Lisa Montgomery, a convicted murderer who killed a pregnant woman and stole her baby, spoke a chilling final word before her execution by lethal injection. Montgomery, 36, had traveled to meet Bobbie Jo Stinnett, an eight-month pregnant woman she had befriended online due to their mutual love for dogs. Pretending to be interested in buying a puppy, Montgomery gained access to Bobbie’s home where she strangled her to death and removed the unborn child in an attempt to pass it off as her own.
Arrested the day after the murder in 2004, Montgomery was found guilty of murder and kidnapping, leading to her placement on death row. In 2021, at the age of 52, she was executed in Indiana. Before her execution, when asked for any last words, she simply replied, “no.”
Montgomery’s troubled life history came to light, revealing a childhood marred by severe abuse and trauma. She was sexually assaulted by her stepfather from a young age, enduring horrific physical and emotional torment over the years. Her upbringing was characterized by isolation and brutality, with reports of her stepfather constructing a secluded room for her in the woods where he subjected her to further abuse.
Her legal team and experts highlighted the profound mental illness and trauma Montgomery endured, attributing her actions to a lifetime of torture and violence. Her execution, which marked the first of a woman by the US government in seven decades, sparked discussions on the impact of severe childhood trauma on an individual’s mental state and behavior.
Amid ongoing debates about her case, Montgomery’s abusers have never faced legal consequences for their actions. The complex and tragic circumstances surrounding Montgomery’s life and crime continue to raise questions about the intersection of mental health, trauma, and criminal behavior.
