SHEILA MARIE HAYNES (Rodriguez) - Newborn - Worcester MA

A Worcester woman’s body, wrapped in
bedding, was discovered by her landlord earlier this week. But in a
more grisly turn, police said the woman, Darlene Haynes, 23, had been
eight months pregnant, and someone cut the fetus from her body.

Haynes was last seen July 23, police said. On Monday, residents in her
building on Southgate Street called the landlord to report a strong
odor coming from her second-floor apartment. The victim’s body was
found in a bedroom closet, police said.
Haynes’s body was so mangled and decomposed that police said they could not immediately identify her gender.
The body was taken to the medical examiner’s office in Boston, and an
autopsy conducted yesterday confirmed that she had been killed and that
the fetus had been cut from her womb. The cause of death was not yet
known, but Worcester Detective Captain Edward J. McGinn Jr. told the
Telegram & Gazette that Haynes had also sustained head trauma.
“Detectives are searching for this fetus,’’ police said in a statement last night.
The Telegram & Gazette also reported that Haynes was the mother of a
year-old girl, whom she had dropped off at her boyfriend’s house July
23. The child is now with Haynes’s relatives, the newspaper reported.
The Telegram & Gazette identified the boyfriend as Roberto C.
Rodriguez, 24. Haynes had an active restraining order against her
longtime boyfriend, whom she accused of pushing her into a glass table
on June 24, and ripping the phone off the wall so she could not call
police, the newspaper said.
Rodriguez is not named as a suspect in Haynes’s slaying.
He is due in court tomorrow to answer to charges of aggravated assault and
battery and intimidation of a witness in the June 24 case. In a
statement released by Worcester police, the medical examiner’s office
said that Haynes’s baby could have survived but that it would require
immediate medical attention.
Worcester police are investigating. Anyone with information on the case or the
whereabouts of the baby is urged to call Worcester detectives at
508-799-8651.

Detectives and worried relatives are
searching desperately for a cold-hearted killer who murdered an
8-months-pregnant Massachusetts mom, cut her uterus open and took her
nearly full-term baby girl.
The decomposing body of 23-year-old Darlene Haynes was found wrapped in a
blanket and dumped in a closet in her apartment in Worcester.
Her landlord was checking on a report of a strong odor coming from the
premises on Monday when he discovered the body, which was so mutilated
that police said they couldn't immediately determine its gender.
“We want our baby back,” a woman who identified herself as Haynes' aunt
told the Boston Herald. “We want our grandchild back, and we want to
know why.”
Haynes' longtime boyfriend,
24-year-old Roberto Rodriguez, is due in court Wednesday on charges he
assaulted Haynes in a previous incident, according to the Worcester
Telegram & Gazette.
Rodriguez is charged with aggravated assault and battery and intimidation of a
witness. He is not named as a suspect in Haynes’ murder.
The hearing stems from a June 24 incident in which Haynes accused him of
shoving her into a glass table and disconnecting the phone to prevent
her from calling police.
Haynes had an active restraining order against Rodriguez, the Telegram & Gazette said.
The woman's landlord, William Thompson, said Haynes took her
1-year-old daughter to Rodriguez's home last Thursday, the Telegram
reported.
The little girl, named Christina, is now with relatives. Haynes had two other children,
Jasmine, 4, and Lilliana, 3, who live with her grandmother, the Boston
Herald reported.
Haynes was last seen alive on July 23. Autopsy results on Tuesday revealed
that the fetus that was cut out of her womb was female. Police say the
baby could survive but would need medical attention immediately.
Det. Captain Edward McGinn Jr. told the Telegram that Haynes suffered head
injuries in the attack. The medical examiner ruled Haynes' death a
homicide, but the exact cause won't be known until toxicology tests are
complete.
Haynes' aunt, Sandra Grandmaison, told the Herald she last talked to her niece two weeks
ago. She said she was a troubled young woman who never graduated from
high school or developed mentally.
“She was a very sad, very young girl who never really grew up,” said
Grandmaison, 58. “Darlene does not have the know-how or the ability to
sense danger.”
Anyone with information on the case or the whereabouts of the baby is urged to call Worcester detectives at (508) 799-8651.

A pregnant woman was found dead in her apartment with her fetus cut
from her womb, and police on Wednesday were trying to find the missing
baby, which they said could have survived. Authorities said
23-year-old Darlene Haynes was about eight months pregnant and the
child would have needed immediate medical attention to survive.Haynes'
body was found Monday by her landlord, William Thompson, who said a
"horrifying smell" led him to her, where he found her body wrapped in
bedding in a closet. Police said the victim had apparently been dead
for several days, and that she hadn't contacted family or friends since
Thursday. It was not until an autopsy on Tuesday that authorities
discovered the fetus was missing."When we stood over there on
Monday we could smell it, it was so bad you had to cover your face,"
said Haysha Toledo, 17, a neighbor who said she did not know Haynes
well but often saw her walking in what she called "a nice quiet
neighborhood."A makeshift memorial of stuffed animals and
flowers decorated a chainlink fence in front of the white multifamily
home where Haynes lived, and a handwritten nametag bears her name.Haynes seemed depressed, Toledo said."You could see it in her face. No one could really tell what was wrong with her," she said.Toledo
said neighbors used to hear "a lot of fighting" from her apartment. "We
used to hear her crying and screaming but no one ever really did
anything," she said, adding that neighbors did not want to get involved.The
exact cause of Haynes' death has not yet been determined pending
toxicology tests, but Detective Capt. Edward J. McGinn Jr. said the
autopsy indicated Haynes suffered head injuries.Family members said she had three other children.Haynes'
youngest child, an 18-month-old girl, is in state custody, according to
Department of Children and Families spokeswoman Alison Goodwin. Family
members were looking after the girl yesterday.Haynes' aunt,
58-year-old Sandra Grandmaison, told The Boston Herald that her niece's
two other children, Jasmine, 4, and Lilliana, 3, live with Haynes'
grandmother.Grandmaison told the Herald that Haynes postponed
two visits with her older children last week because she said she was
having problems walking."She was a very sad, very young girl who
never really grew up," Grandmaison told the Herald. "Darlene does not
have the know-how or the ability to sense danger."Police said Tuesday that they had interviewed the father of Haynes' daughter, Roberto Rodriguez.Haynes
had a restraining order against Rodriguez, who allegedly pushed her
into a glass table in June and cut her arm, then grabbed her by the
throat and slapped her, the Telegram & Gazette of Worcester
reported, citing court records.Court records also showed Rodriguez was charged with hitting Haynes in 2008 in a case that was continued without a finding.In
June, Haynes described the 24-year-old Rodriguez as her boyfriend of
several years. Her landlord said Rodriguez moved out of the apartment
last month.In an interview with WCVB, Rodriguez said Haynes was "a nice girl.""She had her problems, you know, but nobody deserves to go (through) what she went through," he said.

The boyfriend of a brutally murdered
woman whose fetus was carved out of her womb warned the killer to
return the baby and "turn yourself in or keep running," the Worcester
Telegram & Gazette reported Wednesday.

Darlene Haynes, 23, was eight months pregnant when she was found mutilated and
wrapped in a comforter Monday in a closet in her apartment. Her unborn
daughter, whom family said she planned to name Sheila Marie, had been
cut out and taken.

Her longtime on-again, off-again boyfriend, Roberto Rodriguez, whom she had an active
restraining order against, said he was distraught over her killing.

"I can't sleep, I can't eat, I can't think,” Rodriguez, 24, told the
Telegram on Wednesday. “She hung out with the wrong crowd simply 'cause
she wanted to fit in.”

Police say they have interviewed Rodriguez and he isn't a suspect in Haynes' murder or
the theft of her child. It isn't clear who the child's father is.

“Turn yourself in or keep running,” Rodriguez said outside his mother's
house. “The lord is going to catch up to you. Drop the kid off. Drop
the kid off at a hospital.”

But the couple apparently had a tumultuous relationship.

Rodriguez is facing charges of aggravated assault and battery and intimidation of
a witness. The case stems from a June 24 incident in which Haynes
accused him of pushing her into a glass table and disconnecting the
phone to stop her from calling police.

Court records also show that Rodriguez was charged with hitting Haynes in
2008 in a separate case that was continued without a finding.

Haysha Toledo, 17, a neighbor who said she often saw Haynes walking in what
she called "a nice quiet neighborhood," said neighbors used to hear "a
lot of fighting" from the apartment Haynes shared until recently with
Rodriguez.

"We used to hear her crying and screaming but no one ever really did anything," Toledo said, adding
that neighbors did not want to get involved.

Haynes' landlord William Thompson, who found her dead, said Rodriguez moved out of the apartment last month.

Detectives searched hospitals and other areas Wednesday for the missing baby and for the killer.

Haynes had been dead for several days when her decomposing body was found by
Thompson, who was responding to a report of a bad odor coming from
inside. The body was so mutilated that police said they couldn't
immediately determine her gender.

Thompson said Haynes had taken her 1-year-old daughter, Christina,
to Rodriguez's home last Thursday, according to the Telegram, and the
girl now is with relatives.

Haynes had two other children, Jasmine, 4, and Lilliana, 3, who live with her grandmother, the Boston Herald reported.

Haynes was last seen alive July 23. Police say the baby could survive but would need medical attention immediately.

Detective Capt. Edward McGinn Jr. told the Telegram that Haynes suffered head
injuries in the attack. The medical examiner ruled Haynes' death a
homicide, but the exact cause won't be known until toxicology tests are
complete.

Haynes' aunt, Sandra Grandmaison, told the Herald she last talked to her niece two weeks
ago. She said she was a troubled young woman who never graduated from
high school or developed mentally.

“She was a very sad, very young girl who never really grew up,” said
Grandmaison, 58. “Darlene does not have the know-how or the ability to
sense danger.”

Anyone with information on the case or the whereabouts of the baby is urged to call Worcester detectives at (508) 799-8651.

A baby cut from the womb of her
murdered mother in Massachusetts was found alive in New Hampshire,
police said Wednesday night, and suspect is in custody.

Julie A. Corey, 35, and a male acquaintance were found with the baby in
Plymouth, N.H., the Worcester Telegram reported Wednesday. Corey was
arrested and charged with being a fugitive from justice.

The child appeared to be in good health and was being evaluated at a New Hampshire hospital, the newspaper reported.

Darlene Haynes, 23, was eight months pregnant when she was found Monday
mutilated in a closet in her Massachusetts apartment. She had been
wrapped in a comforter, and her unborn daughter, whom family said she
planned to name Sheila Marie, had been cut out and taken.

A baby cut from her murdered mother's
womb in Massachusetts was found alive on Wednesday and two people have
been arrested in the woman's killing, police said.
The child appeared to be in "fairly good health" and was being evaluated at a New Hampshire hospital.
Julie Corey, 35, and a male companion were found with the female newborn in Plymouth, N.H., Worcester Police said.
Corey and the unidentified man were arrested and Corey was charged as a
fugitive from justice. She is to be arraigned Thursday in district
court in Concord, New Hampshire
Authorities said they became suspicious of Corey after she apparently told friends
she had given birth Thursday night or Friday morning at a Massachusetts
hospital and appeared with a newborn girl in Worcester on Friday.
Detectives then sought out the woman and determined that she and a companion had gone to New Hampshire reportedly to relocate.
A newspaper report said she arrived at a Plymouth homeless shelter
Tuesday night. She told workers there that the girl was 6 days old and
identified herself as the mother but had no information on the child,
according to the Union Leader in New Hampshire.
Corey was arrested the next afternoon as she tried to leave the shelter with
the infant after workers alerted police and a nurse began photographing
the baby with her cell phone, the report said.
Darlene Haynes, 23, was eight months pregnant when she was found Monday
mutilated in a closet in her Massachusetts apartment. She had been
wrapped in a comforter, and her unborn daughter, whom family said she
planned to name Sheila Marie, had been cut out and taken.
Haynes had been dead for several days when her decomposing body was found by
her landlord, William Thompson, who was responding to a report of a bad
odor coming from inside. The body was so mutilated that police said
they couldn't immediately determine her gender.
Thompson said Haynes had taken her 1-year-old daughter, Christina, to
Rodriguez's home last Thursday, according to the Telegram, and the girl
now is with relatives.
Detective Capt. Edward McGinn Jr. told the Worcester Telegram that Haynes
suffered head injuries in the attack. The medical examiner ruled
Haynes' death a homicide, but the exact cause won't be known until
toxicology tests are complete.
Her longtime on-again, off-again boyfriend, Roberto Rodriguez, whom she had
an active restraining order against, said he was distraught over her
killing.
"I can't sleep, I can't eat, I can't think,” Rodriguez, 24, told the Telegram on Wednesday. "She hung
out with the wrong crowd simply 'cause she wanted to fit in."
Police say they have interviewed Rodriguez and he isn't a suspect in Haynes'
murder or the theft of her child. It isn't clear who the child's father
is.
"Turn yourself in or keep running," Rodriguez said outside his mother's house. "The lord is going to catch
up to you. Drop the kid off. Drop the kid off at a hospital."
But the couple apparently had a tumultuous relationship.
Rodriguez is facing charges of aggravated assault and battery and intimidation of
a witness. The case stems from a June 24 incident in which Haynes
accused him of pushing her into a glass table and disconnecting the
phone to stop her from calling police.
Court records also show that Rodriguez was charged with hitting Haynes in
2008 in a separate case that was continued without a finding.
Thompson said Rodriguez moved out of the apartment last month.
Haynes' aunt, Sandra Grandmaison, told the Herald she last talked to her niece
two weeks ago. She said she was a troubled young woman who never
graduated from high school or developed mentally.
"She was a very sad, very young girl who never really grew up," said
Grandmaison, 58. "Darlene does not have the know-how or the ability to
sense danger."

A baby girl cut from her mother's womb in Massachusetts was in good
condition at a New Hampshire hospital on Thursday, officials said, and
a woman arrested at a homeless shelter with the infant was to appear in
court.Thirty-five-year-old Julie Corey of Worcester, Mass., was
arrested Wednesday in Plymouth, N.H., where police found her and a man
with the child at the shelter. Corey was charged as a fugitive from
justice and was to be arraigned Thursday morning in district court in
Concord.The two appear to have lived in the same apartment building as the slain woman, public records show.Corey was arrested after acquaintances became suspicious of her claims that she had just given birth, police have said.The man who was taken into custody with Corey, 27-year-old Alex Dion, was released to a family member.The
body of the girl's mother, Darlene Haynes, was found Monday in a closet
at her Worcester apartment. It was not until an autopsy that
authorities discovered the fetus was missing.A public records
database shows that someone named Julie Corey lived in the same
building as Haynes in the past, and an Alex Dion is listed as living in
the same building currently.Michele Hutchins, spokeswoman at
Speare Memorial Hospital in Plymouth, says the baby was in good
condition Thursday morning. She said the baby was brought in at 5:50
p.m. Wednesday and was days old."The baby had a ribbon tied
around the umbilical cord — not your normal umbilical cord-severing
device, and with that it's pretty certain this is the baby from the
murdered woman," Lt. Terry Kinneen, of the New Hampshire State Police,
told WMUR-TV in Concord on Thursday.Corey told acquaintances
that she delivered the baby sometime late Thursday or early Friday at
an undisclosed hospital, and by later Friday was showing the newborn
off to acquaintances, police said."Some friends became a little
concerned about how she got home so early after just giving birth,"
Worcester Police Sgt. Kerry Hazelhurst said.Police said Corey
had reportedly gone to New Hampshire to relocate. A newspaper report
said she arrived at a Plymouth homeless shelter Tuesday night. She told
workers there that the girl was 6 days old and identified herself as
the mother but had no information on the child, according to the Union
Leader in New Hampshire.Corey was arrested Wednesday as she
tried to leave the shelter with the infant after workers alerted police
and a nurse began photographing the baby with her cell phone, the
report said.Haynes was eight months pregnant. Her body was found
by her landlord, William Thompson, who said a "horrifying smell" led
him to her apartment, where he found her body wrapped in bedding in a
closet. Her death was ruled a homicide.The exact cause of
Haynes' death has yet to be determined pending toxicology tests, but
Worcester said the autopsy indicated Haynes suffered head injuries.Police
said the 23-year-old had apparently been dead for several days, and
that she hadn't contacted family or friends since Thursday.Haysha
Toledo, a 17-year-old neighbor, said neighbors used to hear fighting
from the apartment Haynes shared until recently with her boyfriend,
Roberto Rodriguez.Haynes had a restraining order against Rodriguez. Her landlord said Rodriguez moved out of the apartment last month.Family members said she had three other children.Her
youngest, an 18-month-old girl, is in state custody, according to
Department of Children and Families spokeswoman Alison Goodwin. Family
members had been looking after her.Karl Whitney, Haynes' uncle
who is acting as a spokesman for the family, said Haynes' grandmother,
Joanne Haynes, is raising the two other children, Jasmine, 5, and
Lillian, 3.He told the Telegram & Gazette that Haynes had picked the name Sheila Marie for her fourth child.

The father of the newborn and the 18-month-old, Roberto C. Rodriguez,
said last night that he jumped for joy when he learned his missing
daughter was safe, and he hopes justice is served in the court case.

Mr. Rodriguez, whose relationship with Ms. Haynes was
tumultuous, said he plans to attend the court hearings in the case, and
will be fighting for custody of his children, including his new
daughter.

Authorities in New Hampshire yesterday found the baby in the custody of Julie A. Corey and Alex Dion, both of Worcester.

“I hope these people go to prison for the rest of their lives,” Mr. Rodriguez said.

He said he and Ms. Haynes knew Ms. Corey for about a year, and he was under the impression that Ms. Corey was pregnant.

“To my knowledge, she was,” he said last night.

He said his mother told him Ms. Corey and Mr. Dion, were the pair who
dropped off Ms. Haynes' 18-month-old daughter last Thursday, the last
time she was reportedly seen alive. He said he never suspected Ms.
Corey would do anything to Ms. Haynes, but said his mother expressed
suspicion about the couple dropping off the daughter.

He said he first met Ms. Corey while he was working as a personal care
assistant. He said he had a client at 94 Southgate St., and he said Ms.
Corey lived in the apartment above. She would come down and talk with
him, he said, and eventually he and Ms. Haynes developed a friendship
with Ms. Corey and Mr. Dion.

He said Ms. Corey was evicted from the apartment that he and Ms. Haynes later rented.

Ms. Haynes and Mr. Rodriguez's relationship, however, grew rocky and they
went their separate ways. She had an active restraining order against
him that stemmed from an alleged assault on June 24.

A Massachusetts woman suspected of
cutting the fetus out of her friend's womb, then fleeing to another
state with the newborn, did not waive extradition today in court. Next
month a special hearing will be held to bring her back to
Massachusetts, where she could face kidnapping and murder charges.Meanwhile, authorities say the newborn baby is safe and doing well.Julie Corey appeared in a New Hampshire courtroom to be arraigned on a fugitive from justice charge. But police in Massachusetts say the 35 year old is suspected of cutting an unborn baby from a mother's womb.The
baby girl was found with corey and a male companion at a homeless
shelter in plymouth, new hampshire after a frantic three-day search.

"This was the best case scenario, out of this tragedy, we have the child and
she appears to be healthy," said Sgt. Kerry Hazelhurst of the
Worcester, Massachusetts Police Department.Police made the grim discovery Monday inside Darlene Haynes' home in Worcester. Her decomposing body was wrapped in a blanket and crammed into a closet. ]An autopsy revealed the horrific details.["And
wasn't until then, when they were able to examine the body that it was
determined that the baby was missing," added Sgt. Hazelhurst.Police say Corey was a former neighbor of the victim and the last one to see her alive. Corey's friends alerted police after the suspect claimed to have given birth to a baby girl last Friday."Some friends became a little concerned about how she got home so early after just giving birth," according to Sgt. Hazelhurst. ]Haynes was eight months pregnant and expecting her fourth child. Relatives say she was a good mother."Darlene did have a heart of gold. One she loved her children," remembers Sandy Grandmaison, the victim's great aunt.[Relatives are relieved the baby is alive and safe, but are also shaken by the gruesome murder."Trying to understand it, and to comprehend it has been very very difficult," says Haynes' uncle Karl Whitney. A judge ordered that Corey be held on $2 million bail.The extradition hearing is scheduled for August 30.

Several people are seeking custody of
a baby girl who was cut from her murdered mother's womb, a prosecutor
said, as the woman suspected of kidnapping the newborn remains jailed.
Julie Corey, 35, of Worcester, Massachusetts, 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 she 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 District Attorney
Joseph Early Jr. said investigators are still trying to determine who
was involved.
Corey and Dion knew Haynesthrough 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 Wednesday afternoon asking if staffers could keep
Corey there. Officers arrived shortly afterward and arrested her.

The boyfriend of the woman accused of
kidnapping a baby girl who had been cut from her murdered mother's womb
says he was convinced he was the infant's father.
Alex Dion, who was with Julie Corey when she was arrested in New Hampshire
on Wednesday, tells the Boston Herald that Corey told him she was
pregnant shortly after a breakup in October.
He says Corey told him she gave birth early on July 24.
Dion says he thought he had a "brand-new daughter" and was surprised when
police with guns drawn surrounded the car that he, Corey and the baby
were in outside a New Hampshire homeless shelter.
Dion was released after questioning. Corey, 35, remains jailed. Authorities
are investigating the death of 23-year-old Darlene Haynes, whose
mutilated body was found Monday in her apartment.
Meanwhile, several people are seeking custody of the baby, a prosecutor said.
Corey 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 Haynes, a mother of three who was eight months pregnant.
Authorities say she 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 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 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 Wednesday afternoon asking if staffers could keep
Corey there. Officers arrived shortly afterward and arrested her.

One of Julie A. Corey’s favorite television shows was “A Baby’s Story,
” The Learning Channel series that beckons viewers to “Go inside the
delivery room for a voyeuristic peek at the drama of labor and the
sheer joy and relief of the unforgettable birth moment.”


“She used to watch it all the time,” said Kevin Dion, an uncle
of Ms. Corey’s boyfriend, Alex Dion, with whom the couple lived for
four months.


Whether Ms. Corey was pregnant is a topic of much discussion.
Police are investigating whether the baby girl Ms. Corey maintains she
gave birth to is actually the child of Darlene L. Haynes, missing when
Ms. Haynes’ body was found in a Southgate Street apartment Monday.


“I felt that baby move” Cindy Dion, the mother of Alex Dion,
said of Ms. Corey’s pregnancy. “I gave her a baby shower in May. She
was pregnant. I want to know what happened to my grandbaby.”


Alex Dion had a tumultuous, on-and-off, relationship with Ms.
Corey before she left Worcester for New Hampshire late last year. When
she returned to the area in April she told Alex that he was the father
of her child. A significant weight gain led Alex, his family and their
friends to believe she was pregnant.


But police suspect Ms. Corey of kidnapping the infant cut from
the womb of Ms. Haynes, 23, who was found dead in the closet of her 94
Southgate St. apartment. The death occurred sometime late the night of
July 23 or the next morning, they believe.


Authorities traced Ms. Coreyand Alex Dion to Plymouth,
N.H., on Wednesday. They had a newborn baby with them. Ms. Corey was
arraigned on a fugitive from justice charge, is being held on $2
million bail and remains in lockup at New Hampshire’s Merrimack County
House of Correction. Mr. Dion was taken into custody in New Hampshire
and released on Wednesday and would not respond to several attempts for
an interview yesterday.


Both women had said they were in their last trimester of
pregnancy. Three days before Ms. Haynes’ body was found wrapped in a
comforter in the closet of her apartment, Ms. Corey began introducing
her newborn to friends and family. Several of the people who were in
contact with Ms. Corey since April said they felt the baby move and
also felt it kick.


“She looked very much pregnant,” Ana Dion, 30, Alex’s estranged wife of two years, said.


Alex and Ana Dion have a pending divorce case in Worcester
Probate Court, with the next scheduled hearing in October. The couple,
married in 2001, has two children together and separated in 2006. A
temporary order of divorce, citing “irretrievable breakdown of
marriage,” was filed in April.


Ms. Dion has custody of the pair’s children, ages 8 and 7. In
a statement she filed in April related to custody issues, Ms. Dion said
she had “significant concerns about my husband’s girlfriend’s behavior
in front of the children.”


“She insults both parents and uses profane language in front
of the children, making the children extremely upset and nervous,” Ms.
Dion wrote.


In an interview yesterday at her home in Worcester, Ana Dion
said “I didn’t want Julie around the kids. One day she would flip out
and the next day she’d be apologizing. I thought she was crazy.”


When Ms. Corey accused Alex of inappropriate behavior with her
16-year-old daughter last year, Ana said she and Alex started fighting
over visitation and custody of their children.


“I thought you get something bad that happens and something worse will happen,” she said.

Julie A. Corey, the woman accused of kidnapping a baby cut from the
womb of its slain mother, had a tumultuous life as an adult, being
arrested in a major drug bust in 2002 and later allegedly being
assaulted in her home by one of the suspects she was arrested with in
the drug bust.

Ms. Corey, 35, who has also gone by the name Julie Fernandez,
is being held on $2 million bail in New Hampshire on a fugitive from
justice warrant. Massachusetts authorities plan to charge her with
kidnapping a baby they believe was taken from the womb of Darlene L.
Haynes, 23, of 94 Southgate St.


Ms. Haynes was found dead Monday in her bedroom closet,
wrapped in a comforter, police said. She was eight months pregnant, and
a subsequent autopsy revealed that the fetus was missing and an
incision in her abdomen, said Worcester police Detective Capt. Edward
J. McGinn Jr.


Police found Ms. Corey with her boyfriend, Alex Dion, and the
baby on Wednesday in a shelter in Plymouth, N.H. The baby, whom Ms.
Haynes had planned to name Sheila Marie, weighed 4-1/2 pounds and was
in good health, police said. She is now in state custody in
Massachusetts and is being cared for in a hospital, police said.


Police believe Ms. Haynes died sometime late Thursday night or
early Friday morning of last week, and Ms. Corey has been named as a
person of interest in the death.


Ms. Corey, of 3 Henry Terrace, Worcester, had been telling
friends she was pregnant, and showed the baby to friends on Friday of
last week, police and acquaintances have said.


Her father, Earl Corey, told The Boston Globe yesterday that
his daughter showed no signs of being pregnant when she left his
trailer home in the spring to return to her boyfriend in Worcester,
even though she had reportedly told the boyfriend last fall that she
was pregnant.


“If she was, she was hiding it from us,” said Mr. Corey, from
his trailer home near a commercial blueberry patch in Warner, N.H.,west
of Concord.


Ms. Corey was already scheduled to go to Worcester Central
District Court on Aug. 21 for a pretrial conference on charges of
assault and battery on Mr. Dion, and charges of being disorderly and
disturbing the peace, according to court records.


Capt. McGinn said yesterday there were no new developments in
the case, as investigators work with evidence taken from the crime
scene and Ms. Corey's residences, as well as biological samples taken
from Ms. Haynes, the baby and Roberto C. Rodriguez. Mr. Rodriguez is
Ms. Haynes' former boyfriend; he claims to be the father of the infant.


“Right now we're backtracking some stuff we had done in the
past,” he said. “Our next objective is to harvest all the biological
samples of Darlene, the infant and Roberto in order to establish that
they are the parents of this child.”


Asked if police think more than one person could be involved in Ms. Haynes' death, Capt. McGinn said nothing has been ruled out.


“We're starting to pare down a possible list of suspects,” he
said. “We do not have a (murder) weapon, and we're going through all
the materials harvested at two sites, Darlene's and on Henry Terrace.
No weapon has been retrieved.


“Right from the outset, we were behind the eight-ball. She was
dead three to four days before she was discovered, and substantial
decay had occurred. She was in the closet all bundled up in bedding.
Not until the autopsy showed no fetal bones in the X-ray and an
incision in the abdomen. We were just floored.


“Whoever killed Darlene went through unbelievable measures to
retrieve a child. In order to kill the mother and retrieve a baby, it
would have to be (done) in minutes. It's an amazing feat to do that.”


Another thing on investigators' minds is whether Ms. Haynes was dead when the baby was removed, he said.


“It's macabre to think about, but you have to consider that.”


Detectives spoke with the National Center for Missing and
Exploited Children about the type of person who would kill a woman for
an unborn baby, Capt. McGinn said. Although Ms. Corey has not been
labeled a suspect, he said: “We believe the pregnancy she spoke of was
fake. … She has six children, none of whom are with her.” At the time
she was charged with assault and battery on her boyfriend on July 6,
Ms. Corey was 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighed 200 pounds, according to
court records.


“She certainly had some tumultuous relationships in her life,” Capt. McGinn said.


In November 2002, police raided an apartment in Marlboro where
Ms. Corey was living, along with two other people, recovering 50 grams
of heroin, 197 packets of marijuana, a stolen handgun and seven
hollow-point bullets from the apartment and a Cadillac.


At the time, Marlboro police called the bust the largest
heroin seizure in the city's history. Ms. Corey provided the name Julie
Fernandez to police at that time. One of those arrested in the bust was
Jose A. Arana, described in court papers as Julie Corey's boyfriend.


In 2005, when Ms. Corey was living in Auburn, Mr. Arana, then
29, showed up at her apartment after warning her not to testify against
him in an earlier domestic assault case, court records show. Ms. Corey
told police that Mr. Arana violently assaulted her, and he was arrested
a few days later. Court records show that he had been arrested numerous
times on drug and assault charges.


Tom G. Vukmirovitz, the lawyer representing Ms. Corey in the
pending assault case, said he is not involved in representing her in
the kidnapping case, and declined further comment.


Karl G. Whitney, Ms. Haynes' uncle and a family spokesman,
said the family is trying to stay focused while the investigation
continues.


“I want to let the police do their work,” he said. “I want to let there be closure and some semblance of normalcy in our lives.”

A custody hearing will be held at 2 p.m. today to consider who should
raise the newborn Worcester baby believed to be ripped from the womb of
a murdered mother of three.
The state Department of Children and Families has temporary custody
of the child. The miracle baby was found with Julie A. Corey, 35, and
boyfriend Alex Dion, 27, last Wednesday outside a family shelter in
Plymouth, N.H.
Corey, of Worcester, has been charged as a fugitive from justice for
allegedly kidnapping the baby. Authorities believe the child was cut
from the womb of Darlene Haynes, 23, who was found dead in her
Worcester apartment last Monday.
Dion was released without charge after being questioned by authorities in New Hampshire.
At a press conference, Craig D. Smith, clerk magistrate for the
Worcester Juvenile Court, said today’s hearing will determine whether
the baby remains in state custody. He said questions about the child’s
parents will be resolved at a later hearing to take place in 30 days.
Only DCF and the child’s parents are authorized to attend the
closed-door session, Smith said. Relatives of a deceased parent may ask
the court to be appointed as a guardian, but they are not authorized to
attend the session without the consent of a judge.
Worcester Juvenile Court Judge Carol Erskine will hear the case.
Several of Haynes’ family members have expressed interest in gaining
custody of the child, said Timothy J. Connolly, spokesman for Worcester
District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr.
The baby’s father is believed to be Haynes’ ex-boyfriend, Roberto C. Tito Rodriguez, Connolly said.
DNA tests are being administered on the child to establish paternity. No one has been charged with Haynes’ murder.
Corey is scheduled to meet with her court-appointed attorney for the
first time tomorrow at the Merrimack County jail in New Hampshire.
Defense attorney Louis P. Aloise said he has not spoken with Corey
or her family members yet. The jail said this morning that Corey hasn’t
had any visitors.
Corey is fighting extradition from New Hampshire. Her next hearing is set for Aug. 28.
Aloise said authorities will have to prove that the newborn found
with Corey belonged to Haynes in order to clear the way for
extradition. He said authorities will likely present forensic evidence
and sworn testimony to make their case.
Authorities have already filed a sworn affadavit under seal to secure the fugitive charge against Corey, Aloise said.
Attorney David Hendricks is representing Corey on the fugitive matter in New Hampshire.

A closed-door custody hearing was held Monday in Worcester Juvenile Court.
The
baby's mother, 23-year-old Darlene Haynes, was eight months' pregnant
when she was found slain in her Worcester apartment last week. Her
landlord found her body wrapped in bedding in a closet. The exact cause
of her death has not been determined, but police said she suffered head
trauma.
The baby was found two days later at a New Hampshire homeless shelter
with Haynes' former neighbor, Julie Corey. Corey has been charged with
kidnapping and is being held on $2 million bail.
The infant is now in state custody.
Roberto
Rodriguez, 24, Haynes' estranged boyfriend, told The Associated Press
outside court Monday that he wants custody of the baby and an
18-month-old girl he had with Haynes.
"I just want my two girls. That's all I want," Rodriguez said.
Haynes'
uncle and aunt, Karl and Beverly Whitney, also filed paperwork Monday
seeking guardianship of the child, attorney Debra Rosenthal said.
The Whitneys declined to discuss their custody request.
A spokeswoman for the state Department of Children and Families did not return calls seeking comment about Monday's hearing.
Craig
Smith, clerk magistrate of Worcester Juvenile Court, would not discuss
the case specifically. But typically, he said, a judge would appoint an
investigator to check on the background of anyone who seeks custody.
Children generally remain in state custody until investigations are
completed, Smith said.
Family members and Corey's boyfriend have
said that Corey, 35, fooled them for months into believing she was
pregnant. She later told them that she had given birth and presented
Haynes' baby as her own, they said.
Haynes, who had three other
children, had a restraining order against Rodriguez, who allegedly
pushed her into a glass table in June and cut her arm, then grabbed her
by the throat and slapped her, according to court records. Court
records also showed Rodriguez was charged with hitting Haynes in 2008
in a case that was continued without a finding.
The 18-month-old
girl is also in state custody. Karl Whitney told reporters last week
that Haynes' grandmother, Joanne Haynes, is raising her two other
children, Jasmine, 5, and Lillian, 3.

The Department of Children and Families has retained custody of two
children of Darlene Haynes, the woman found slain last week and robbed
of her unborn baby.
In a Worcester Juvenile Court hearing yesterday afternoon, a
judge granted temporary custody to the state agency, according to
lawyer Christopher M. Uhl, who represented Ms. Haynes' estranged
husband at the hearing.
“Both children are still in their (Department of Children and Families) care,” Mr. Uhl said after the hearing.

A spokesman for the DCF did not return a telephone call last night.


The lawyer for Roberto C. Rodriguez, the father of Ms. Haynes'
18-month-old daughter Kristina and apparent father of the 4-pound baby
girl, declined to comment. Mr. Rodriguez, who vowed to fight for
custody of the two girls, also declined to comment to reporters who
waited outside the courtroom. A hearing is scheduled in 30 days.


James B. Stanton, Mr. Rodriguez' lawyer, said yesterday's
closed hearing was confidential and Judge Carol Erskine asked that
confidentiality be maintained in the case. He will respect the judge's
request.


The two children were represented by lawyer Margaret Winchester.


Mr. Rodriguez' mother was also outside the courtroom yesterday.


Mr. Uhl represented Kofi Brefo Awuah, 47, who filed for divorce
April 9 from Ms. Haynes, 23, but was still legally married to her,
according to Worcester Family and Probate Court records. They were
scheduled to appear in court in November.


The Ghana-born husband cited “irretrievable breakdown” as the
reason for the divorce request. They married Sept. 5, 2006 and had no
children together, according to records. The couple last lived together
on March 1, in a Fifth Avenue apartment, the records state.


Mr. Awuah told Mr. Uhl neither the 18-month-old girl nor the
baby were his. He was summonsed to yesterday's hearing because,
legally, he is the father of the children because he was married to Ms.
Haynes.


According to Ms. Haynes' family, the 23-year-old found dead
inside her Southgate Street apartment last week had two other children,
Lillian, 3; and Jasmine, 5. Lillian and Jasmine are being raised by
Joanne Haynes, Darlene Haynes' grandmother.


Ms. Haynes' uncle, Karl Whitney, was also outside the courtroom
yesterday and was seen with his wife inside the Juvenile Court clerk's
office yesterday filing paperwork.


Outside Joanne Haynes's Worcester home last night, Mr. Whitney
declined to confirm whether he had filed paperwork seeking custody, but
said “our intention is to get custody of the baby.” He referred other
questions to his lawyer.


“Given the nature of the case, we don't want to say anything
that could jeopardize the case,” Mr. Whitney said. He and his wife
currently have seven foster children and four of their own.


He has told reporters Ms. Haynes had planned to name the baby
girl Sheila Marie. Mr. Rodriguez reportedly wanted to name the girl
Isabel Justice.


Mary Berard, a friend of Mr. Rodriguez and Ms. Haynes, said Mr. Rodriguez wants to use the middle name Justicebecause, “this is justice for Darlene.”


Police have taken a saliva swab from the baby and will obtain
DNA from Ms. Haynes' autopsy. Those samples will go to the State Police
Crime Lab for DNA testing to determine who the baby's parents are.
Worcester District Attorney spokesman Timothy J. Connolly declined to
say where the baby is located now. Police said they would obtain a DNA
swab from Mr. Rodriguez.


Authorities continue to investigate the killing of Ms. Haynes.
Her body was found wrapped in a comforter a week ago yesterday inside
her 94 Southgate St. apartment. Police said she had head trauma along
with a large incision across her abdomen where they say the baby was
removed.


Julie A. Corey, the 35-year-old woman accused of kidnapping
Ms. Haynes' baby, is being held on $2 million bail in New Hampshire on
a fugitive from justice warrant.


Authorities said Ms. Haynes was eight months pregnant at the
time of her death, which they put at either late Thursday night or
early Friday morning. Charges have yet to be filed in the homicide.


Police found Ms. Corey with her boyfriend, Alex Dion, and the
baby on Wednesday in a shelter in Plymouth, N.H. Ms. Corey has been
named a “person of interest” in the killing. Mr. Dion was questioned
and released.


Ms. Corey, who lived at 3 Henry Terrace, Worcester, had been
telling friends she was pregnant, and went around showing off the
newborn on July 24, while it was still only hours old, police and
acquaintances have said. She has claimed the baby is hers, according to
Detective Capt. Edward J. McGinn Jr.


Capt. McGinn said Ms. Corey was with Ms. Haynes the afternoon
of July 23 when the 18-month-old girl was dropped off with Mr.
Rodriguez.


Police continue to investigate how Ms. Haynes was killed.


Denis and Mary Berard, who took care of Ms. Haynes and Mr.
Rodriguez, and referred to them as their children, said Mr. Rodriguez
misses the girls. He did not comment about what happened at the
hearing.


“He's holding up,” Mr. Berard said in the courthouse. “He's
really, really happy about the girls. He has something positive to look
forward to with his daughters.”


Mr. Rodriguez, also known as “Tito”, has “a very large sense of loss” because of what happened to Ms. Haynes, Mr. Berard said.


Craig D. Smith, clerk magistrate of the Worcester Division of
Juvenile Court, addressed the media early yesterday to discuss the
normal procedures for care and protection cases.


The hearing yesterday is informally called a 72-hour hearing
where a judge has parties discuss whether custody should be granted to
someone on a temporary basis or to the Department of Children and
Families.


The court is called upon to resolve questions such as
paternity or maternity. Normally if the state receives custody, an
investigator is assigned to report to the court.


“Ultimately the idea in any of these cases is to come to a
resolution in the case in, I believe the time standards would say, 18
months,” Mr. Smith said.


He added when there are other people who are not the parents,
but want to be guardians; they can file for custody but do not have any
rights to appear in the hearing.


“Other parties could file a guardianship matter which the
judge could then consider in a separate place or join it with this
case.”


Mr. Smith has not seen a case where a deceased parent is represented in these types of hearings.


“The whole point of these proceedings is to find what is in the
best interest of the endangered child. The judge needs to know if there
are relatives who could be appropriate and the best placement for the
child if that is the case.”

Authorities say a pregnant Massachusetts
woman whose child was cut from her womb was the mother of an infant
found with a 35-year-old woman accused of kidnapping the baby girl.

Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. said Wednesday that DNA testing confirmed the relationship.

Early said no new charges are pending against Julie Corey, who was
arrested July 29 in a homeless shelter in New Hampshire with the infant.

She is being held on $2 million bail on a fugitive from justice
charge. Her case comes up Friday in Concord, N.H., district court.

Corey faces a kidnapping charge in Massachusetts. Early said the
investigation continues in the death of 23-year-old Darlene Haynes,
whose body was found in her Worcester apartment on July 27. No one has
been charged in her killing.

A woman accused of kidnapping a baby girl who had been cut from her
mother's womb has agreed to return to Massachusetts from New Hampshire
to face charges.Julie Corey had the baby girl with her when she
was arrested at a New Hampshire homeless shelter on July 29. DNA tests
have confirmed that the baby was cut from the womb of Darlene Haynes,
who was found dead in her Worcester home two days earlier.Tim
Connolly, a spokesman for Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early Jr.,
said arrangements are being made to bring Corey back within a few days.
She will then be arraigned on the kidnapping charge.Connolly declined to say whether prosecutors expect to charge Corey in Haynes' killing.

The woman accused of kidnapping a
baby cut from a dead woman’s womb stood silently at her arraignment
today in Worcester as the still-stunned family of the child’s slain
mother watched the suspect’s every move.
Julie A. Corey, 35, pleaded not guilty in Worcester District Court to the baby snatching and was ordered held on $500,000 bail.
There were no new leads in the murder of Darlene L. Haynes, 23, who
was found dead in a closet at her Worcester apartment July 27 - her
baby cut out of her.“It’s very hard to put my emotions out there. It gets very
difficult. I have a hard time understanding why someone would do this
to a pregnant woman,” said Karl Whitney, the uncle of the slain woman.
Corey was arrested July 29 at a New Hampshire homeless shelter where
she was staying with a newborn baby and her boyfriend Alex Dion.
Dion, 27, later told the Herald that Corey convinced him the baby was her child and he was the father.
But Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early’s office said the baby
belonged to Haynes, an expectant Worcester mom whose bloody, bludgeoned
body was found wrapped in a bedspread, the fetus ripped from her womb.
DNA test results confirmed the baby belonged to Haynes and her on-again, off-again boyfriend Roberto C. “Tito” Rodriguez, 24.
The baby is now in state custody and being cared for by a foster
family. Haynes’ family said the baby is safe and doing well. Whitney
would not divulge the progress of court proceedings regarding the
custody of the child, which he said are confidential.
“As far as I know the baby is healthy and doing well,” Whitney said. “I would hope the baby becomes part of the family.”
He sat among a line of the dead woman’s relatives who packed the
front row of the courtroom and stared at Corey when she was brought
into the courtroom in handcuffs and wearing a red-hooded sweatshirt,
her dirty-blond hair tied in a ponytail.
No one has yet been charged with the murder, a crime that was
gruesomely compounded by the days that passed before anyone found the
body and further still when authorities discovered the fetus had been
removed from the mother, who was eight-months pregnant.

A grand jury indicted a Worcester woman
today on a murder charge for allegedly killing a pregnant woman last
summer and cutting an 8-month-old fetus from her womb.
Julie Corey, 35, had previously been charged with kidnapping the
4-pound baby, which she allegedly showed off as own. Police found the
mutilated body of the mother, Darlene Haynes, 23, decomposing in a
closet in her home on Southgate St. in Worcester on July 27.
The indictment handed up today by the Worcester County grand jury
includes charges of murder and kidnapping, according to a press release
issued by the Worcester District Attorney. An arraignment date has not
been set in Worcester Superior Court.
Defense attorney Louis P. Aloise said that his client continues to
maintain her innocence, but he said he could not be more specific
because prosecutors have not said what proof they have that Corey
killed Haynes.
"There were a number of people in and around Ms. Haynes at and
around the time of her death," Aloise said. "I know the police when
investigating the case referred to suspects as plural." The press release issued today by
the district attorney did not describe any specific evidence beyond
what has been known since July: Corey and her boyfriend, Alex Dion, 27,
were found in possession of the dead woman's baby on July 29 in a
homeless shelter in Plymouth, N.H. Dion has not been charged, the
release said, but it did not explain why. District Attorney Joseph D.
Early Jr. did not respond for an interview request, and his spokesman
declined to provide answers.
The medical examiner ruled that Haynes died from "blunt force
trauma, asphyxia by ligature strangulation and incision of abdomen,"
according to the district attorney's press release. An autopsy
determined that the fetus was missing.
DNA testing determined that the baby was the biological child of
Haynes and her boyfriend, Roberto "Tito" Rodriquez, who could not be
reached today for comment. The child remains in the custody of the
state Department of Children and Families, but Rodriquez and Haynes's
relatives are seeking custody. Details of the custody case remain
sealed, according to Debra Rosenthal, an attorney for Haynes's aunt and
uncle.
A family friend, Denis Berard, said when he last saw Rodriguez two
months ago, "he was upset that nobody had been charged with it. It was
really bothering him." But Rodriguez was also quick to show off a
photograph of the baby girl he had on his cell phone.
"She looks a heck of a lot like here mom. She has her eyes," Berard said. "Tito was smiling from ear to ear."

WORCESTER, Mass. — A Massachusetts woman has pleaded not guilty to killing her pregnant
friend and cutting the baby from her womb.
Julie Corey was ordered held without bail Wednesday in Worcester Superior Court on charges of murder and kidnapping.
Corey and the baby were found in a homeless shelter in Plymouth, N.H., in
July. That was days after Darlene Haynes was found dead in her Worcester
apartment.
DNA tests showed the baby girl was cut from the womb of the 23-year-old Haynes.
Haynes was eight months pregnant when she died.
The baby is in Massachusetts state custody.

As the one-year anniversary of the death of Darlene L. Haynes
approaches, recently released documents reveal more about her murder and
the woman accused of slaying Ms. Haynes and taking her unborn baby.


Search warrant affidavits on the investigation into Ms. Haynes’
death and her alleged killer, Julie A. Corey, were released yesterday by
Judge David B. Despotopulos after a media request to
lift impound orders.


The affidavits state that Ms. Haynes was possibly struck in the
head with a hammer. They also say Ms. Corey, who was arrested in New
Hampshire with the child a few days after the killing, was never at a
Framingham hospital to give birth to a baby girl.


Ms. Haynes, whose body was found wrapped in a blanket inside
her 94 Southgate St. apartment on July 27, 2009, suffered a skull
fracture and a large stab wound to her abdomen caused by an edged
instrument, according to one of three search warrants released
yesterday.


Authorities also learned in the investigation that Ms. Haynes,
23, was more than 34 weeks pregnant and the baby had been removed from
her womb.


“Autopsy findings indicated that the injuries to Haynes’ skull
were possibly inflicted with the claw end of a hammer,” Worcester Police
Lt. John W. Towns wrote in one of the search warrant affidavits. The
autopsy also showed no fetus was inside Ms. Haynes.


Police spoke with Ms. Haynes’ doctor and learned she was due to
give birth to a baby girl on Aug. 31, 2009. The doctor told police that
if the child was delivered on July 23, 2009 — the last time anyone had
seen or heard from Ms. Haynes — the baby could survive but would need
medical attention.


Authorities began scrambling to find Ms. Haynes’ killer and
worked hard to locate the baby girl. They learned Ms. Haynes had several
friends and identified two of them — Ms. Corey, now 36, and her
boyfriend Alex Dion, now 28 — and that they had lived with Ms. Haynes at
94 Southgate St..


Ms. Corey and Mr. Dion had recently moved out, according to the
affidavit of Lt. Towns, but the couple and Ms. Haynes continued to be
friends. The couple would “occasionally give Haynes assistance in the
form of rides to the stores or other errands,” the lieutenant wrote.


On July 23, 2009, at about 7 p.m., Ms. Haynes was given a ride
by Ms. Corey in Mr. Dion’s Ford Escort to 12 Ives St., authorities said.
Ms. Haynes went there to drop off her now 2-year-old daughter Kristine
to Roberto C. Rodriguez, the father of that little girl. Authorities
also said Mr. Rodriguez is the father of the baby girl missing from Ms.
Haynes’ womb.


The warrant affidavit to search 3 Henry Terrace, Apt. 7A, where
Ms. Corey and Mr. Dion were living with one of Mr. Dion’s relatives,
said Ms. Haynes was last seen with Ms. Corey on July 23, 2009.


The next day, July 24, Ms. Corey and Mr. Dion showed up at a
Hacker Street apartment with a newborn baby girl that Ms. Corey called
Alida. The friend visited by the couple gave investigators pivotal
information. She told police Ms. Corey was headed to New Hampshire with
Mr. Dion.


Ms. Corey allegedly told the female friend that she had given
birth the night of July 23, 2009, or early in the morning the next day.
According to the friend, Ms. Corey had the baby at a Framingham hospital
then left against medical advice because “she did not like their
attitude,” Lt. Towns wrote.


The friend told police Ms. Corey said she returned to Worcester,
picked up Mr. Dion and began stopping at the homes of family and
friends to show off the child. Mr. Dion also allegedly called the friend
at 2:30 a.m. on July 24, and said Ms. Corey had the baby, the search
warrants said.


Police learned through the friend that Ms. Corey told her in
October 2008 that she was pregnant. The due date was June 23, 2009, but
that date kept getting pushed off and Ms. Corey gave “some excuse as to
why the baby could not be delivered.” The friend also told police she
watched Ms. Corey’s movements and found it hard to believe the woman had
just given birth.


The friend “stated that she observed that the infant’s umbilical
cord was secured with a piece of string causing her to become more
suspicious,” Lt. Towns wrote.


During a cookout a couple of days later, Ms. Corey allegedly
told the friend she was going to New Hampshire so Ms. Corey’s father
could meet the baby. The couple packed their belongings and planned to
move there, the friend told police.


Investigators checked with the Columbia MetroWest Medical Center
in Framingham and learned that the last time Ms. Corey had been there
was in 2002. There was no record of her being admitted for any treatment
in 2009, the affidavit said.


On July 29, Ms. Corey, Mr. Dion and the 4-pound baby girl were
located in Plymouth, N.H. The couple had been staying at a shelter
there. Ms. Corey asked for a lawyer when Worcester police tried to
interview her while in New Hampshire State Police custody.


Her boyfriend, however, opted to talk to police and indicated he
did not believe Ms. Corey was pregnant.


“He told detectives that he had purchased a heart monitor and
was unable to hear a heartbeat at any time during the alleged
pregnancy,” Lt. Towns wrote. “Dion stated that he never felt the baby
move or kick.”


When police searched the Henry Terrace apartment where the
couple stayed, they seized a knife, three boxes of baby cereal, five
containers of Gerber First Food, a baby toy, baby clothes, packaging for
a baby sleeper, a package of prenatal pills and baby cards, according
to the search warrant affidavit.


In the Southgate Street apartment, they found a heavy,
blood-soaked mattress and blood stains on a floor that police thought
appeared to have been wiped up.


Crime Scene Unit members took a hammer from the home, but search
warrant affidavits did not say if police believed that was the murder
weapon. Swabs of what appeared to be blood were taken from the kitchen
sink and stove and the bedroom. Empty Smirnoff Ice bottles were swabbed
and cigarette butts were collected.


One of Ms. Corey’s lawyers, Michael C. Wilcox, said yesterday he
had read the search warrant affidavits in the case, and said the case
is still an open investigation from his point of view.


“She maintains her innocence,” he said. “I don’t anticipate she
is going to admit to something she said she hasn’t done.”


Ms. Corey, who is facing murder and kidnapping charges, is due
to return to Superior Court Tuesday — the same day a year ago that Ms.
Haynes’ body was found.


The baby and Ms. Haynes’ daughter Kristine remain in the custody
of the state Department of Children and Families, according to a
spokeswoman. Mr. Rodriguez and Karl and Beverley Whitney, an uncle and
aunt of Ms. Haynes, are all seeking custody of the children.


“We are currently working closely with members of the children’s
family to create a permanent home with their kin,” DCF spokeswoman
Alison Goodwin said. “We anticipate this happening soon, and in the
meantime, the children remain in DCF custody.”