Mobile UPI  |   About UPI  |   UPI en Español  |   UPI Arabic  |   UPIU  |   My Account
Search:
Go

Autopsy reveals baby cut from womb

|
|
 
  
Published: June 9, 2009 at 9:07 AM

TIGARD, Ore., June 9 (UPI) -- An autopsy revealed that an Oregon woman who died last week was cut open so her baby could be removed from her womb, officials said.

Authorities also said Heather Snively's accused killer, Korena Elaine Roberts, who was arraigned Monday, told her boyfriend and her family members she was pregnant, even though she wasn't, The Portland Oregonian reported Tuesday.

"We don't know what her motivation was yet," Washington County Sheriff's Office spokesman Sgt. Dave Thompson said. "Until we finish our investigation, we won't be able to draw any conclusions we can say we're pretty confident of."

Roberts, 27, of Tigard, Ore., was arrested after police found Snively's body in the crawl space of Roberts' home and a dying baby elsewhere in the house, authorities said.

Roberts did not speak during her court appearance, the newspaper reported. Her court-appointed attorney did not enter a plea on her behalf.

She is charged with the death of Snively, not her baby because the unborn child must have taken a breath to meet the legal standard of being alive, Washington County prosecutor Bob Hermann said.

"The issue is, was the child alive at all, at any point in time?" he said. "That's the legal issue we've got to try and resolve."

Authorities said an autopsy indicated Snively had "head wounds" and "cutting injuries" to her abdomen, although the cause of death has not be determined. More tests and laboratory work are necessary before officials know whether the baby was alive or dead when removed from the womb, the newspaper said.

Recommended Stories
© 2009 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Order reprints
  
Join the conversation
Most Popular Collections
The Tibetan Moniam Festival in China Super Bowl XLVI ticker tape victory parade Proposition 8 ruled unconstitutional in California
AARP Movies for Grownups Award Gala The Most Desirable Women of 2012 Snowy Owls make appearance in Washington
Additional Top News Stories
1 of 15
Rose McGowan at The Heart Truth's Red Dress Fall 2012 Collections at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week In New York
View Caption
fark
Caption this picture of Ahnold and Sly
Driver rescues students on her elementary school bus after it imitates a kid's science project and...
The most amazing portraits created with packing tape you will see all day
According to the United States Census Bureau, when a child is being watched by his father, that's...
You put a guy named Skeeter in charge of your charitable fund, of COURSE he's going to blow your...
Subby, for one, welcomes our new Pennsylvania Purple Squirrel overlords (with purple-pic)