Court reinstates first-degree murder conviction for woman who killed former neighbor, ripped baby from womb

Julie Corey

Julie Corey during her murder trial in 2014. On March 18, 2024, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court reinstated the murder conviction of Corey, who was convicted of killing Darlene Haynes and stealing her baby. (AP Photo/Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Rick Cinclair, Pool)

Massachusetts‘ highest court reinstated the first-degree murder conviction of a woman who in 2009 killed her former neighbor and cut her open to steal her baby.

A jury in 2014 convicted Julie Corey of first-degree murder and aggravated kidnapping of 23-year-old Darlene Haynes. But five years later her felony murder conviction was tossed, with a judge saying that there wasn’t enough evidence to prove she committed aggravated kidnapping during the killing. Corey also appealed for a new trial on the grounds that she had ineffective counsel, but that was denied.

On Monday, the Supreme Judicial Court reversed the lower court’s decision and reinstated the first-degree murder conviction.

Haynes’ landlord entered the Worchester apartment on July 27, 2009, over concerns about her pets. The landlord was met with a “very foul” smell when he entered the apartment. He walked into a bedroom closet and pulled on a blanket when a “leg fell out.” Haynes, who was 8 months pregnant at the time of her death, had an electrical cord around her neck along with a nine-inch incision on her abdomen. The baby was gone.

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