Woman charged with stabbing 'childhood friend,' cutting baby out of womb

WAKEFIELD, Bronx (WPVI) -- A woman accused of cutting the unborn baby out of her murdered friend's womb is being held in the psychiatric ward, and facing murder charges.

Police say the 22-year-old victim, who was nearly 9 months pregnant was stabbed and killed by a childhood friend. The baby cut from her womb is alive.

Ashleigh Wade told the world she was expecting a baby girl. The would-be father was so excited that he posted a sonogram picture on his profile, along with links to baby registries in Wade's name, that listed a due date of November 16th.

Wade's landlord says there was no doubt that her tenant was expecting. However, it was, according to police sources, an elaborate ruse. Wade, they say, was never pregnant - 22-year-old Angelikque Sutton was.

"She told me, I saw her - I knew she was pregnant," said the landlord.

On Saturday, Sutton's friends and family were left reeling by the sheer depravity of this grisly crime that left the young mother dead.

"Why would anyone do this? That's all I can say. How could they do this?" said Davon Warren.

On Friday afternoon, Sutton, who was eight and a half months pregnant, visited Wade at her Wakefield apartment, where police say Wade stabbed Sutton to death, and then carved her baby out of her stomach.

Police and paramedics encountered a blood-soaked horror show, and rushed Sutton to the hospital. The baby survived, but police could do nothing for Sutton.

Wade reportedly insisted to police that the baby was hers, and that she had given birth after stabbing Sutton in self-defense, but after the bloodbath, police found a different story.

Davon Warren grew up across the street from Sutton, and could not summon the words to describe the pain and the knowledge of the baby girl who will never know her mom.

"Hopefully her sisters will tell her the good things about her - just remember all the good times and stuff," said Warren.

The landlord who lives in the house told WABC-TV in New York that she was so convinced that Wade actually was pregnant that she had already bought her a card, and was on her way to go buy her a baby gift.

Wade is now charged with second degree murder and manslaughter. She is currently in the psych ward at Elmhurst Hospital.