Woman Charged in Pregnant Neighbor Attack


By RAMESH SANTANAM, Associated Press Writer


A woman clubbed her pregnant neighbor over the head with a baseball
bat, drove her to the woods and cut her belly with a knife in an
attempt to steal her *BABY*, police say.

Police said Wednesday's attack on Valerie Oskin was stopped before her
*BABY* was taken after a teenager on an all-terrain vehicle came across
the women.

Oskin, 30, later underwent an emergency Caesarean section at a
hospital. State police Thursday said she was in critical condition and
her baby in stable condition. She was believed to have been eight
months pregnant, authorities said.

Peggy Jo Conner, 38, of Ford City, was arraigned Thursday on charges
of attempted homicide and aggravated assault and was jailed without
bail.

"It would appear from the defendant's statement that her goal was to
get the victim's *UNBORN CHILD* and take it as her own," District
Attorney Scott Andreassi said in a statement.

Investigators found a bassinet, a baby swing and other baby-related
items in her trailer, authorities said.

"Clearly, she was expecting a *CHILD* coming in shortly," Andreassi
said. "There's nothing to indicate she was pregnant."

Thomas Wilks, who says he is Conner's husband but is separated from
her, called the allegations against her "impossible" and said she
truly was pregnant.

"I got a sonogram saying she is pregnant," Wilks told reporters. "I
felt the *BABY* kick in her stomach." He added that Conner is the
mother
of three children, ages 16, 14 and 11.

Conner and Oskin had a "close friendship," Wilks said. "It was getting
closer as the days went by. They were pregnant together. They were
helping each other out."

The assault began Wednesday morning, when Conner hit Oskin several
times with a bat, Andreassi said. Conner then put Oskin and Oskin's
7-year-old son in her car, dropped the boy off at a family member's
house and drove the pregnant woman about 15 miles to a secluded area
about 50 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, Andreassi said.

There, Conner cut Oskin about six to eight inches across her abdomen
with a razor knife, authorities said.

"She was sliced over an old (Caesarean) scar and severely bleeding,"
Trooper Jonathan Bayer said.

A 17-year-old boy on an ATV spotted Conner kneeling next to the
pregnant woman on the ground, Bayer said. "The accused said they
didn't need any help and everything was OK," he said.

Andreassi said the teen saw the women about 5 p.m. and drove home to
tell his father, who returned with him to the scene and found Conner
and Oskin still there. The father and son left and at about 7 p.m.
called police, who arrived a short time later and arrested Conner.

Andreassi could not explain why Conner remained at the scene for two
hours even after she was spotted, or why it took so long for the boy
and his father, who were not identified, to alert authorities.

Bayer, however, said Oskin "probably would have bled to death if this
young boy had not discovered her when he did."

A call to Conner's home went unanswered Thursday afternoon. State
police said they did not know if she had a lawyer.

Last December, Bobbie Jo Stinnett, who was eight months pregnant, was
strangled at her Missouri home, and her *BABY* was cut from her womb.
Prosecutors said Lisa Montgomery showed the baby off as her own before
her arrest. She is awaiting trial.


-------------------------------------------------------------

Isn't it strange that when these kind of attacks happen it's always a
*BABY* that the attacker is trying to steal from the mother's womb
instead of a fetus. It was so strange to read that the woman was
pregnant with her *BABY* instead of fetus.