- Alleged murderer had been faking a pregnancy of her own
- Victim's mother tells of Facebook introduction
- Baby unscathed during ordeal but premature and 'stable'
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A woman accused of cutting a foetus out of a pregnant friend's womb and pretending the baby was hers, allegedly contacted the victim three weeks ago with the Facebook message: 'I hear you're going to be a mum.'Held without bond: Kathy Michelle Coy could face the death penalty after allegedly killing her pregnant friend and cutting the baby from her womb
The barbaric murder was uncovered after Kathy Michelle Coy, 33, turned up at a Kentucky hospital with a newborn boy.
Nursing staff immediately became suspicious and alerted the police.
The next day, investigators discovered the mutilated body of eight-month-pregnant Jamie Stice, 21, in woodland in Oakland, Kentucky.
The victim's mother, Jeannie Stice, said Coy allegedly began chatting online with the family about three weeks ago.
Jeannie Stice told Deborah Highland of the Bowling Green Daily News: 'She popped in on Jamie’s [Facebook] page and said, "How are you? I hear you are going to be a mum".'
She added that Coy told Jamie and herself that she worked for a company that could help them obtain baby clothes and other financial assistance.
'We were being evicted... and she gained our trust. She was trying to get us help and into another place.'
But Mrs Stice now believes that the whole story was a bid to get closer to her pregnant sister.
‘I just want people to know that Jamie was a very bright, optimistic young lady. She had a bright future ahead of her. She was robbed of her motherhood,’ the victim’s cousin, Carolyn Miracle told CNN.
Coy could now face the death penalty. She is being held without bond on charges of kidnapping and murder.
Devastated family: The relatives of murder victim Jamie Stice talking to the media yesterday. (From left), Jamie's mother Jeannie Stice, her cousin Carolyn Miracle, and the baby's father, James Reynolds
Left for dead: Jamie Stice, 21, was eight months pregnant. Her mutilated body was found in woodland. James Reynolds, her ex-boyfriend and the father of baby Isaiah, says the boy is premature but in a 'stable' condition
She even stole a sonogram photo to help back her claim that she was pregnant.
‘She was desperate to prove to everybody that she was pregnant, and I guess nobody believed her,’ said Miss Stice's friend, Ashley Reeder.
‘So I think she did this to show everybody that she was going to have the baby when it really wasn't her baby,’ she told NBC.
Miss Stice had posted this photo of her bump on her Facebook page, with the caption 'Mommy's Baby Boy'
Kathy is reportedly married to Shannon Coy, who posted this photo of the pair on his Facebook profile
Ongoing investigation: Police have not released details about the arrest of Coy, who is already a mother of two
Isaiah's father, James Reynolds, said: 'He's healthy, and that's a miracle, especially under the circumstances,’ he added.
Warren County Coroner Kevin Kirby said the victim died from ‘multiple homicidal sharp force injuries.’
Stice was due on May 24. Her friends have now set up a Facebook memorial
Police interviewed Coy at the hospital and arrested her early yesterday morning.
‘Due to the possibility of this being a death penalty case, that’s why she’s being held without bond,’ said Warren County Commonwealth’s Attorney Chris Cohron.
Her neighbours in Bowling Green were all taken in by Coy’s baby scam.
‘She has been telling everyone that she was pregnant and we had no reason not to believe otherwise,’ said Darla Mueller.
Relatives were stunned at the death of the expectant mother, who had planned a baby shower for tomorrow.
She was due on May 24.
The shower will now be a memorial instead.
‘She was a wonderful girl with a very sweet spirit about her," said Miss Stice's aunt, Nancy Logsdon.
‘The baby was named Isaiah and she was actually due, I think she put on Facebook she was due in about 40 days,’ she added.
A fund was set up last night to help pay for the victim’s funeral and a Facebook page was launched by friends in her memory.
It is not the first time Coy has faced criminal charges in Warren County.
The Bowling Green Daily News reports that in November, 2000, Coy - who at that time was named Kathy Michelle Hardin - was indicted for second-degree assault for allegedly stabbing her then-husband, George Hardin, in the back.
That charge was dismissed the following year.
Coy is being held without bond at the Warren County Regional Jail. A preliminary hearing in the case is set for 1 p.m. Tuesday in Warren District Court.
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