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Woman Kills Mom and Carves Baby From Her Stomach, Sources Say

By  Murray Weiss Aidan Gardiner and Eddie Small | November 23, 2015 9:58am 

 Police suspect Ashleigh Wade (pictured) of murdering Angelikque Sutton and carving out her baby.
Police suspect Ashleigh Wade (pictured) of murdering Angelikque Sutton and carving out her baby.
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THE BRONX — A woman feigning a pregnancy fatally stabbed her longtime friend, an expectant mother, in the torso and carved the baby out of her stomach on Friday afternoon in a ploy to steal the infant, sources said.

Angelikque Sutton, 22, who was eight months pregnant, was in the first-floor apartment at 4450 Monticello Ave. of her friend, Ashleigh Wade, 22, about 2:23 p.m., when Wade stabbed her before cutting open the mother's stomach and removing the baby, police said.

Sutton was pronounced dead at Montefiore Medical Center, police said.

Her baby daughter, Genasis, was considered healthy and under police guard at the same hospital, according to the New York Post.

In the immediate aftermath, Wade called her boyfriend who came over to find the baby wrapped in a blanket, sources said. He then called 911, sources said.

 A woman is in custody after an expectant mother was stabbed in the stomach several times on Friday afternoon, a source said.
A woman is in custody after an expectant mother was stabbed in the stomach several times on Friday afternoon, a source said.
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When police arrived, Wade shouted at them, "That's my baby! That's my baby!" sources said.

Wade initially claimed that she attacked her friend out of self defense, sources said.

"I stabbed her as many times as I could," she told investigators, sources said.

Wade had pretended to be pregnant for months, lying to friends and acquaintances, sources said. Wade and Sutton, who had known each other since the third grade, corresponded about pregnancy over Facebook, sources said.

Wade even used fake sonogram photos to propel the ruse, sources said.

Wade, who was in the hospital undergoing psychiatric evaluation, was arrested on charges of murder, manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon, police said.

She was in the hospital still awaiting arraignment Monday morning, prosecutors said.

Sutton's parents struggled to lead mourners through a Sunday memorial service for her, reports said.

Bishop William Sutton was devastated by the murder, he said during the service at his church Zion Hill Pentecostal Church, 629 E. 169th St., near Franklin Avenue, according to reports.

"Have you ever got so devastated you couldn’t pray, couldn’t pick up a Bible and read the scriptures?" Sutton asked the grief-stricken family and friends.

His wife tearfully played the organ through the service, sobbing when she heard her murdered daughter's name, according to the Daily News.

Their new granddaughter, however, was a small piece of hope, they said.

“Thank you, Jesus, a healthy baby, 8 pounds, 2 ounces,” Bishop Sutton said, according to reports.

“We cry a little, we pray a little,” the grandfather added.

Councilman Andy King, who had been briefed by police about the attack, expressed his condolences over Sutton's death.

"I am appalled by the brutal murder of the pregnant woman in my Council district," he said in an email. "I wish to send my heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the victim ... Violence of any nature is inexcusable and I hope that the attacker is punished to the full extent of the law."