Police probe baby-snatching motive in fatal NYC stabbing
NEW YORK -- Police say a baby was cut from the womb of a 22-year-old woman who was nearly nine months pregnant and another woman has been arrested and charged with murder, according to CBS New York.
Angelikque Sutton, 22, was stabbed multiple times across her body Friday in an apartment. Detectives said they found a knife and placenta in the building when they responded to an emergency call by the suspect's boyfriend.
The suspect, 22-year-old Ashleigh Wade, was then taken into custody while screaming that the baby was hers, police say.
The newborn baby girl was delivered just moments after the bloodshed, but Sutton died Friday evening, according to police. The infant was in good condition and at a hospital Saturday, police added.
As of Saturday, police believed Sutton was the mother, according to CBS New York.
Sources tell the station that Wade is refusing to undergo examination, so police ordered blood tests to confirm their theory.
Bronx City Councilman Andy King said investigators told him they're looking into one particular theory: a baby-snatching. King, who was reportedly briefed on the investigation, told reporters that Sutton had been strangled then stabbed.
Sources told CBS New York the two women were friends in elementary school and recently reconnected on Facebook. Police also said that the victim and suspect dined together and shopped for baby items in the days prior to the attack.
Police sources told the station that Wade had initially told them it was her baby. She later said they got into an argument where Wade claimed Sutton pulled a knife on her and that she stabbed her in self-defense.
According to the New York Daily News, those who knew the suspect were convinced she was pregnant. Wade's landlord told the newspaper that she believed that her tenant was expecting.
The would-be father also appeared to be convinced, sharing sonogram photos and linking to a baby registry, according to CBS New York.
Investigators were also questioning Sutton's boyfriend, who told the Daily News the couple was supposed to be married on Friday. They had reportedly been together for eight years.
Wade was reportedly undergoing a psychiatric evaluation.