Not guilty plea in killing to steal fetus

HILLSBORO, Ore., June 16 (UPI) -- An Oregon woman wept as she was arraigned on a charge of killing a pregnant woman in order to get and raise her unborn son.

Korena Elaine Roberts, 27, pleaded not guilty during an appearance Monday in Washington County Circuit Court, The Portland Oregonian reported. She held a tissue during the brief hearing, where she was chained hand and foot.

Police found the body of Heather Snively, 21, on June 5 in a crawl space in Roberts' house in Beaverton, her uterus cut open. Investigators say Snively went to the house to buy clothes for the boy she was expecting.

Roberts has not been charged with killing the baby because medical examiners could not determine if it had been alive when cut out of Snively's body.

Chris Popp, 30, Snively's fiance, said they had been working hard to prepare for the baby's birth. But he said he feels no anger towards Roberts.

"She's going to have her day in court, and she's going to be prosecuted to the fullest extent," he said.