Woman slain, fetus cut from her womb

Police detain a 26-year-old woman, described only as a person of interest
Associated Press

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. - The body of a woman who apparently had a fetus cut from her womb was found in a vacant lot, and police said Friday they had captured a woman in the case. State police said a 26-year-old woman, whom they described as a person of interest, had buried a baby Thursday that she said had been stillborn, East St. Louis Police Chief James Mister told the Belleville News-Democrat. An autopsy will be performed on the baby Friday to determine if it was removed from the dead woman's womb, Mister said. The East St. Louis case is the area's second recent case involving babies. A 36-year-old woman is accused of slashing a young mother's throat and kidnapping her baby on Sept. 15. The baby was found in good condition four days later. Another woman is to stand trial next April in the abduction of an unborn girl taken from the womb of Bobbie Jo Stinnett in December 2004 in Skidmore, Mo. The baby survived. See: Woman slain, fetus cut from womb