Opening Statements Begin in Fetal Abduction Case
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- The defense attorney for a Milwaukee woman accused of killing a young mother by cutting the fetus from her womb says the key legal question is intent.
Thirty-four-year-old Annette Morales-Rodriguez is charged with two counts of first-degree intentional homicide in the deaths of the woman and her unborn son.
During opening statements Tuesday, defense attorney Debra Patterson acknowledged that her client sliced out the baby. But Patterson questioned whether Morales-Rodriguez intended to kill either the mother or fetus.
Prosecutor Mark Williams showed a jury of seven men and seven women a number of graphic photos. They included pictures of the victim's disemboweled lower torso and bloodstained carpeting in the defendant's home.
Prosecutors allege that Morales-Rodriguez planned to raise the child as her own because she was desperate for a child.
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