Post by Cassie on Oct 14, 2005 0:52:14 GMT -5
Pregnant woman allegedly beaten for fetus
Neighbor accused of cutting woman open
FREE VIDEO
• Pregnant woman attacked
Oct. 13: Armstrong County, Pa., District Attorney Scott Andreassi talks to MSNBC-TV’s Alex Witt about a woman accused of attacking her pregnant neighbor in an effort to steal her unborn baby.
MSNBC
Updated: 8:35 p.m. ET Oct. 13, 2005
PITTSBURGH - A woman clubbed her pregnant neighbor over the head with a baseball bat, drove her to the woods and cut her belly with a knife in an attempt to steal her baby, police say.
Police said Wednesday’s attack on Valerie Oskin was stopped before her baby was taken after a teenager on an all-terrain vehicle came across the women.
Oskin, 30, later underwent an emergency Caesarean section at a hospital. State police Thursday said she was in critical condition and her baby in stable condition. She was believed to have been eight months pregnant, authorities said.
Peggy Jo Conner, 38, of Ford City, was arraigned Thursday on charges of attempted homicide and aggravated assault and was jailed without bail.
“It would appear from the defendant’s statement that her goal was to get the victim’s unborn child and take it as her own,” District Attorney Scott Andreassi said in a statement.
Investigators found a bassinet, a baby swing and other baby-related items in her trailer, authorities said.
‘Clearly, she was expecting a child coming in’
“Clearly, she was expecting a child coming in shortly,” Andreassi said. “There’s nothing to indicate she was pregnant.”
Thomas Wilks, who says he is Conner’s husband but is separated from her, called the allegations against her “impossible” and said she truly was pregnant.
“I got a sonogram saying she is pregnant,” Wilks told reporters. “I felt the baby kick in her stomach.” He added that Conner is the mother of three children, ages 16, 14 and 11.
Conner and Oskin had a “close friendship,” Wilks said. “It was getting closer as the days went by. They were pregnant together. They were helping each other out.”
The assault began Wednesday morning, when Conner hit Oskin several times with a bat, Andreassi said. Conner then put Oskin and Oskin’s 7-year-old son in her car, dropped the boy off at a family member’s house and drove the pregnant woman about 15 miles to a secluded area about 50 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, Andreassi said.
There, Conner cut Oskin about six to eight inches across her abdomen with a razor knife, authorities said.
“She was sliced over an old (Caesarean) scar and severely bleeding,” Trooper Jonathan Bayer said.
A 17-year-old boy on an ATV spotted Conner kneeling next to the pregnant woman on the ground, Bayer said. “The accused said they didn’t need any help and everything was OK,” he said.
Andreassi said the teen saw the women about 5 p.m. and drove home to tell his father, who returned with him to the scene and found Conner and Oskin still there. The father and son left and at about 7 p.m. called police, who arrived a short time later and arrested Conner.
Why so long?
Andreassi could not explain why Conner remained at the scene for two hours even after she was spotted, or why it took so long for the boy and his father, who were not identified, to alert authorities.
Bayer, however, said Oskin “probably would have bled to death if this young boy had not discovered her when he did.”
A call to Conner’s home went unanswered Thursday afternoon. State police said they did not know if she had a lawyer.
Last December, a Kansas woman was accused of strangling Bobbie Jo Stinnett, a 23-year-old who was eight months pregnant, at her Missouri home and cutting Stinnett’s baby daughter from her womb. Prosecutors have said Lisa Montgomery showed the baby off as her own before her arrest. The infant went home with her now-widowed father, and Montgomery’s trial is set for next April.
Neighbor accused of cutting woman open
FREE VIDEO
• Pregnant woman attacked
Oct. 13: Armstrong County, Pa., District Attorney Scott Andreassi talks to MSNBC-TV’s Alex Witt about a woman accused of attacking her pregnant neighbor in an effort to steal her unborn baby.
MSNBC
Updated: 8:35 p.m. ET Oct. 13, 2005
PITTSBURGH - A woman clubbed her pregnant neighbor over the head with a baseball bat, drove her to the woods and cut her belly with a knife in an attempt to steal her baby, police say.
Police said Wednesday’s attack on Valerie Oskin was stopped before her baby was taken after a teenager on an all-terrain vehicle came across the women.
Oskin, 30, later underwent an emergency Caesarean section at a hospital. State police Thursday said she was in critical condition and her baby in stable condition. She was believed to have been eight months pregnant, authorities said.
Peggy Jo Conner, 38, of Ford City, was arraigned Thursday on charges of attempted homicide and aggravated assault and was jailed without bail.
“It would appear from the defendant’s statement that her goal was to get the victim’s unborn child and take it as her own,” District Attorney Scott Andreassi said in a statement.
Investigators found a bassinet, a baby swing and other baby-related items in her trailer, authorities said.
‘Clearly, she was expecting a child coming in’
“Clearly, she was expecting a child coming in shortly,” Andreassi said. “There’s nothing to indicate she was pregnant.”
Thomas Wilks, who says he is Conner’s husband but is separated from her, called the allegations against her “impossible” and said she truly was pregnant.
“I got a sonogram saying she is pregnant,” Wilks told reporters. “I felt the baby kick in her stomach.” He added that Conner is the mother of three children, ages 16, 14 and 11.
Conner and Oskin had a “close friendship,” Wilks said. “It was getting closer as the days went by. They were pregnant together. They were helping each other out.”
The assault began Wednesday morning, when Conner hit Oskin several times with a bat, Andreassi said. Conner then put Oskin and Oskin’s 7-year-old son in her car, dropped the boy off at a family member’s house and drove the pregnant woman about 15 miles to a secluded area about 50 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, Andreassi said.
There, Conner cut Oskin about six to eight inches across her abdomen with a razor knife, authorities said.
“She was sliced over an old (Caesarean) scar and severely bleeding,” Trooper Jonathan Bayer said.
A 17-year-old boy on an ATV spotted Conner kneeling next to the pregnant woman on the ground, Bayer said. “The accused said they didn’t need any help and everything was OK,” he said.
Andreassi said the teen saw the women about 5 p.m. and drove home to tell his father, who returned with him to the scene and found Conner and Oskin still there. The father and son left and at about 7 p.m. called police, who arrived a short time later and arrested Conner.
Why so long?
Andreassi could not explain why Conner remained at the scene for two hours even after she was spotted, or why it took so long for the boy and his father, who were not identified, to alert authorities.
Bayer, however, said Oskin “probably would have bled to death if this young boy had not discovered her when he did.”
A call to Conner’s home went unanswered Thursday afternoon. State police said they did not know if she had a lawyer.
Last December, a Kansas woman was accused of strangling Bobbie Jo Stinnett, a 23-year-old who was eight months pregnant, at her Missouri home and cutting Stinnett’s baby daughter from her womb. Prosecutors have said Lisa Montgomery showed the baby off as her own before her arrest. The infant went home with her now-widowed father, and Montgomery’s trial is set for next April.
