The overwhelming majority of murders are committed by men, but one unspeakable, unthinkable type of murder committed solely by women is that of foetal abduction, literally cutting the baby out of the mother, which necessitates one murder and may well result in two deaths. Thankfully, this horrific crime is mercifully rare, although more than a dozen cases have been recorded in the United States.
Linda Carty planned to commit a foetal abduction in 2001, but by the time she could trick a gang of miscreants into kidnapping Joana Rodriguez, the young mother had given birth. Carty murdered her anyway and has now languished on death row for the best part of two decades. Three years after Carty's botched and cruel crime, Lisa Montgomery carried out a successful one, bluffing her way into the life of her victim and strangling her before using a paring knife to cut open her stomach.
This documentary includes reconstructions, though thankfully nothing too graphic, but descriptions are bad enough. While the crime was planned meticulously, she was never going to get away with it. The victim was found shortly by her horrified mother, and law enforcement including the FBI were immediately on the case. A prompt tip off from a woman who heard about it and matched the details to some on-line chat in a dog breeders' forum led to the recovery of the healthy baby girl within 24 hours, the arrest of Montgomery, and the bemusement of her husband.
Was any single murder more deserving of a lethal injection? Montgomery's first husband doesn't seem to think so, but he doesn't want to see the mother of his offspring executed. And she still hasn't been, although her date with the gurney has at last been set for December 8 this year.