Prosecutors expect to file murder charges in the death of a Okemah woman and her fetus

<br>HOLDENVILLE, Okla. (AP) _ A woman held in the slaying of an expectant mother whose fetus was cut from her womb falsely claimed to be pregnant herself for as much as 10 months, an investigator said

Sunday, December 28th 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

HOLDENVILLE, Okla. (AP) _ A woman held in the slaying of an expectant mother whose fetus was cut from her womb falsely claimed to be pregnant herself for as much as 10 months, an investigator said Monday.

Assistant District Attorney Linda Evans expected to file two first-degree murder charges later in the day against Effie Goodson in the slaying of Carolyn Simpson, 21, and her 6-month-old fetus.

A hunter found Simpson's body in a remote field near Lamar, about 100 miles southeast of Oklahoma City, on Friday. She had been shot in the head, said Tommy Graham, an Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation regional inspector.

A day after Simpson's Dec. 22 disappearance, Goodson brought a dead fetus that had reached six months gestation to the Holdenville hospital.

Hughes County Sheriff Houston Yeager said Goodson, 37, had falsely told several people, even her husband, that she was pregnant. She was even given a baby shower.

``I think anybody would agree she wanted a baby,'' Yeager said. ``She already had baby items. She was really set up for a baby.''

The motive in the slaying, however, was still under investigation.

It was not clear what was used to remove the fetus, but Yeager said a wound on the slain woman's left side indicated whoever took it ``was definitely not a surgeon.''

Goodson, who lived in Lamar, and Simpson had known each other for about a month after being introduced by family members, he said.

Simpson was six months pregnant when she was last seen at a tribal casino in Okemah where she worked and Goodson was a patron, Yeager said. Investigators believe the two left the casino together.

Goodson told medical personnel she was the mother of the dead fetus, investigators said. But they determined Goodson couldn't have given birth and she was taken into custody as a material witness in Simpson's disappearance.

Evans said she would file the murder charges against Goodson on Monday afternoon. An initial appearance was scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday.