A woman was probably still alive when a stranger started removing her unborn baby, a trial in Missouri has heard.
Bobbi Jo Stinnett, who was eight months pregnant, fought for her life, and that of her child, after being attacked by Lisa Montgomery, the trial heard.
Mrs Montgomery denies strangling Mrs Stinnett and kidnapping her daughter, Victoria Jo, in December 2004.
Prosecutors said a doctor would testify that Stinnett was probably alive "when the baby was being cut from her womb".
Internet researchProsecutor Matt Whitworth said searches of Mrs Montgomery's computer showed she had researched how to perform caesarean sections and he added: "This defendant spent a great deal of time planning this crime."
Mrs Montgomery, 39, allegedly used a kitchen knife to cut the baby from the womb and used information on home births which she had downloaded from the internet. She has pleaded not guilty.
Mrs Stinnett's body was discovered by her mother, Becky Harper, who told the court: "There was blood everywhere."
The little girl survived and was traced to Mrs Montgomery's home in Melvern, Kansas. She was later reunited with her father and is now almost three years old.
The court heard how police tracked the mother-of-four down through e-mails she had sent the victim in which she purported to be interested in buying a dog from her.
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