A British grandma is on death row in the US for killing a mother to steal her baby. Linda Carty, 63, is convicted of murdering Joanna Rodriguez, 25, for stealing her son. The former school teacher is sentenced to death for abducting and killing the young mother.
Carty, if convicted, will be the first British female to be put to death in the US since Ruth Ellis in 1955. However, the British citizen has maintained that she is innocent and has appealed against her conviction.
She was born on the island of Saint Kitts before it gained independence from Britain and moved to the US when she was 23.
Carty's Previous Crimes
Carty has earlier been convicted of other crimes also as she was sent to 10 years probation in 1992 after being convicted of car theft and impersonating an FBI agent. She was believed to be working for the drug informant.
What is Linda Carty's Crime?
Later Carty told her neighbors that she was to become a mother soon. But they did not realise that she was pregnant as she looked normal.
According to the verdict, in May 2001, Carty had orchestrated the kidnap of her pregnant neighbour, Joana Rodriguez, according to The Mirror.
Carty had planned to kidnap Rodriguez just a few days before her delivery and she had bought and scrubs and scissors to reportedly cut the unborn baby out of Joana's body.
But her plan went wrong as Rodriguez was kidnapped two days after giving birth to her baby son Ray. Three men were involved in this and they had also kidnapped Ray.
A day after, the baby son was found alive in a car but her mother's dead body was found in the boot of another car.
Joana was believed to be suffocated to death as her head was covered with a plastic bag and her legs and arms had been bound with duct tape.
What Did Police Find?
Carty was the prime suspect for the police over the murder of Joana as neighbours had revealed that Carty was lying about her pregnancy and had said that she will have a child soon.
Police arrested Carty along with Gerald Anderson, Chris Robinson, and Carlos Williams and charged with the abduction and murder of Joana.
Is Linda Carty Innocent?
Carty has been claiming that she is innocent and she did not murder Joana, stressing that she was working as a drug informant for the American authorities.
She refused her links with three men and said that she never met her but phone records have shown over a dozen calls between Anderson and her just before the night of the crime.
Her co-accused have also been blamed as the mastermind behind the crime. Anderson, Robinson, and Williams received long-term prison sentences for abducting Joana and her baby Ray.
Carty Could Be Given Lethal Injection
But Carty is convicted of murder and the court sentenced her to death by lethal injection. So far, Carty has made various appeals but all of them have failed and now fear is looming that the only option is left for her is lethal injection.
The Story of Linda Carty: UK Grandma who is on death row in US for killing mom to steal her baby
