Woman held on $2 million bond in baby case

[July 31, 2009]  CONCORD, N.H. (AP) -- Several people are seeking custody of a baby girl who was cut from her slain mother's womb, a prosecutor said, as the woman suspected of kidnapping the infant remains jailed.

Julie Corey, 35, of Worcester, Mass., was ordered held on $2 million bail in New Hampshire on Thursday, one day after being found with a 4-pound baby girl at a homeless shelter.

She is accused of kidnapping the infant carried by Darlene Haynes, a 23-year-old mother of three who was eight months pregnant and found dead Monday in her Worcester apartment. Authorities say Haynes had head trauma, but an exact cause of death has not been determined. It was not until an autopsy that authorities discovered the fetus was missing.

Neighbors say Corey and her boyfriend, Alex Dion, used to live in the apartment building where Haynes' body was found. Dion's relatives told the Telegram & Gazette of Worcester that they met the baby at a family gathering Saturday, and something didn't seem quite right. They told the newspaper Corey said she had been in labor for 20 minutes and returned home five hours later. She appeared to be breast-feeding under a blanket although there was a bottle of formula nearby. The baby's umbilical cord also did not look like it had been cut by a doctor and was tied with a ribbon, not a clamp, they said.

Corey said little during a hearing Thursday in Concord District Court, where she appeared via video from jail. Judge Gerard Boyle ordered all police affidavits in the case sealed and scheduled a hearing for Aug. 30.

Corey has not been charged in Haynes' death, and Worcester, Mass., District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. said investigators are still trying to determine who was involved.

Corey and Dion knew Haynes through Roberto Rodriguez, her estranged boyfriend and father of her 18-month-old daughter, who is now in state custody.

Relatives say Haynes had two other children, Jasmine, 5, and Lillian, 3, who are being raised by her mother.

The baby was in good health and is in the custody of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families, Early said. A custody hearing is scheduled for Monday in Worcester Juvenile Court. Early said several people are seeking custody of the baby.

Haynes' uncle Karl Whitney, acting as a family spokesman, said it was too early to condemn Corey.

"At this point in time, I've got to be grateful to her because she kept the baby alive," he said.

Corey, Dion and the baby arrived at the homeless shelter in Plymouth, about 40 miles north of Concord, Tuesday night, director Catherine Bentwood confirmed. She said the girl looked comfortable. Corey identified herself as the mother and agreed to have the baby seen by a local pediatrician.

Bentwood said the shelter received a call about 5 p.m. Wednesday asking if staffers could keep Corey there. Officers arrived shortly afterward and arrested her.

[Associated Press; By HOLLY RAMER]

Associated Press writers Bob Salsberg, Jeannie Nuss and Rodrique Ngowi in Boston contributed to this report.

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