Lisa M Montgomery

Background

Montgomery was raised in a "chaotic" home where she was raped by her step-father for many years. She sought escape mentally by drinking alcohol. When Montgomery was 14, her mother discovered this, but reacted by threatening her daughter with a gun. Montgomery tried to escape this situation by marrying at the age of 18, but her husband also abused her. A subsequent marriage similarly resulted in abuse. Experts who examined Montgomery post-conviction concluded that by the time of her crime she had long suffered from "florid psychosis, bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. She was often disassociated from reality, and as a result of her many beatings, had suffered permanent brain damage." Montgomery also distrusted men generally.

Crime

Montgomery met Stinnett online in a rat terrier chatroom called "Ratter Chatter." Posing as "Darlene Fischer," Montgomery told Stinnett that she, too, was pregnant. The two women chatted online and exchanged e-mails about their pregnancies. Montgomery then arranged a meeting at Stinnett's home under the pretext of wanting to buy a rat terrier. On December 16, 2004, Montgomery strangled the pregnant woman with a pink neon rope in her home in Skidmore, Missouri, and cut the premature infant from her womb. She later attempted to pass the infant girl off as her own child.

Stinnett was discovered by her mother, Becky Harper, in a pool of blood about an hour after the assault. Harper immediately called 911, describing the wounds inflicted upon her daughter as appearing as if her "stomach had exploded". Attempts by paramedics to revive Stinnett were unsuccessful, and she was pronounced dead at St. Francis Hospital in Maryville, Missouri.

The next day, December 17, 2004, Montgomery was at her farmhouse when she was arrested. After Montgomery's capture by police, the day-old baby, Victoria Jo Stinnett was returned to the care of her father, Zeb Stinnett.

Trial

Montgomery's criminal offense, established under the Federal Kidnapping Act, intended to make it easier for federal authorities to respond to kidnappings once they cross state lines. She was tried and convicted for "kidnapping resulting in death," in Title 18, United States Code 1201. U.S. attorney Todd Graves stated that federal jurisdiction is established when a person dies as a result of a kidnapping. Violations of Title 18, USC 1201 may result in capital punishment and/or any sentence up to life imprisonment.

At a pre-trial hearing, a neuropsychologist testified that head injuries which she had suffered some years before could have damaged the part of the brain which controls aggression. During her trial in federal court, her defense attorneys, led by Frederick Duchardt, asserted that she suffered from pseudocyesis, a mental condition that causes a woman to falsely believe she is pregnant and exhibit outward signs of pregnancy.

According to The Guardian newspaper, Duchardt attempted to follow this line of defense only one week before the trial began, after being forced to abandon a contradictory argument that Bobbie Jo Stinnet was murdered by Montgomery's brother Tommy, as Tommy had an alibi. As a result, the Montgomery family refused to co-operate with Duchardt and describe Lisa's unfavorable background to the jury.

Noted neuroscientist V. S. Ramachandran gave expert testimony that Montgomery suffered from severe pseudocyesis delusion. According to Ramachandran, Montgomery's childhood sexual abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder predisposed her to pseudocyesis. Ramachandran testified that Montgomery's stories about her actions fluctuated because her delusional state fluctuated. Ramachandran stated that Montgomery was suffering from a severe mental disease or defect when she committed the crime and that she was unable to appreciate the nature and quality of her acts. Federal prosecutor Roseann Ketchmark characterized Ramachandran's theory linking the murder/kidnapping to pseudocyesis as "voodoo science."

Forensic psychiatrist Park Dietz testified for the prosecution. Dietz had worked with prosecutors on other high-profile cases, including those of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer and "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski, as well as two women, Andrea Yates and Susan Smith, who had killed their own children. Yates was found not guilty by reason of insanity. Dietz testified that Montgomery did not suffer from pseudocyesis and dismissed Ramachandran's theory as outrageous.

On October 22, 2007, jurors found Montgomery guilty of murder. On October 26, the jury recommended a death sentence. Judge Gary A. Fenner formally sentenced Montgomery to death. Prosecutor Matt Whitworth claimed that Lisa Montgomery planned the murder well in advance, according to a report from the BBC. On April 4, 2008, a judge upheld the jury's recommendation for death. On March 19, 2012, the US Supreme Court denied Montgomery's certiorari petition.

However, because of Duchardt's aforementioned pseudocyesis defense, Montgomery's unfavorable background and separate diagnoses of mental illness were not fully revealed to the jury until after her conviction, by her appeals team. Critics including the Guardian journalist David Rose thus argue that Duchardt provided an incompetent legal defense for Montgomery. Judge Fenner required Duchardt to be cross-examined in November 2016. Duchardt rejected all criticism and defended his conduct.

Montgomery, who is registered for the Federal Bureau of Prisons under number 11072-031, is currently being held at Federal Medical Center, Carswell in Fort Worth, Texas. If executed, Montgomery would become the second woman to be executed by the Federal Government since Ethel Rosenberg for espionage at Sing Sing Prison in New York State on June 19, 1953.

The case is detailed in the 2006 books Baby Be Mine by Diane Fanning and Murder in the Heartland by M. William Phelps.