A Houston woman on trial for allegedly killing a mother and kidnapping her newborn child in 2012 sidestepped a potential death sentence when she pleaded guilty to murder charges on Tuesday.
Verna McClain was sentenced to life in jail by a Montgomery County judge in the case of 28-year-old Kala Golden-Schuchardt's death, according to the Associated Press. The prosecution had previously sought the death penalty for McClain, after she reportedly shot the new mother outside of a medical facility in Spring, Texas, then abducted her 3-day-old son, Keegan.
But since McClain pleaded guilty to capital murder charges, she managed to avoid a lethal injection administered by the state.
McClain's relatives told investigators at the time of the April 2012 murder that the convicted killer had just miscarried, and wanted to find a child that she could take on as her own.
According to authorities involved in the case, McClain was reportedly waiting in front of the pediatric clinic located north of Houston at the time of the murder-kidnapping. Bystanders saw McClain shoot Golden-Schuchardt multiple times, snatch the baby from the deceased's truck, and drive away.
Witnesses said that the woman tried to take the child back, screaming, "My baby!" as she bled from the gunshot wounds.
Two law enforcement officials spied a car parked in front of a nearby apartment that matched witnesses' descriptions later that day, the Associated Press reported. McClain arrived at the housing complex a few hours later.
The kidnapped child was handed over to his father after McClain was taken into custody.
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