilical clamp, hemostats, scissors, latex gloves and absorbent pads.

She wore an outfit padded to make her appear pregnant every time she left her house or entertained a visitor at home. She kept changing her delivery date—pushing it forward in time.

She showed off a laparoscopy scar to family and friends—telling them that she got the scar when she had a caesarean section the year before. She worked as a nanny for an ophthalmologist in the fall of 2004. She was fired when her employer realized that she faked her pregnancy, and worried that she was too unstable to be entrusted with the care of the children.

As the year came to an end, Katie remained unemployed and life was becoming more difficult. She was about to be evicted from her apartment for failure to pay rent. She told her landlord that she couldn't throw her out because she was pregnant with a Lakeside Park police officer's baby.

On February 10, Katie called 26-year-old Sarah Brady, a 9-month-pregnant woman whose name she found on the Babies R Us gift registry. Katie introduced herself as Sarah Brodie. She laughingly told Sarah about the mix-up in the similarity in their names that resulted in her receiving a delivery that belonged to the unsuspecting Brady.

Sarah stopped by and picked up the package. The women chatted about their pregnancies. Katie said she was past due. Sarah empathized with her—her due date had been a week before on February 3.

Katie called again. She had another of Sarah's gifts, she said. She told Sarah that she had to pick it up on February 11. After making these arrangements, Katie told her family that her baby was due that day.

Sarah dropped by for the pickup and Katie invited her in to see the nursery. On her way to that room, Sarah saw papers with the name of Katie Smith written on them—and the address matched this apartment. A warning flashed in her head—something wasn't right here. She walked ahead of Katie and into the baby's room. Sarah heard the click of a locking door.

“I have to leave now,” Sarah said. “I have to pick my son up at school.” Katie begged her not to leave, but Sarah pushed her way to the door, unlocked it and headed for the exit.

Katie's pleas slowed down Sarah's escape. She paused to allow Katie to give her a hug. Katie thanked Sarah for her kindness and her time. Then Katie reached into her pocket and pulled out a folding knife with a four-inch blade. “If you leave, I'll kill you,” Katie shrieked.