Murder of pregnant women
Encyclopedia
Murder of pregnant women is a type of homicide often resulting from domestic violence
. Domestic violence, or intimate partner violence (IPV), is suffered by many people and in the majority of cases where the victim comes forward the victim is a woman . For many of these women the fear of harm includes not just themselves but their unborn child as well. Pregnancy-associated death has become more commonly termed as pregnancy-associated homicide. Recently, more focus has been placed on pregnancy-associated deaths due to violence. IPV may begin when the victim becomes pregnant. Research has shown that abuse while pregnant is a red flag for pregnancy-associated homicide.
The murder of pregnant women represents a relatively recently studied class of murder
. Limited statistics are available as there is no reliable system in place yet to track such cases. Whether pregnancy
is a causal factor
is hard to determine.
Isabelle Horon and Diana Cheng published a Maryland study in 2001 in the Journal of the American Medical Association
which found "a pregnant or recently pregnant woman is more likely to be a victim of homicide than to die of any other cause":
The suggestion that this is the primary cause of prenatal maternal death, however, suffers a lack of fully reliable data. Homicide was the second-leading cause of death among women ages 20 to 24 and fifth among women ages 25–34 in 1999. The top cause of death in both age groups is accidents.
In 2003, California changed its death certificate
documentation to include a female victim's maternity status.
, passed in 2004, defines a fetus as a "child in uterus" and a person as being a legal crime victim "if a fetal injury or death occurs during the commission of a federal violent crime." In the U.S., 36 states have laws with more harsh penalties if the victim is murdered while pregnant. Some of these laws defining the fetus as being a person, "for the purpose of criminal prosecution of the offender" (National Conference of State Legislatures, 2008). Laci Peterson
, murdered in 2002, is one of the more high-profile homicides.
Currently in the North Carolina Senate
, a bill called the SB 353 Unborn Victims of Violence Act is being considered for legislation that would create a separate criminal offense for the death of a fetus when the mother is murdered. The North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence does not support this law for numerous reasons including failure to see violence against the mother as the cause of the fetal death. The Coalition does, however, support the position of the National Network to End Domestic Violence
regarding the Unborn Victims of Violence Act.
In 2004, Bobbie Jo Stinnett
died after Lisa M. Montgomery
cut Stinnett's unborn daughter from her womb in an attempt to claim the baby as her own. The two met online in a dog breeding
chatroom and Montgomery told Stinnett she was also pregnant. Montgomery later posed as a potential buyer of one of Stinnett's dogs and arranged to meet her. It was at that meeting that Stinnett was murdered. Montgomery then took the baby to the local hospital, claiming to have just given birth to it herself. In July 2008, Araceli Camacho Gomez was found with her hands and feet bound by yarn and massive trauma to her abdomen. Police arrested Phiengchai Sisouvanh Synhavong in connection with the case and charged her with first-degree murder. In her purse were yarn, a boxcutter, and baby items, among other items. In July 2009, Darlene Haynes was found dead in her apartment, her stomach cut open in a way consistent with the removal of a fetus.
Other notable cases include Sharon Tate
, victims of the Manson Family murders, Jessie Davis, LaToyia Figueroa
, Belinda Temple
, Cherica Adams, and Laci Peterson
.
Domestic violence
Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
. Domestic violence, or intimate partner violence (IPV), is suffered by many people and in the majority of cases where the victim comes forward the victim is a woman . For many of these women the fear of harm includes not just themselves but their unborn child as well. Pregnancy-associated death has become more commonly termed as pregnancy-associated homicide. Recently, more focus has been placed on pregnancy-associated deaths due to violence. IPV may begin when the victim becomes pregnant. Research has shown that abuse while pregnant is a red flag for pregnancy-associated homicide.
The murder of pregnant women represents a relatively recently studied class of murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
. Limited statistics are available as there is no reliable system in place yet to track such cases. Whether pregnancy
Pregnancy
Pregnancy refers to the fertilization and development of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, in a woman's uterus. In a pregnancy, there can be multiple gestations, as in the case of twins or triplets...
is a causal factor
Causality
Causality is the relationship between an event and a second event , where the second event is understood as a consequence of the first....
is hard to determine.
Statistics
The third leading cause of death for pregnant women is homicide. ABC News claim that about 20 percent of women who die during pregnancy are victims of murder. However according to the CDC "The pregnancy-associated homicide ratio was 1.7 per 100,000 live births". In other words the chances of a pregrnant women being murdered was around 0.0017%.Isabelle Horon and Diana Cheng published a Maryland study in 2001 in the Journal of the American Medical Association
Journal of the American Medical Association
The Journal of the American Medical Association is a weekly, peer-reviewed, medical journal, published by the American Medical Association. Beginning in July 2011, the editor in chief will be Howard C. Bauchner, vice chairman of pediatrics at Boston University’s School of Medicine, replacing ...
which found "a pregnant or recently pregnant woman is more likely to be a victim of homicide than to die of any other cause":
[T]he killings span racial and ethnic groups. In cases whose details were known, 67 percent of women were killed with firearms. Many women were slain at home — in bedrooms, living rooms, kitchens — usually by men they knew. Husbands. Boyfriends. Lovers.
The suggestion that this is the primary cause of prenatal maternal death, however, suffers a lack of fully reliable data. Homicide was the second-leading cause of death among women ages 20 to 24 and fifth among women ages 25–34 in 1999. The top cause of death in both age groups is accidents.
In 2003, California changed its death certificate
Death certificate
The phrase death certificate can describe either a document issued by a medical practitioner certifying the deceased state of a person or popularly to a document issued by a person such as a registrar of vital statistics that declares the date, location and cause of a person's death as later...
documentation to include a female victim's maternity status.
Laws and policies
The Unborn Victims of Violence ActUnborn Victims of Violence Act
The Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2004 is a United States law which recognizes a "child in utero" as a legal victim, if he or she is injured or killed during the commission of any of over 60 listed federal crimes of violence...
, passed in 2004, defines a fetus as a "child in uterus" and a person as being a legal crime victim "if a fetal injury or death occurs during the commission of a federal violent crime." In the U.S., 36 states have laws with more harsh penalties if the victim is murdered while pregnant. Some of these laws defining the fetus as being a person, "for the purpose of criminal prosecution of the offender" (National Conference of State Legislatures, 2008). Laci Peterson
Laci Peterson
Laci Denise Peterson was an American woman who was the subject of a highly discussed murder case after she went missing while seven and a half months pregnant with her first child. Peterson was reportedly last seen alive on December 24, 2002...
, murdered in 2002, is one of the more high-profile homicides.
Currently in the North Carolina Senate
North Carolina Senate
The North Carolina Senate is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly.Its prerogatives and powers are similar to those of the other house, the House of Representatives. Its members do, however, represent districts that are larger than those of their colleagues in the House. The...
, a bill called the SB 353 Unborn Victims of Violence Act is being considered for legislation that would create a separate criminal offense for the death of a fetus when the mother is murdered. The North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence does not support this law for numerous reasons including failure to see violence against the mother as the cause of the fetal death. The Coalition does, however, support the position of the National Network to End Domestic Violence
National Network to End Domestic Violence
The National Network to End Domestic Violence is a not-for-profit organization incorporated in the District of Columbia since 1995. It is a network of state domestic violence coalitions, representing over 2,000 member organizations nationwide...
regarding the Unborn Victims of Violence Act.
Intervention
While it is almost impossible to determine an exact intervention point to prevent pregnancy-associated homicides, some possible opportunities can be pinpointed. The medical community is one of those points. Women may feel safe speaking to their health care providers about the abuse, especially after discovering they are pregnant. Some medical office and hospital policies specify that doctors will examine the patient privately without allowing the partner access. In a 2001 editorial in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Victoria Frye writes, "Homicide by intimate partners may offer a focal point for effective pregnancy-associated mortality prevention efforts because many of these women come into contact with the health care system before their deaths." Reviews of Intimate Partner Homicide policy and research has identified several needs: System-wide training in healthcare on signs of domestic violence and system-wide screening for domestic violence by health care providers, as well as the knowledge of where to refer women to that need services when abuse is disclosed.Motives
Statistics for pregnancy as being a motivating factor in the murder of a pregnant woman are unavailable at this time. Motives may vary, with a woman's pregnancy at the time of death sometimes being coincidental.In 2004, Bobbie Jo Stinnett
Bobbie Jo Stinnett
Bobbie Jo Stinnett was a 23-year-old pregnant woman found brutally slain in her home in Skidmore, Missouri. The accused, Lisa M. Montgomery, then 36, was convicted of strangling Stinnett from behind and then cutting the woman's unborn child, eight months into gestation, from her womb...
died after Lisa M. Montgomery
Lisa M. Montgomery
Lisa Marie Montgomery, is a woman from Melvern, Kansas who confessed to the 2004 murder of Bobbie Jo Stinnett, an expectant mother, in an attempt to kidnap her unborn baby....
cut Stinnett's unborn daughter from her womb in an attempt to claim the baby as her own. The two met online in a dog breeding
Dog breeding
Dog breeding is the practice of mating selected specimens with the intent to maintain or produce specific qualities and characteristics.Dogs reproduce without human interference, so their offsprings' characteristics are determined by natural selection. Domestic dogs may be intentionally bred by...
chatroom and Montgomery told Stinnett she was also pregnant. Montgomery later posed as a potential buyer of one of Stinnett's dogs and arranged to meet her. It was at that meeting that Stinnett was murdered. Montgomery then took the baby to the local hospital, claiming to have just given birth to it herself. In July 2008, Araceli Camacho Gomez was found with her hands and feet bound by yarn and massive trauma to her abdomen. Police arrested Phiengchai Sisouvanh Synhavong in connection with the case and charged her with first-degree murder. In her purse were yarn, a boxcutter, and baby items, among other items. In July 2009, Darlene Haynes was found dead in her apartment, her stomach cut open in a way consistent with the removal of a fetus.
Other notable cases include Sharon Tate
Sharon Tate
Sharon Marie Tate was an American actress. During the 1960s she played small television roles before appearing in several films. After receiving positive reviews for her comedic performances, she was hailed as one of Hollywood's promising newcomers and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for...
, victims of the Manson Family murders, Jessie Davis, LaToyia Figueroa
LaToyia Figueroa
LaToyia Figueroa was an American woman of African-American and Hispanic descent who was murdered in 2005. Figueroa, who was five months pregnant at the time, was reported missing on July 18, 2005 after she failed to show up to work...
, Belinda Temple
Shattered (book)
SHATTERED: The True Story of a Mother's Love, a Husband's Betrayal, and a Cold-Blooded Texas Murder, by author and novelist Kathryn Casey, is a true crime account of the killing of a pregnant woman whose body was discovered in 1999 in an upstairs closet in her home in Katy, Texas, near Houston...
, Cherica Adams, and Laci Peterson
Laci Peterson
Laci Denise Peterson was an American woman who was the subject of a highly discussed murder case after she went missing while seven and a half months pregnant with her first child. Peterson was reportedly last seen alive on December 24, 2002...
.