Funeral Set for Mom Whose Baby Was Taken

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – A funeral was planned for Tuesday for Bobbie Jo Stinnett, the 23-year-old pregnant woman whose baby was taken from her womb after she was killed last week.

Lisa Montgomery, 36, is charged with the crime. Montgomery appeared Monday before a packed courtroom in Kansas City, Kan., where her attorney refused to waive her right to preliminary and identity hearings. Both hearings have been scheduled for Thursday morning.

Montgomery’s husband, Kevin, said Monday that when he was presented with a newborn child, he believed his wife’s story – that the girl was theirs. The couple named the baby girl Abigail, and did the first thing any proud parents would: drove her home so they could show her off.

“I had no idea,” Kevin Montgomery said outside the courthouse. He said he knew nothing about the grisly allegations against his wife, and he has not been charged with any wrongdoing.

“This has to be as hard or harder on them as it is on me,” Montgomery said, expressing sympathy for the victim’s family. “I sure hope they get as much support from their church and community as I have because we are all going to need it.”

The baby, named Victoria Jo by her father, Zeb Stinnett, spent the weekend in a Topeka hospital before being released Monday.

“When we received her, she was in pretty good shape,” said hospital spokeswoman Carol Wheeler. “She is just a beautiful, beautiful baby girl.”

According to authorities, Kevin Montgomery picked up his wife and the infant in Topeka last week, and drove about 40 miles south to Melvern, Kan., where the couple lived – showing off the child. Authorities said Lisa Montgomery had told family and friends that she was pregnant.

Authorities have said Lisa Montgomery gained access to Stinnett’s Skidmore, Mo., home by expressing interest in Stinnett’s dogs – rat terriers which she raised.

Police were able to track down Montgomery by checking computer records, examining online message boards and tracing an IP address to a computer at her home.

Co-workers confirmed Kevin Montgomery worked at Acme Sign Inc. in Kansas City, Mo., a 70-mile commute each way. A former employer said Lisa Montgomery had juggled three jobs at one point, working for a contractor who managed the Greyhound Lines Inc. bus stop in Topeka, at a Wendy’s restaurant and at a gas station.

“There’s really nothing remarkable about her employment that would have led anyone to contemplate what occurred last week,” said Kirk Williams, owner of the Wendy’s franchise. “It’s awful.”

She had not worked since mid-November, and it was Williams’ understanding that she was cutting back on the workload because she was expecting a baby.