The Fetal Abduction Murder of Darlene Hayes

Residents at an apartment complex on Southgate Street in Worcester, MA, called the landlord with complaints of a foul-smelling “death” odor. Since several tenants had the same complaint, the landlord immediately drove to the complex to check on the resident of a specific apartment from which the odor came.

A Horrific Discovery Inside the Apartment

The landlord made a horrific discovery. Buried deep inside the closet of the apartment lay the severely beaten and decomposed body of 23-year-old Darlene Hayes. Eight months pregnant at the time of the murder, Darlene’s stomach had been cut open and the fetus was missing. By the condition of her body, it was apparent that Darlene had been lying in the closet in the hot July weather for a few days.

Darlene’s medical report stated that she had a nine-inch incision on her abdomen, a fractured skull caused by a heavy object, and ligature marks around her neck; she had been strangled with an electrical cord. Her death an obvious murder, the medical examiner marked it as such and police frantically began the search for the killer, who presumably knew the whereabouts of the missing fetus.

Calls Point Police in the Direction of a Suspect

Police were stunned by the crime but with few clues, were stumped as to who the killer could be. As news of the horrific crime aired on television and made its way around town, calls to the police department began to pour in, all pointing fingers at Julie Corey, a 35-year-old woman whom the callers claimed had been acting bizarre in recent months. Corey claimed that she was pregnant, but the family really wasn’t confident she was carrying a baby because her story kept changing.

She changed her delivery date a few different times and could not keep a straight story about how far along she was.

One person who did not question Julie’s behavior was her boyfriend. She showed up one day with a beautiful baby girl, telling him she delivered the baby and was sent home He was ecstatic about the baby and did not ask any questions.

immediately afterward. As friends and family shared in Julie’s happiness, they could not help but feel that something was odd about the entire ordeal.

A Family Member Becomes Suspicious; Calls the Police

Julie seemed to tell each person a different story about the baby’s arrival. When a family member noticed something odd about the baby girl’s umbilical cord, she called the police.

Julie desperately wanted a baby. When she met Darlene, the two became friends, although warning signs were there all along. Jealous of the news that Darlene was with a child, Julie decided to steal her baby. She began pretending that she was pregnant, even stuffing pillows underneath her shirt to make it appear as if her abdomen was growing.

Case Aftermath

Police found Julie with the baby girl. She miraculously survived the incident. Julie was charged with murder but maintained her innocence. Several years after the 2009 murder, she was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.

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Sources:

https://www.masslive

https://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=8210506&page=1.com/news/2009/07/woman_accused_of_cutting_fetus.html