A jury found a Bronx, New York, woman guilty of butchering her friend and ripping her baby out of her body.
DNAInfo reported that Ashleigh Wade, 24, cried as she was convicted of second-degree murder and kidnapping. It took a jury less than five hours to convict Wade on charges that could put her behind bars for the rest of her life.
Wade lured childhood friend Angelique Sutton, 22, to her home on November 20, 2015, under the guise of giving her a wedding gift. Instead, prosecutors said Wade slit Sutton’s throat, cut open her uterus, and took her baby. She told officers who arrived at the grisly scene that the baby was hers.
ORIGINAL Story: Meet the miracle baby who survived being cut from murdered mother’s body
CrimeOnline previously reported that Wade possibly murdered the 22-year-old to hide her own faked pregnancy. Wade used a paring knife to cut her friend’s stomach open, according to WABC.
“She took a great deal of care to avoid the abdomen. The defendant needed Ms. Sutton to die and she needed Jenasis to live,” prosecutors detailed.
READ More: Juror faints after seeing gruesome photos of slain pregnant woman who had baby cut from body
A jury was tasked with deciding whether Wade snapped during an argument with Sutton and took her baby as an afterthought or if Wade planned to kill Sutton and take the newborn.
Assistant District Attorney Meredith Holtzman claimed Sutton—who was eight-and-a-half months pregnant—sustained 50 stab wounds and died fighting for her life, according to DNAinfo.
Images of the slain woman’s body were so unsettling that a juror fainted in court upon seeing them, CrimeOnline also reported.
The child, named Jenasis Bradley, miraculously survived the depraved attack and is living with her father.
Wade faces 50 years to life in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for October 20.
[Featured Image: Facebook/New York Department of Corrections]