'Bizarre' Caesarean kidnappings increase

The pregnant woman was covered with blood, and Steve Hensley, the police chief in Fort Mitchell, Ky., could scarcely believe her tale.
Sarah Brady, 26, said she had been lured to an apartment in Fort Mitchell that was outfitted with surgical tools and a nursery. There, a woman who had promised to hand over a mis-addressed baby present attacked Brady in an attempt to extract her unborn child by Caesarean section.

Instead, Brady, who was nine months pregnant, fought back and fatally stabbed her assailant, unemployed nanny Katie Smith, 22. Police say Smith had fooled her family into thinking she was pregnant by wearing padded maternity clothes and had planned to steal Brady's fetus — and presumably kill Brady — as the final act in a gruesome ruse.

www.usatoday.com... .htm

The incident came two months after a similar attack in Missouri in which the mother was killed and her baby survived. Such attacks on pregnant women are rare, but they have become increasingly common across the nation in recent years: The attack on Brady was the third such assault on an expectant mother since December 2003 and the ninth since 1987, according to statistics compiled by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in Alexandria, Va.

Caesarean kidnappings represent a small fraction of the 232 infant abductions by non-family members since 1983, according to the center. But such kidnappings — along with those of infants from public places such as shopping malls — have increased as thefts of newborns from hospitals have declined, says Cathy Nahirny, a supervisor at the center.

Previous kidnappings by Caesarean have occurred in Oklahoma in 2003, Ohio in 2000, California in 1998, Alabama in 1996, Illinois in 1995, Texas in 1992 and New Mexico in 1987.

that is just sick!! why can't these people go adopted any of the thousands of children that desperately need and want someone to love them. Why can't all that thought and intention go into doing something good for themselves and a child instead of trying to take a child from a parent who wants them. More and more I think the sages were right, this is the age of kali yugna or end of times as you want to call it. We humans are capable of such horrible things, this story just spoiled my silly friday mood

Everyone should carry one. If you get into a situation like this, you just cap the idiot who attacks you.

It goes beyond the normal definition of creepy, to even think a person would steal an unborn child.

I'd almost be prepared to believe that these women were possessed by evil spirits for some diabolic purpose, rather than think a person could do this on their own.

Unfortunately, the fact that these cases are getting more attention will probably mean more crimes like this due to it giving people the idea. The copycat effect will wear off after it stops getting reported.

Sadly, I don't have a hard time believing that humans are capable of this type thing. The fact that the woman had been pretending to be pregnant for nine months & plotting to steal the child leads me to believe she probably has some type of serious mental issues.

Lord have mercy, I guess pregnant women all around will have to be very careful who they trust.

With so many babies and children out there that need good homes I wonder why people have to commit heinous act like this.

I find this very morbid and sick, our society have to be more watchful over each other, we need more good citizens watch.

I wonder if this occurs in other developed countries, or undeveloped for that matter...

Just found this--VERY interesting about the profile of the perp, it goes against the general trend for violent crime--

A study of 199 nonfamily infant abduction cases reported to the National Center for Missing andExploited Children between 1983 and 2000 compared violent with nonviolent cases. Violenceoccurred in 30 (15%) of the 199 cases. Murder of the victim mother occurred in 18 (60%) of the30 cases, including 2 cases in which both parents were murdered. In 6 of the 30 cases (33%), thenewborn was extracted by cesarean section, and 1 newborn died. Violent abductors compared tononviolent abductors were more often women who were older than 30, married, overweight, whoplanned the abduction, had a prior relationship with the victim mother, used a confidence-styleapproach, carried a weapon, had a codefendant, and were motivated by a need to secure a partner relationship.

jiv.sagepub.com...