KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The husband of a woman accused of killing a pregnant woman and cutting the baby from her womb said he didn't think it was strange when his wife called him to say she had given birth and asked him to pick up her and the baby at a fast food restaurant.
"I knew she didn't like hospitals and doctors," said Kevin Montgomery as he described meeting his wife and the newborn in the parking lot of a Long John Silver's in Topeka, Kan.
The testimony came Tuesday in the federal trial of Lisa Montgomery, who is accused of killing Bobbie Jo Stinnett, 23, and crudely cutting the baby from her womb on Dec. 16, 2004. Montgomery, 39, was arrested the next day while showing off the baby in her hometown of Melvern, Kan.
Kevin Montgomery said he and his wife showed off the newborn that day at a diner, bank, courthouse and the convenience store where Lisa worked.
He also testified about Lisa Montgomery's two previous faked pregnancies. The first time, he said, she told him she was going to New Mexico to have an abortion. The second time, he said, Lisa told him there was something wrong with the baby and she had donated the baby's body to science.
Kevin Montgomery said a relative had told him Lisa Montgomery couldn't have any more children because she had had a tubal ligation. But Kevin Montgomery said he didn't understand the term.
He said he became frustrated when Lisa told him not to go to prenatal doctor appointments. But he said she had gained weight and he had no reason to doubt she was pregnant.
Kevin Montgomery also testified he had nothing to do with the killing. He said he remains married to Lisa Montgomery and wore his wedding ring in the courtroom.
"Do I love my wife? Yes," he said.
Earlier Tuesday, Kevin Montgomery's former wife, Lori Colwell, testified that Lisa Montgomery had announced three fake pregnancies to family and friends in the years leading up to Stinnett's slaying.
Colwell said that when she heard about Lisa Montgomery's pregnancy in 2004, her response was: "Here we go again. I didn't believe her."
Colwell also testified that her former husband has poor social skills and is easily manipulated. Colwell said she tried to persuade Kevin Montgomery to bring Lisa Montgomery to a doctor so he would realize she wasn't pregnant. An appointment was set up, Colwell said, but Lisa Montgomery canceled it.
Several dog breeders, who knew Lisa Montgomery because she raised rat terriers, testified that she had told them she was pregnant with twins but lost one. In a letter to the breeders on Dec. 13, three days before the killing, Montgomery said she was going to be induced on Dec. 16. "Please be thinking of our family over the next few days," the e-mail said.
One of the breeders, Darla Ailey, testified that she had seen Lisa Montgomery at a dog show in October 2004 and that she didn't look very pregnant. Ailey said her husband and a few others had teased her about her small belly and she said she never showed. Ailey said Montgomery told them she planned to give birth at home and bought a home birthing kit and looked into how to get a birth certificate.
Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty if Montgomery is convicted of kidnapping resulting in death. She has pleaded not guilty, and her lawyers are pursuing an insanity defense. Besides convicting or acquitting her, jurors have the option of finding her not guilty by reason of insanity.
If Montgomery is found not guilty by reason of insanity, a judge would decide if she will be released or committed to a mental institution. She would undergo a mental evaluation, then go before a judge who would determine if she is well enough to be released, or must receive more treatment.
If Montgomery is found to be a threat, she would be held until a judge determines she has made enough progress to be released.
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