Meet Julie Corey; The woman who killed her pregnant friend and cut the baby out of her womb to raise as her own child

The Massachusetts woman accused of beating and strangling her pregnant friend to death then cutting the baby out of her womb and claiming the child as her own was convicted of first-degree murder on Wednesday.

Julie Corey sobbed as a Worcester Superior Court jury found her guilty of the 2009 murder of 23-year-old Darlene Haynes. The jurors had deliberated for 10 hours over two days. Sentencing has been scheduled for Tuesday.

Prosecutors said Haynes was eight months pregnant when Corey attacked her and cut the baby out of her body. They told the jury that Corey had been pregnant, too, but had a miscarriage three months earlier and told her boyfriend and family that Haynes’ baby was her own.

‘It’s probably the most horrific case this office has ever seen in terms of facts,’ District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. said in a statement after the verdict was handed down. ‘This woman was killed for her baby.’

Corey, 39, did not testify during the trial.

Corey’s lawyers contended that police failed to follow up on leads that could have implicated other potential suspects in the killing, including Haynes’ ex-boyfriend. They also suggested that Haynes’ ex-boyfriend had given Corey and her boyfriend, Alex Dion, the baby. Dion denied that on the witness stand.

Defense lawyer Michael Wilcox said he was disappointed with the verdict, but not surprised. He said they plan to appeal.

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