A New York jury found a Bronx woman guilty of cutting a baby out of her best friend’s womb then stabbing the woman 50 times.
Ashleigh Wade, right, will spend the rest of her life in prison for brutally murdering Angelikque Sutton, 22, in November 2015.
Sutton, who was 8 months pregnant, was savagely killed on the same day she was set to marry her boyfriend of 8 years.
Sutton was on her way to the courthouse to marry Patrick Bradley when she stopped by Wade’s house. Wade, 28, lured her unsuspecting friend to her apartment under the pretense that she had a wedding gift for her.
Once there, Wade led Sutton into the bathroom then cut her throat to prevent her from screaming. She then sliced Sutton’s abdomen open and removed her entire uterus. After cutting the baby out of the uterus, Wade discarded the deflated uterus and umbilical cord on the bathroom floor.
She then finished off Sutton, stabbing her multiple times in the face and neck. The coroner’s report said Sutton was stabbed a total of 50 times.
Wade’s boyfriend walked into the blood-soaked bathroom and found her cradling Sutton’s baby girl next to the deceased woman’s body.
When police arrived on the scene, Wade screamed, “It’s my baby!”
After she was confronted with the evidence, Wade admitted killing Sutton for her baby. But she later plead not guilty to murder.
A juror collapsed in the juror’s box on Thursday when the prosecutor displayed a large image of Sutton’s bloody uterus on the bathroom floor.
Medical examiner Declan Mcguone rushed to the middle aged woman’s side. The juror eventually recovered, but Justice Margaret Clancy announced the trial was adjourned until Friday.
The District Attorney’s office said Wade needed a baby because she lied for months about being pregnant.
“She had baby clothes, baby shoes, diapers, formula, a crib, everything that an expectant mother would need, except a baby,” said Assistant Bronx DA Meredith Holtzman.
“She didn’t have a baby. For that she needed Angelikque Sutton.”
After a 2 week trial, the jury deliberated for 5 hours on Friday before reaching a unanimous guilty verdict.
When the verdict was announced, Wade cried uncontrollably as Sutton’s family members embraced in the courtroom.
Miraculously, Sutton’s daughter, Jenasis, survived the attack and is now a healthy 22-month-old.
Jenasis’ father, Patrick Bradley, updates his Facebook page with photos of his beautiful daughter. He is even teaching her to box.
