Psychiatrist: Woman Accused Of Killing Expectant Mom Experienced An Out-Of-Body State

Wednesday, October 17th 2007, 7:25 am

By: News On 6

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) _ After experiencing morning sickness and watching her belly grow for months, a woman accused of slicing a baby from another woman's womb could not handle a challenge to her pregnancy delusion, a witness testified.

Dr. Vilayanur Ramachandran told a jury Tuesday he believed Lisa Montgomery was in a dissociative state _ similar to sleepwalking _ on Dec. 16, 2004, when she allegedly killed Bobbie Jo Stinnett and cut the baby from her womb. Montgomery was arrested the next day at her Melvern, Kan., home after spending the morning showing off the baby around town.

Montgomery, 39, has pleaded not guilty to kidnapping resulting in death, and her attorneys are pursuing an insanity defense. They contend she suffered from several mental illnesses, including a condition that caused her to believe she was pregnant.

Ramachandran, director of the Center for Brain and Cognition at the University of California, San Diego, said Montgomery suffered from pseudocyesis, which causes a woman to exhibit some of the outward signs of pregnancy.

When the pregnancy belief is threatened, people suffering from such delusions may go into a dissociative state to protect the delusion, Ramachandran testified. One such threat occurred when Montgomery's ex-husband, Carl Boman, told her he suspected she was faking a pregnancy and planned to use it against her in a custody fight, Ramachandran said.

Montgomery told Ramachandran that on the day of the killing she had gone to Stinnett's house because both raised rat terriers and Montgomery wanted to breed one of her dogs with one of Stinnett's dogs.

She told him she couldn't remember the exact sequence of events. But she recalled trying to rouse Stinnett and cutting the baby's umbilical cord with a knife that was at the house.

Asked whether Montgomery would have understood what she was doing, Ramachandran explained that, ``You are a spectator, so in a sense you are not really there.''

The court adjourned before the prosecution had a chance to cross-examine Ramachandran.

Earlier Tuesday, a psychiatrist testified that Montgomery told her she had given birth three days before the killing and had buried her baby near her home.

Dr. Linda McCandless, who has been treating Montgomery since her arrest, also told the jury that Montgomery believed she was pregnant starting in April 2004, saying she had gained 25 pounds and experienced morning sickness and that her menstrual period had stopped.

During cross-examination, prosecutors emphasized that the interview in which Montgomery mentioned the Dec. 13, 2004, birth occurred after her trial had started and she had heard some of their case.

Prosecutors also played tapes of two telephone calls between Montgomery and her husband, Kevin, in which Montgomery discussed ``ways to mess with the psychologist.''

Prosecutors said they will seek the death penalty if Montgomery is convicted.

Besides convicting or acquitting her, jurors could find Montgomery not guilty by reason of insanity. If that is the verdict, she would undergo a mental evaluation and a judge would decide if she will be released or committed to a mental institution.

Related Stories:

10/5/2007 Attorneys Say Woman Accused In Killing Was Mentally Ill

10/16/2007 Psychiatrist: Woman Accused Of Killing Expectant Mom Claimed She Was Pregnant