Baby taken from slain mom's womb found; 2 arrested

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-07-30 14:17

WORCESTER: A baby girl who was cut from her mother's womb has been found alive and two people were arrested in the woman's killing, police said late Wednesday.

Baby taken from slain mom's womb found; 2 arrested

This undated photo released by a family member shows Darlene Haynes, 23, who was found dead in her Worcester, Mass., apartment Monday, July 27, 2009, with her fetus cut from her womb, Police were trying to find the missing baby Wednesday, which they said could have survived. [Agencies]

The girl, whose mother's body was found Monday in a closet at her Worcester apartment, appeared to be in "fairly good health" at a New Hampshire hospital, Worcester Police Sgt. Kerry Hazelhurst said.

Julie Corey, 35, of Worcester, Mass., and a male companion were arrested in Plymouth, N.H., where police found them with the child. Acquaintances had told police they were suspicious of Corey's claims she had given birth.

Corey was charged as a fugitive from justice. She was in custody and could not be reached for comment late Wednesday. Police did not know whether she had a lawyer.

The baby's mother, Darlene Haynes, was eight months pregnant. Haynes' body was found by her landlord, William Thompson, who said a "horrifying smell" led him to her apartment, where he found her body wrapped in bedding in a closet. Her death was ruled a homicide.

Police said the 23-year-old had apparently been dead for several days, and that she hadn't contacted family or friends since Thursday. It was not until an autopsy Tuesday that authorities discovered the fetus was missing.

Corey, who police said had reportedly gone to New Hampshire to relocate, arrived at a Plymouth homeless shelter Tuesday night. She told workers there that the girl was 6 days old and identified herself as the mother, but had no information on the child, according to the Union Leader newspaper in New Hampshire.

Corey was arrested Wednesday afternoon as she tried to leave the shelter with the infant after workers alerted police and a nurse began photographing the baby with her cell phone, the newspaper reported.

The exact cause of Haynes' death has not yet been determined pending toxicology tests, but Worcester Police Detective Capt. Edward J. McGinn Jr. said the autopsy indicated Haynes suffered head injuries.

"It's horrific," Thompson said Wednesday. "There's no words to describe what's going on in this building today."

Haysha Toledo, a 17-year-old neighbor, said she often saw Haynes walking in what she called "a nice quiet neighborhood." Toledo said neighbors used to hear fighting from the apartment Haynes shared until recently with her boyfriend, Roberto Rodriguez.

"We used to hear her crying and screaming but no one ever really did anything," Toledo said, adding that neighbors did not want to get involved.

Haynes had a restraining order against Rodriguez, who allegedly pushed her into a glass table in June and cut her arm, then grabbed her by the throat and slapped her, according to court records. Court records also showed Rodriguez was charged with hitting Haynes in 2008 in a case that was continued without a finding.

In June, Haynes described the 24-year-old Rodriguez as her boyfriend of several years. Her landlord said Rodriguez moved out of the apartment last month.

Rodriguez was interviewed by authorities. He told WCVB-TV that Haynes was "a nice girl."

"She had her problems, you know, but nobody deserves to go (through) what she went through," he said.

Family members said she had three other children.

Her youngest, an 18-month-old girl, is in state custody, according to Department of Children and Families spokeswoman Alison Goodwin. Family members had been looking after her.

Karl Whitney, Haynes' uncle who is acting as a spokesman for the family, said Haynes' grandmother, Joanne Haynes, is raising the two other children, Jasmine, 5, and Lillian, 3.

He told the Telegram & Gazette that Haynes had picked the name Sheila Marie for her fourth child.