AN Oregon woman accused of murdering a pregnant woman from Maryland and cutting the unborn child from her womb pleaded guilty to a charge of aggravated murder and was sentenced to life in prison.
The sentence prohibits parole for Korena Roberts. The battered body of 21-year-old Heather Snively was found in the crawl space of Roberts’ home in June 2009 after Roberts’ boyfriend called 911.
Prosecutors say Roberts bludgeoned Snively in the bathroom with a collapsible police baton, then used a sharp instrument to cut the unborn baby from Snively’s abdomen. The baby was due a month later.
For months before the killing, Roberts told neighbours she was pregnant, going so far as to acquire a stroller, baby formula and parenting magazines.
A few weeks before the killing, Snively moved to Oregon from Maryland to be with her fiance. Detectives said they believe Roberts and Snively met through an online classified service where both were looking for baby clothes.
During a bail hearing last November, Roberts’ attorney said she had given birth to a stillborn child in 2007 and seemed obsessed with babies, repeatedly watching videos of births on YouTube, sewing baby clothes and telling people for about a year that she was pregnant.
Roberts’ boyfriend, Yan Shubin, told police he called 911 on June 5, 2009, after coming home and finding Roberts with a baby covered in blood.
Roberts’ trial was due to begin in November.
She deserve everything that she got. How could anyone do such an awful deed to another human being is unbelievable. What is it that inside of us that make the humans into such monsters is something that I would like to know. I am very happy they throw the book at her.