Dog Show Said to Link Slain Mom, Suspect

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Bobbie Jo Stinnett and the woman accused of strangling her and cutting her baby from her womb were photographed together at a dog show months before last week’s attack, a woman who attended the show said.

Stinnett, 23, was eight months pregnant when she was strangled Thursday at the home in Skidmore, Mo., where she and her husband, Zeb, raised rat terriers.

Investigators used tips from other rat terrier enthusiasts and data from Stinnett’s computer before arresting Lisa M. Montgomery, of Melvern, Kan., on Friday. Montgomery, 36, who claimed to have given birth to a girl the previous day, is charged with kidnapping resulting in death.

A photo gallery on Stinnett’s own Web site – http://www.imageevent.com/happyhaven – includes pictures labeled as being from an April 2004 dog show in Abilene, Kan. One of the photos shows seven people holding rat terriers: Stinnett at the right, with a purple ribbon, and a woman who resembles Montgomery at the left. There is no caption identifying the people.

But dog trainer Nancy Strudl, of Omaha, Neb., said Tuesday she was at the dog show. She said both Montgomery and Stinnett, as well as Stinnett’s husband, Zeb, and one of Montgomery’s daughters, are among the seven people in the picture.

Montgomery “told us all she was pregnant with twins, and about a month and a half ago her messages were ‘I lost one of the twins. It’s so terrible, but they saved one twin,’” Strudl said. “We didn’t believe she was pregnant. I don’t know how she fooled her family and community.”

Records from the show indicate that the Stinnetts and Montgomery had registered for the event, The Kansas City Star reported Tuesday. The FBI would not comment on whether Stinnett and Montgomery had met previously. Investigators are reviewing photographs on the Web site, and efforts are being made to identify everyone pictured, FBI spokesman Jeff Lanza said.

Stinnett and Montgomery both frequented Web sites devoted to rat terriers. Investigators said Stinnett had mentioned her pregnancy on the Web sites and that Montgomery – using a false name – got directions to Stinnett’s home in Skidmore by claiming she was interested in buying a dog.

On Monday, Montgomery’s husband, Kevin Montgomery, said he believed that the baby his wife presented to him was theirs.

According to federal authorities, Kevin Montgomery picked up his wife in Topeka on Thursday and drove her and the new baby, whom they called Abigail, about 40 miles south to Melvern, where the couple showed her off.

After Lisa Montgomery made her first appearance in federal court Monday, Kevin Montgomery said, “I had no idea,” when asked by reporters what he had known about his wife’s alleged actions. He also expressed sympathy for Stinnett’s family.

“This has to be as hard or harder on them as it is on me,” he told reporters. “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 Stinnett, spent the weekend in a Topeka hospital before being released Monday. Stinnett’s funeral was planned for Tuesday afternoon in Maryville, Mo., and was to be performed by the same minister who had married the Stinnett and her husband in spring 2003.

Kevin Montgomery has not been charged and prosecutors have not said if they suspect he knew anything.

“It is very early in the investigation, and it would be inappropriate for us to talk about anyone but the defendant who has been charged,” said Don Ledford, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Kansas City, Mo.

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, including working for a Wendy’s restaurant along Interstate 35 between Emporia and Ottawa.

Kirk Williams, owner of the Wendy’s, said Lisa Montgomery hadn’t worked since mid-November and it was his understanding she was cutting back because she was pregnant.

“There are certainly a lot of people questioning a lot of things at this point,” he said.

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On the Web:

Stinnett site: http://imageevent.com/happyhaven/ukcshows/abilene42004?n0&z2&c4&x1&m24&

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