Woman Who Murdered Pregnant Friend to Steal Her Baby Has Been Found Guilty

ByElizabeth Licata

The trial of Ashleigh Wade, the 24-year-old New York woman who horrifically stabbed her pregnant friend and cut the baby out of her uterus, finally ended this week when a jury found her guilty of second-degree murder and kidnapping. It did not take them long to reach a verdict.

Wade’s story is like something out of a horror movie. According to People, in 2015 Wade got her friend Angelikque Sutton to come over, allegedly to receive a wedding gift. Sutton was eight and a half months pregnant, and she’d recently reconnected with Wade on Facebook. Wade had been telling people she was pregnant, and she either lost the baby or was never pregnant in the first place.

Ashleigh Wade lured her pregnant friend to her house

When Sutton entered the house, Wade attacked her with a kitchen knife and cut her throat. Then Wade used a paring knife to cut Sutton’s baby out of her abdomen. Sutton bled to death on Wade’s floor, but somehow the baby girl survived.

Wade wrapped the baby in a blanket and gave her a bottle of formula. She even told her boyfriend that she’d just had a baby and it was his. She even told police that the baby was hers, even though police could see the crime scene.

Wade’s house was set up for a baby. She had a crib, diapers, bottles, formula, and baby clothes. Prosecutors asserted that she was never actually pregnant.

Later, Wade said that she had “rescued” the baby. She claimed Sutton had attacked her first, so she fought back. Then she says she “rescued” the baby while Sutton bled to death.

”I sat there thinking about my child that died and thought that I couldn’t have any more children so I rescued the baby,” she said.

A juror fainted at the crime scene photos

One of the jurors reportedly fainted in the courtroom at the sight of the crime scene photos. An officer who had been at the scene said it left a mark on his soul.

“Once she was out I fed her and wrapped her in some blankets to keep her warm,” Wade told police. “Holding her felt right and I believed that the little girl was mine.”

Wade’s attorney said she hadn’t meant to kill Sutton, and that she was mentally disturbed and really thought the baby was hers.

It was Sutton’s wedding day, too. She had been on her way to meet her fiance at the courthouse when she stopped at Wade’s house. Her fiance was waiting for her there when he found out what happened.

Sutton’s daughter, Jenasis, is a healthy toddler now. Her father and grandparents dote on her and say she’s growing up well. Wade has been convicted of second degree murder and kidnapping. Sentencing occurs on October 20, and she faces life in prison without parole.

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(Image: iStockPhoto / TheaDesign)

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