Woman Convicted Of Killing Childhood Friend, Cutting Out And Snatching Baby
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A woman was convicted Thursday of killing a pregnant woman in the Bronx two years ago and cutting and stealing the infant from her womb.
Ashleigh Wade, 24, of the Wakefield section of the Bronx, was convicted by a jury Thursday of second-degree murder and kidnapping after a nearly two-week trial before Bronx Supreme Court Judge Margaret Clancy, according to the Bronx District Attorney's office.
She was found guilty of the murder of Angelikque Sutton, 22, on Nov. 20, 2015.
"The facts of this case are unfathomable: a child was yanked from the womb moments after her mother was murdered on her wedding day," Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said in a statement. "Two years later, that child is a vibrant little girl, a testament to survival and hope. We are glad we have brought justice to her and her mother's family."
According to trial testimony, Wade – who was pretending to be pregnant – went onto social media and reconnected with Sutton, who was an old childhood friend.
On the day of the crime, Sutton, who was eight months pregnant, stopped by Wade's apartment to pick up some baby items before heading to her civil wedding ceremony, trial witnesses said. Wade slashed Sutton's throat and proceeded to cut out her uterus and cut out the infant, trial witnesses said.
Wade was taken into custody while screaming that the baby was hers, police said at the time.
Detectives discovered a knife and placenta in the blood-spattered apartment building when they responded to an emergency call from Wade's boyfriend, who had been called to the scene, police said.
Police said the newborn baby girl was delivered just moments after the bloodshed, but Sutton died the day she was attacked.
Wade faces a maximum sentence of 50 years to life in prison when she is sentenced on Oct. 20.
