Woman charged in death of pregnant woman

[gmyers]

A twenty-seven year old woman killed a pregnant twenty-one year old and took her baby. She put the womans body in the crawl space of her home. She had to call 911 because the baby wasn't in good condition. The paramedics determined she didn't have a baby so I guess they called the cops. The cops found the woman in the crawlspace and the baby didn't make it. They said she'll be charged with the woman and babies death. Man people are really messed up.

[Jenefer3]

Yep, it happened in my area. Well in Hillsboro, OR, which is an hour from me.

HILLSBORO, Ore. — A Washington County woman was arrested after an infant she claimed was hers died and officers found the body of a 21-year-old pregnant woman in a crawl space at her home.

Korena Elaine Roberts, 27, was being held without bail on a murder charge.

Officers were called to a home Friday afternoon on reports that a newborn was not breathing. The Washington County Sheriff's Department reported that Roberts told the officers she had recently delivered the baby, a boy.

Roberts and the child were taken to a hospital, where doctors were unable to revive the boy. They also determined that Roberts had not given birth and alerted authorities.

Officers who searched the home found the body Heather Megan Snively in a crawl space.

Snively's boyfriend and the father of the child, who was not identified, reported her missing late Friday. He told deputies she was in her third trimester of pregnancy.

He is not a suspect in Snively's death.

An autopsy will be done on the child to determine the cause of death, deputies said Saturday. Roberts could also face charges in the infant's death.

Roberts has two children, both under the age of 10, who were staying with relatives and not at home when police believe the victim was killed, the sheriff's department said.

Neighbors reported that Roberts had told people she was pregnant.

http://www.tdn.com/articles/2009/06/07/breaking_news/doc4a2c19f243b48142690587.txt

[jasmine]

that is just so so terrible. Stories like this really piss me off, what in the hell is wrong with people today? I say send her straight to the chair, don't waste my tax dollars on her!!

[dv8grl]

Ore. woman charged in death of pregnant woman
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090608/ap_on_re_us/us_pregnant_woman_killed

PORTLAND, Ore. – A pregnant 21-year-old found dead with her baby no longer in her womb befriended the woman charged with killing her through Craigslist, her mother said Sunday.

Police said they found Heather M. Snively's body Friday in a crawl space in Korena Elaine Roberts' home in Beaverton, a Portland suburb. They'd been called there because a newborn wasn't breathing. The baby later died.

Roberts told officers she'd recently given birth to the baby boy, said Sgt. David Thompson of the Washington County Sheriff's Office, and both were taken to a hospital. Doctors could not save the baby, and they alerted authorities after determining Roberts had not given birth.

Roberts, 27, was charged with murder in Snively's death and could face charges in the baby's death as well, Thompson said. She was being held without bond and the jail did not list an attorney.

Autopsy results were scheduled to be released Monday and Thompson would not say whether Snively gave birth before she died or the baby was removed. Police have not released a motive for the killing.

Snively's mother, Heidi Kidd of St. Albans, W.Va., said Snively met Roberts a few weeks ago through Craigslist, the online classified service. Roberts told Snively she was pregnant and wanted baby clothes, Kidd said. They befriended one another and kept talking online.

"I guess they decided to meet and I guess that was the wrong thing to do," she said. "But Heather's always been a very trusting person."

Thompson said detectives have not confirmed the women met through Craigslist.

Roberts has two children, both under 10, who were staying with relatives and not at home when police believe Snively was killed, Thompson said.

Kidd said her daughter was eight months pregnant, and Snively's Facebook photo shows her lifting a pink shirt to expose a large belly.

Snively and her boyfriend, identified by Kidd as Christopher Popp, recently moved to Oregon from Maryland because he got a better job. Popp, the baby's father, reported Snively missing Friday night and is not a suspect, Thompson said.

Kidd said her first grandson was to be named John Steven.

"I'm still in shock; it hasn't hit me," she said. "I mean, that initial phone call; I just couldn't believe it. I just could not believe I was talking about my own child."

Sick Sick B!tch! :headshake

[pepperpot]

Roberts has two children, both under 10, who were staying with relatives and not at home when police believe Snively was killed, Thompson said.


I'd be doing some DNA testing on them.....:agree....who knows who they could belong to.....:yikes

[jasmine]

I'd be doing some DNA testing on them.....:agree....who knows who they could belong to.....:yikes

didn't think about that, that could be interesting!! hhmmm

[DBackFan]

Hey Jenefer, on the local news did they ever say HOW the hospital determined she hadn't given birth to the baby? I mean I am very glad she was caught but they said they were alerted by the hospital determining she hadn't given birth and I was curious because I'm sure she didn't ask for an exam.

[Jenefer3]

Hey Jenefer, on the local news did they ever say HOW the hospital determined she hadn't given birth to the baby? I mean I am very glad she was caught but they said they were alerted by the hospital determining she hadn't given birth and I was curious because I'm sure she didn't ask for an exam.

They did a female exam, at least that's what the news person said. That an exam led them to believe that she hadn't given birth recently and they alerted authorities.

[DBackFan]

They did a female exam, at least that's what the news person said. That an exam led them to believe that she hadn't given birth recently and they alerted authorities.

huh...well thats what I suspected but seems weird that she would have allowed an exam before the police forced it. I mean she had to know they would be able to tell. Thanks Jen.

[dv8grl]

Autopsy: 'Blunt force' killed pregnant Ore. woman

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090608/ap_on_re_us/us_pregnant_woman_killed;_ylt=AkE2FyvajM81FU.cz2KQ HmJG2ocA;_ylu=X3oDMTJ2bG81ZmUwBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkw NjA4L3VzX3ByZWduYW50X3dvbWFuX2tpbGxlZARwb3MDMTUEc2 VjA3luX3BhZ2luYXRlX3N1bW1hcnlfbGlzdARzbGsDYXV0b3Bz eWJsdW50

PORTLAND, Ore. – An autopsy report on an Oregon woman who had been eight months pregnant says she died of blunt and sharp force injuries, but a medical examiner won't say how her infant died. Police say the woman charged with killing 21-year-old Heather Snively claimed Snively's baby was her own.

Authorities haven't said how 27-year-old Korena Elaine Roberts obtained Snively's baby, who died Friday at a hospital. Police then found Snively's body in the crawl space of Roberts' house in the Portland suburb of Beaverton.

Dr. Christopher Young, a deputy state medical examiner for Oregon, said Monday he expects to release more autopsy results later.

Roberts is scheduled to be arraigned Monday afternoon on a murder charge in Snively's death.

[jasmine]

Ore. woman charged in death of pregnant woman
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090608/ap_on_re_us/us_pregnant_woman_killed

Kidd said her daughter was eight months pregnant, and Snively's Facebook photo shows her lifting a pink shirt to expose a large belly.

Snively and her boyfriend, identified by Kidd as Christopher Popp, recently moved to Oregon from Maryland because he got a better job. Popp, the baby's father, reported Snively missing Friday night and is not a suspect, Thompson said.

Kidd said her first grandson was to be named John Steven.

"I'm still in shock; it hasn't hit me," she said. "I mean, that initial phone call; I just couldn't believe it. I just could not believe I was talking about my own child."

Sick Sick B!tch! :headshake

ok, what I still want to know is, how did the girl have the baby? Sounds obviously that she was around 8 months preg. when she went to go see this lady that killed her. Was it tooken from her, did the lady somehow make her go in to pre-term labor and have it?

[Jenefer3]

HILLSBORO, Ore. – A pregnant 21-year-old newcomer to Oregon who was found dead in a crawl space of a home had been cut open and her baby taken from her womb, investigators said Monday. It couldn't be determined if the infant son of Heather Snively died before or after he was removed, the Washington County sheriff's department said in a statement.
A 27-year-old Beaverton woman, Korena Roberts, was to be arraigned Monday on a murder charge in Snively's death.

Investigators have said Roberts claimed Snively's infant was her own. Police were called to the home Friday because a newborn wasn't breathing. Doctors were unable to revive him and told officers that Roberts had not given birth. Police then found Snively's body at Roberts' home.

A medical examiner said Monday that Snively died of blunt and sharp force injuries.

"At this time, it has not been determined if she died because of head wounds she received or as a result of cutting injuries she received to her abdomen," the sheriff's office said.
Investigators said Roberts had been telling friends and family members for months that she was pregnant. They said Roberts may have been in contact with other pregnant women.

Snively had recently moved to Oregon from Maryland because her boyfriend and father of the child had found a better job. He reported Snively missing Friday night.

Snively's mother, Heidi Kidd of St. Albans, W.Va., said Snively met Roberts a few weeks ago through Craigslist, the online classified service. Roberts told Snively she was pregnant and wanted baby clothes, Kidd said. They befriended one another and kept talking online.

Kidd told The Associated Press on Sunday that her first grandson was to be named John Steven.

"I'm still in shock; it hasn't hit me," she said. "I mean, that initial phone call; I just couldn't believe it. I just could not believe I was talking about my own child."

[Jenefer3]

PORTLAND, Ore. -- A pregnant woman found dead at a Beaverton-area home Friday was cut open and had her baby removed from her womb, sheriff's deputies said.

The baby did not survive and Washington County sheriff's deputies said they're now considering whether 28-year-old Korena Roberts tried to contact other pregnant women in the Portland metro area prior to the homicide.

Roberts is accused of killing 21-year-old Heather Snively, whose body was found in the crawlspace of a Beaverton-area home.

Roberts' arrest stems from an incident Friday in which firefighters went to a home on Mill Creek Drive after a report of a newborn baby in distress.

When rescue crews arrived, Roberts' boyfriend was performing CPR on the baby at the direction of a 911 dispatcher and Roberts was also at the home with the child. Roberts told firefighters she had just delivered the baby and rescuers observed a large amount of blood in the house, deputies said. They decided to send the child and Roberts to the hospital.

At the hospital, doctors were not able to revive the baby and discovered Roberts had not delivered the child, said Sgt. David Thompson in a sheriff's office press release.

Deputies were called to the hospital and they soon went back to the Mill Creek Drive home, where they found Snively's body in the crawlspace, Thompson said.

Mom Says Victim Met Suspect Through Craigslist

It's unclear whether Snively died because of head wounds or as a result of the cutting injuries she received to her abdomen, Thompson said in a press release Monday.

The autopsy showed Snively's unborn son was removed from her womb after she had been cut open, sheriff's deputies said. More lab analysis and tests will be required before detectives can determine whether the infant died before or after he was removed from the womb.

Heidi Kidd, Snively's mother, said her daughter met Roberts via Craigslist, the classified ads Web site. She said the pair met to exchange baby clothes.

Deon Whitaker, who lives in the area, said she saw Snively in the neighborhood last week.

"I didn't know her name, but we just said, 'Hi,' and talked while we were playing ball with the kids," Whitaker said.

Detectives said Roberts may have had contact with numerous pregnant women in the Portland metro area prior to her arrest. Anyone who has had contact with her via the Internet or in person is asked to call the sheriff's office at 503-846-2700.

Neighbors Say Roberts Pretended To Be Pregnant

Neighbors who live in the area said Roberts told them she was expecting a child prior to the incident Friday.

"She had told my mother about a week ago that she was pregnant -- about to have a baby -- like seven or eight months pregnant," said neighbor Doug King. "She didn't appear to be pregnant to us. She had gained weight, but not a lot in the belly or anything like that."

Wendy Pursinger recently held a neighborhood yard sale. She said Roberts purchased a stroller from her.

"I had asked her then, 'What are you doing? Your kids are older,'" Pursinger said. "That's when she said she was pregnant and she was having another baby."

Pursinger worries Roberts had planned the killing for some time.

"It's sad that she set us all up," she said.

About six hours after Snively's body was found Friday, her boyfriend, who is also the father of the child, reported Snively missing. He told deputies that Snively, who recently moved from Maryland to the Tigard area, was in the third trimester of pregnancy. Deputies soon matched the missing person's report to the Mill Creek Drive homicide.

Suspect Lived At Home With Boyfriend, 2 Kids

Neighbors said Roberts lived at the Mill Creek Drive home with her boyfriend and two small children, who weren't home at the time of the incident.

"I actually kind of liked (Roberts') little boy," said neighbor Terry King. "You know, you screwed up his life. You did something like that, I don't care what happens to you … but the kid; I do care about that."

Roberts' boyfriend is a witness and not a suspect in the case, Thompson said. Deputies said Roberts told many people, including her live-in boyfriend, that she was pregnant with twins.

Doug King said he only knew the couple casually.

"I didn't know him real well, but he seemed distracted," King said. "I helped him push his car into the driveway, actually, the day before yesterday."

The case is still under investigation.

Roberts, who has no criminal history, is being held at the Washington County Jail without bail. She will make her first court appearance Monday.

I don't know if you've seen that lady's picture but she looks kinda off. Here's a link http://www.kptv.com/news/19675040/detail.html and there's also a video.

[jasmine]

disgusting *****!! Can you imagine the pain and agony of this poor woman fighting for her/and her unborn childs life. OMG Makes me wonna throw my computer out the window.

Like I said, send her to the chair, and don't waste my tax dollars on her.

just disgusting.

[gmyers]

They said they tested her kids and they're hers. They did say she has mental issues.

[dv8grl]

Ore. woman accused of cutting baby from womb
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090609/ap_on_re_us/us_pregnant_woman_killed;_ylt=Aket4qnYQHGTule7cyBy GrpG2ocA;_ylu=X3oDMTJ1dG5pZXBwBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkw NjA5L3VzX3ByZWduYW50X3dvbWFuX2tpbGxlZARwb3MDMQRzZW MDeW5fcGFnaW5hdGVfc3VtbWFyeV9saXN0BHNsawNvcmV3b21h bmFjY3U-

HILLSBORO, Ore. – Korena Roberts sifted through her neighbor's rummage sale until she pulled out an item that caught her eye: a blue stroller decorated with teddy bears.

Her neighbor, Wendy Pursinger, asked why she needed it. Roberts' two children had long outgrown being pushed in a baby carriage.

"I'm pregnant, of course," Roberts told Pursinger.

Police now say Roberts' pregnancy story was likely false, a cover story. The 27-year-old is charged with killing her pregnant friend, Heather Snively, and say she cut open the 21-year-old's abdomen to take her baby and pass it off as her own. Snively's body was found Friday in a crawl space of Roberts' suburban Hillsboro home.

Her infant also died, but authorities couldn't determine whether he was alive when he was removed — a distinction that could mean the difference between holding Roberts responsible for his death or not. Roberts was in court Monday but did not enter a plea to a murder charge in Snively's death.

Robert's story was inconsistent: Sometimes she told people she was pregnant with one baby. Other times it was twins. She even put a crib together on her front lawn and placed an ad on Craigslist looking for baby clothes.

It was on the online classified site where Roberts and the young mother-to-be met a few weeks ago, Snively's family says. Police are trying to confirm that.

The Web site was old hat for Snively.

"Heather's No. 1 thing to do was be on the computer," said Sandy Carson, a neighbor back when Snively was living in Maryland. "She sold so many things off Craigslist."

She also always had her hand on her belly as she waited for the birth of her first son, who she planned to name John Stephen.

"It's just a habit," she told Carson. "I just can't wait to see him."

"I've actually worn out a shirt doing that," she told Carson.

By most accounts, Snively was a naive young woman. "But you couldn't hold that against her," Carson says. "She could make friends with anybody. She was a very trusting person."

Snively came to Oregon in the spring, following her boyfriend, the father of the boy she had been carrying for nearly eight months.

Not long after moving here, Snively and Roberts connected online. Roberts was looking for clothes and Snively had some to trade.

Neighbors say they saw the two women at Roberts' house more than a couple times during the past few weeks.

When police arrived at that home Friday, they found a floor slick with blood and a man — Roberts' boyfriend — trying to revive a lifeless baby boy.

Emergency workers took Roberts and the child to the hospital. Doctors weren't able to save the baby, and they could tell that Roberts hadn't given birth. Although police aren't saying whether she really is pregnant, Washington County District Attorney Bob Herman said investigators are working under the presumption that she is not.

Police went back to Roberts' home and found Snively's body.

The story is not the first of its kind. About this time last year, a Pennsylvania woman was charged with murder after she cut a baby from another's woman's body and tried to pass it off as her own. The mother died.

In 2004, a Missouri woman strangled another woman with a rope and then used a kitchen knife to cut a baby girl from her womb. She was arrested one day later after showing the child off as her own.

In the Oregon case, a medical examiner said Snively had died of homicidal violence: "blunt force" causing head wounds and "sharp force" injuries to her stomach.

Authorities haven't offered a motive as to why Roberts, who has two children under the age of 10, might try to steal a baby in such a way or why she chose Snively's.

Investigators were also awaiting details from the autopsy and other tests to determine whether the baby might have breathed even once before he died. If he did, Roberts can also be charged in his killing.

Prosecutors will present their case to a grand jury for possible additional charges, Herman said. Roberts' boyfriend is cooperating and doesn't face charges.

A modest memorial for Snively and her son sat outside Roberts' home. At the center, amid bunches of flowers and stuffed teddy bears, was a handwritten note: "May God be with you."

Neighbors, the few who knew Roberts, weren't sure what to make of the allegations.

"You get the impression that whoever did this must be crazy," said next-door neighbor Terry King, 61. "But this woman didn't seem crazy on the surface."

Roberts smiled and waved whenever King saw her. She had told his wife she was expecting soon.

Snively's friends and family are just as confused.

"Knowing her and seeing her just a few weeks ago ... I just think about her last minutes," said Carson, the Maryland neighbor. "That baby was ready to be born."

One day before the slaying, Carson's daughter got a note from Snively. She loved Oregon and couldn't wait to meet her child.

"John Stephen," Snively wrote, "will be here soon."

[pepperpot]

They said they tested her kids and they're hers. They did say she has mental issues.

What test did they give the kids? A spelling or a DNA test? DNA tests come back this quick? :confused:

[jasmine]

you see, I think that's wrong that she wouldn't be charged with the death of the baby also. I mean come on, the baby was more than able to live outside the womb. It was alive in the belly, she took it out, it's not alive anymore, that's called murder. That is potential life that could have lived. It was her intention to cut the mother's belly open and take the baby away from her, the baby didn't survive, murder!!

[BrightEyes]

The lady who was killed was originally from St. Albans, WV. Her family is still here, It has been all over the news. I live in the next town from there. Very, very sad case. She only lived in Oregon for a couple weeks before this monster killed her and her baby.

[gmyers]

you see, I think that's wrong that she wouldn't be charged with the death of the baby also. I mean come on, the baby was more than able to live outside the womb. It was alive in the belly, she took it out, it's not alive anymore, that's called murder. That is potential life that could have lived. It was her intention to cut the mother's belly open and take the baby away from her, the baby didn't survive, murder!!

They're not going to charge her with the death of the baby? I think thats wrong. I heard on I think it was Jane Valez that they have done DNA tests and the kids are hers.

[jasmine]

They're not going to charge her with the death of the baby? I think thats wrong. I heard on I think it was Jane Valez that they have done DNA tests and the kids are hers.


the news story said that they could, or could not charge her with murder for the baby, depending on wether he was alive when he was removed. You'd have to know the baby was alive in the womb..........

[gmyers]

The woman killed thought he was alive or she wouldn't have said he'd be there soon. She probably hurt him somehow getting him out of her. He deserves jusitice too, just like his mom.

[pepperpot]

ok, what I still want to know is, how did the girl have the baby? Sounds obviously that she was around 8 months preg. when she went to go see this lady that killed her. Was it tooken from her, did the lady somehow make her go in to pre-term labor and have it?

Even if this woman went into preterm labor and dropped dead infront of her.....and she tried to 'save' the baby by cutting it out of her (playing devil's advocate).....why stuff her in her crawl space?


This woman is sick.....:agree

[whatever]

disgusting *****!! Can you imagine the pain and agony of this poor woman fighting for her/and her unborn childs life. OMG Makes me wonna throw my computer out the window.

Like I said, send her to the chair, and don't waste my tax dollars on her.

just disgusting.

I bet she fought to the death for her child giving it all she could.......
Only just giving birth (if still alive...) was probably not much.
Makes you think in today world, trust no one.......

[gmyers]

ok, what I still want to know is, how did the girl have the baby? Sounds obviously that she was around 8 months preg. when she went to go see this lady that killed her. Was it tooken from her, did the lady somehow make her go in to pre-term labor and have it?

They said on the news she was hit on the head with something then she cut the baby out of her.

[BrightEyes]

I may be way off base here, but this almost had to be premeditated. The family said that Heather was looking through craigs Lists ads looking for baby furniture and clothing ads. That is how she met the woman who murdered her. She went to supposedly get baby items from the woman. They hadnt been long term friends, etc. She met through Craigs List. She had to have placed an ad, lured her there and then hit her, before removing the baby. Sounds premeditated.

[BrightEyes]

The story from my local news, WSAZ.com

UPDATE: Pregnant Woman From St. Albans Found Murdered in Oregon Save Email Print


Posted: 4:38 PM Jun 7, 2009
Last Updated: 10:46 PM Jun 8, 2009
Reporter: WSAZ News Staff
Email Address: news@wsaz.com

54 comments

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Murdered Pregnant Woman's Family Speaks



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A | A | A UPDATE: Monday Evening
HILLSBORO, Ore. (AP) - Authorities say a pregnant woman who was
found dead in a crawl space of a suburban home had been cut open
and her baby delivered from her womb.

The Washington County sheriff's office said Monday that it
couldn't be determined if the infant son of Heather Snively died
before or after he was removed from the womb.


A 27-year-old Beaverton woman was to be arraigned Monday on a
murder charge in Snively's death.

A medical examiner said Monday that Snively had died of "blunt
force" and "sharp force" injuries.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

UPDATE: Sunday 11 p.m.
ST. ALBANS, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- A family in St. Albans is devastated after an atrocious crime happened to their 21-year-old daughter and her unborn baby.

Authorities say police found the body of Heather Snively in a crawl space of a home near Portland, Oregon.

Her baby had been taken from her body.

Heather's family hopes she is remembered as a loving, caring woman.

"Heather was just a good person,” Snively’s stepfather David Kidd said. “She'd help anybody she could help. She'd do anything for anybody. You basically couldn't find a better person."

"She was really friendly and hyper and bubbly, and she always had friends," Heather’s half-sister Kayla Kidd said.

David Kidd says Heather had moved from Maryland about two weeks ago to live with her fiancé, who had just taken a job in Oregon. She was shopping for baby clothes on the website Craig’s List, where she met Norena Roberts, who is now charged with Heather's murder.

Now Heather's family in St. Albans says community support and the power of prayer are slowly beginning to ease the immeasurable pain caused by this shocking loss.

"I just want to say I appreciate all the help I've gotten from the community and the churches and friends and family and everyone, and all the prayer we've been given,” David Kidd, who has been Heather’s stepfather since she was three years old, said. “Heather will be missed."

Now Kidd will never get to meet his first grandchild. Along with Heather's murder charges, Korena Roberts could face charges in the baby's death after the newborn's autopsy is performed Monday.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ORIGINAL STORY:
BEAVERTON, OREGON (WSAZ) -- A pregnant woman from St. Albans was found murdered in a home in Oregon.

The Washington County Sheriff's public information officer says the pregnant woman has been identified as Heather Megan Snively from St. Albans. Snively was 21 years old and still has family in our area.

According to KGW News, an NBC station in Oregon, Snively's body was found in the crawl space of a Beaverton home, and the woman who lives there is facing murder charges.

Police held on to the details of the bizarre murder scene for more than 24 hours after making the gruesome discovery.

According to authorities, a 9-1-1 call was placed at 2:42 p.m. on Friday reporting a newborn baby in distress at a home on NW Mill Creek Drive in Beaverton.

Members of Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue responded to the address and found a man and a woman, 27-year-old Korena Roberts, who said she had just delivered the baby. The baby was rushed to the hospital, but could not be revived.

At that time, authorities learned Roberts had not recently delivered a baby, either.

Police returned to the home and found the body of Snively in the home's crawl space.

Police arrested Roberts, who faces murder charges.

Detectives are waiting for the results of the autopsy to determine how the child was delivered.

Snively’s boyfriend, and father of their child, reported that she was missing and she was in her third trimester of pregnancy.

Police say Snively had recently moved to Tigard from Maryland. Investigators tell wsaz.com that Snively is originally from West Virginia.

[gmyers]

Why can't the boyfriend and the families see the baby before he's buried. Even if they do and autopsy they could put clothes on him after and let the families and father say goodbye to him. Or before they do the autopsy.