Almost 16 years since she brutally killed a pregnant woman, carving the fetus out of her stomach, Lisa Montgomery was executed by lethal injection – and her last words are still haunting those who witnessed her final moments.
In December 2004, just days before Christmas, Lisa Montgomery traveled from Kansas to Skidmore, Missouri, under the guise of buying a puppy from Bobbie Jo Stinnett, a 23-year-old dog breeder who was eight months pregnant. Once inside Stinnett’s home, Montgomery strangled her until she lost consciousness, then used a kitchen knife to cut the baby from her womb. Stinnett did not survive the attack, but miraculously, the infant lived.
For hours, Montgomery posed as the newborn’s mother, even calling friends and family to announce the “birth.” Authorities quickly tracked her down after discovering Stinnett’s body, and the baby was safely reunited with her father. The crime shocked the nation for both its brutality and the disturbing psychological background that came to light.
Montgomery’s defense argued that she suffered from severe mental illness rooted in a lifetime of sexual and physical abuse. Medical experts testified to brain damage, psychosis, and multiple psychiatric disorders. Still, the court rejected these claims.
Her lawyer later called the execution “vicious” and “unlawful,” insisting the Constitution forbids killing someone unable to fully comprehend their punishment.
