A woman arrested for gunning down and killing a new mother and snatching her 3-day-old baby in the parking lot of a Texas pediatrician's office will face capital murder charges, according to the Montgomery County district attorney.
The newborn, Keegan Schuchardt, was found alive and well six hours after his 28-year-old mother Kayla Marie Golden was killed Tuesday, according to police. The suspect in the killing, Verna Deann McClain, a 30-year-old mother of three, is in police custody.
The new mom was standing by her pickup truck outside the pediatrician's office in Spring, Texas, around 2:40 p.m. when a car with a man and woman inside pulled up. There was reportedly an altercation, after which the woman got out and shot the mother repeatedly with what was believed to be a 9mm pistol, then took the baby and drove off.
"My baby, my baby!" Golden reportedly screamed as her infant boy was taken from his car seat.
As the mother lay dying in the parking lot, a description of the getaway vehicle and occupants quickly went out as an Amber Alert. Golden later died at a local hospital.
Police were led to the Fawndale Apartments in Houston, where sources said a SWAT team entered a unit and found a woman inside speaking on the phone with another woman. Investigators were then able to track the woman on the other phone to a home in north Harris County, where baby Keegan was found.
An affidavit obtained by ABC News from the Montgomery County police states that McClain admitted to shooting Golden and taking the baby to her home in Texas' Harris County.
According to the affidavit, McClain's sister, Corina Jackson, had recently said that her sister would be adopting a baby soon. After she allegedly killed Golden and stole her newborn, McClain stated to her sister that she now had the child. McClain has three children ages 16, 10 and 6.
Witnesses said the mom fought to keep the baby from the kidnappers, but ended up in the parking lot with gunshot wounds.
"She was laying on the ground. She wasn't moving for nothing," witness Joshua Jesson told ABC station KTRK in Houston. "But then I saw a blue Lexus drive off in that direction."
"The child was being put into the suspect vehicle and that's when the mother tried to get into the car," Lt. Dan Norris with the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office said. "The car sped away, knocking the lady to the ground."
The female suspect was described by witnesses as a black female wearing a gray sweatshirt and blue jeans, and carrying a small caliber pistol, possibly a 9mm.
Family members of baby Keegan are now awaiting a full background investigation on them before the newborn is returned to their care, according to the Houston Chronicle, which reported that the baby's father Keith Schuchardt and grandmother Linda Golden arrived at Conroe Police Department late Tuesday.
"My daughter was brutally murdered protecting her baby. I think the baby should be given back to us," Golden told The Chronicle. "We've had enough today. We would just like our baby back."
Also Read