Lisa M. Montgomery

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Lisa Marie Montgomery, (born February 27, 1968) is an American woman from Melvern, Kansas, who was convicted of the 2004 murder of Bobbie Jo Stinnett. Montgomery killed the pregnant Stinnett before cutting Stinnett's unborn baby out from the womb and kidnapping her.

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Background

Montgomery was raised in a "chaotic" home where she was raped by her step-father for many years. She sought escape mentally by drinking alcohol. When Montgomery was 14, her mother discovered the abuse, but reacted by threatening her daughter with a gun. Montgomery tried to escape this situation by marrying at the age of 18, but both this marriage and a subsequent marriage resulted in further abuse.

Montgomery had four children by 1990, when she underwent a tubal ligation. Montgomery falsely claimed to be pregnant several times after the procedure, according to both her first and second spouses.

Experts who examined Montgomery post-conviction concluded that by the time of her crime she had long suffered from psychosis, bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. She was often disassociated from reality, had suffered permanent brain damage from numerous beatings.

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Crime

Stinnett, who was eight months pregnant with her first child, and her husband ran a dog-breeding business from their residence, and Montgomery met Stinnett online in a rat terrier chatroom called "Ratter Chatter." Posing as "Darlene Fischer," Montgomery told Stinnett that she, too, was pregnant. The two women chatted online and exchanged e-mails about their pregnancies. Montgomery, who lived in Melvern, Kansas, then arranged a meeting at Stinnett's house in Skidmore, Missouri, under the pretext of wanting to buy a dog. On December 16, 2004, Montgomery entered Stinnett's house, strangled her, and cut the premature infant from her womb. She returned to Kansas with Stinnett's baby and attempted to pass the infant girl off as her own child.

Stinnett was discovered by her mother, Becky Harper, in a pool of blood about an hour after the assault. Harpe described the wounds inflicted upon her daughter as appearing as if her "stomach had exploded". Paramedics could not revive Stinnett and she was pronounced dead at St. Francis Hospital in Maryville, Missouri.

The next day, December 17, 2004, Montgomery was arrested at her farmhouse and the newborn was recovered. The day-old baby, later named Victoria Jo Stinnett, was returned to her father, Zeb Stinnett.

Female Killer Countdown #8 Lisa Montgomery - YouTube

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Trial

Montgomery was charged with the federal offense of "kidnapping resulting in death," a crime established by the Federal Kidnapping Act of 1932, and described in Title 18 of the United States Code. If convicted, Montgomery faced a sentence of life imprisonment or the death penalty.

At a pre-trial hearing, a neuropsychologist testified that head injuries which she had suffered some years before could have damaged the part of the brain which controls aggression. During her trial in federal court, her defense attorneys, led by Frederick Duchardt, asserted that she suffered from pseudocyesis, a mental condition that causes a woman to falsely believe she is pregnant and exhibit outward signs of pregnancy.

According to The Guardian newspaper, Duchardt attempted to follow this line of defense only one week before the trial began, after being forced to abandon a contradictory argument that Bobbie Jo Stinnet was murdered by Montgomery's brother Tommy, as Tommy had an alibi. As a result, the Montgomery family refused to co-operate with Duchardt and describe Lisa's unfavorable background to the jury.

Noted neuroscientist V. S. Ramachandran gave expert testimony that Montgomery suffered from severe pseudocyesis delusion. According to Ramachandran, Montgomery's childhood sexual abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder predisposed her to pseudocyesis. Ramachandran testified that Montgomery's stories about her actions fluctuated because her delusional state fluctuated. Ramachandran stated that Montgomery was suffering from a severe mental disease or defect when she committed the crime and that she was unable to appreciate the nature and quality of her acts. Federal prosecutor Roseann Ketchmark characterized Ramachandran's theory linking the murder/kidnapping to pseudocyesis as "voodoo science."

Forensic psychiatrist Park Dietz testified for the prosecution. Dietz had worked with prosecutors on other high-profile cases, including those of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer and bomber Ted Kaczynski, as well as two women, Andrea Yates and Susan Smith, who had killed their own children. Yates was found not guilty by reason of insanity. Dietz testified that Montgomery did not suffer from pseudocyesis and dismissed Ramachandran's theory as outrageous.

On October 22, 2007, jurors found Montgomery guilty. On October 26, the jury recommended a death sentence. Judge Gary A. Fenner formally sentenced Montgomery to death. On April 4, 2008, a judge upheld the jury's recommendation for death. On March 19, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court denied Montgomery's certiorari petition.

However, because of Duchardt's aforementioned pseudocyesis defense, Montgomery's unfavorable background and separate diagnoses of mental illness were not fully revealed to the jury until after her conviction, by her appeals team. Critics including the Guardian journalist David Rose thus argue that Duchardt provided an incompetent legal defense for Montgomery. Judge Fenner required Duchardt to be cross-examined in November 2016. Duchardt rejected all criticism and defended his conduct.

Montgomery, who is registered for the Federal Bureau of Prisons under number 11072-031, is currently being held at Federal Medical Center, Carswell in Fort Worth, Texas. If executed, Montgomery would become the second woman to be executed by the Federal Government since Ethel Rosenberg for espionage at Sing Sing Prison in New York State on June 19, 1953.