The Des Moines Register from Des Moines, Iowa • Page 9

Des Moines Sunday Register ST Sunday. December 19. 2004 Page9A Murder suspect showed off baby as her own Investigators trace woman through Web XI' fa if JT 1 XM AX 1 f-y iiH ORLIN WAGNER ASSOCIATED PRESS Unusual case: Kathy Sage is the owner of the Whistle Stop Cafe in Melvern, Kaa, where Lisa Montgomery, a suspect in a pregnant woman's killing, showed off a baby as her own on Friday. It was the Internet that connected Bobbie Jo Stinnett and her accused killer, and investigators say it was the Internet that connected them with the suspect. The first clue came shortly after Stinnett's bloody body was discovered Her neighbor, Christopher Law, remembered seeing a dirty red two-door car in front of her house.

Then investigators heard that Stinnett conducted a dog-breeding business on the Internet and searched her computer. St. Joseph, police Detective Curtis Howard found a rat terriers message board at members.boardhost.com breedersboard. A woman claiming to be Darlene Fischer of Fairfax, posted a note to Stinnett there Wednesday. have been unable to reach you by either phone or e-mail," wrote Fischer, who authorities say was actually Lisa Montgomery of Melvern, Kan.

"Please get in touch with me soon as we are considering the purchase of one of your puppies and would like to ask you a few questions." Stinnett wrote back "Darlene, I've e-mailed you with the directions so we can meet. I do so hope that the e-mail reaches you. Great chatting with you on messenger. And do look forward to chatting with you tomorrow am talk to you soon Darlene! Have a great evening. Bobbie." Detectives could find no record of a Darlene Fischer in Fairfax.

On Friday, investigators issued an Amber Alert, even though they didnt have required details such as the missing child's name or eye color. Word spread nationwide. Later Friday, a dog breeder in North Carolina called the FBI with the computer Internet-provider address of the message "Fischer" had posted. Jeff Owen, a computer forensic examiner with the Kansas City Regional Computer Forensic Laboratory, traced the IP address to Qwest Communications in Virginia. Qwest staffer Melissa Erwin traced the address to a server in Topeka, a dial-up connection and a phone number belonging to Kevin and Lisa Montgomery of South Adams Road in Melvern, Kan.

While investigators were staking out the house, a dirty red Toyota Corolla arrived. Authorities found the missing baby and took Lisa Montgomery into custody. Jennifer Jacobs Canada and elsewhere left messages on Stinnett's Web site, www.happyhavenfarms.corn. "This story has touched an entire nation," one woman wrote to Stinnett's family. "May you gain strength and comfort from the outpouring of love and support from not only family and close friends but strangers near and far." Mead Johnson, the manufacturer of the infant formula Enfamil, offered Victoria Jo free formula for a year, said Nancy Burkhardt, a spokeswoman at the Stormont-VaU Regional Health Center in Topeka.

An area apartment complex volunteered free lodging for family visiting the hospitalized baby. A candlelight vigil held Saturday night at Maitland United Methodist Church for Stinnett was closed to the press. "I wanted the family to have this time alone with the community," said Connie Ury, pastor of the church. Funeral arrangements are pending at Price Funeral Home on East First Street in Maryville, Mo. Residents in Melvern were still reeling Saturday from the news that one of their own is accused of killing Stinnett.

When authorities announced Montgomery's confession Friday, Melvern resident Loretta Deskins jumped out of her chair in disbelief. "It just took my breath away," said Deskins' husband, Gary, who owns the Sunflower Inn, a general store and bait shop. "A lot of people from here have gone to jail, but nothing like this. It's shocking and it's right on your doorstep." Melvern, located about 50 miles south of Topeka, is a typical Midwestern small town, population 470, with a handful of businesses and a high school a short way from downtown. Major events on the town's calendar include a twice-a-y ear demolition derby and a county fair.

Lisa and Kevin Montgomery lived in a rented farm house on a dirt road about four miles outside town. MELVERN, from Page 1A dog breeder, Bobbie Jo Stinnett, 23, last week. But Northwest Missouri sheriffs officials and the FBI say it was Stinnett's unborn child Montgomery was really after. Authorities say Montgomery strangled Stinnett from behind, made a lateral slice in her abdomen, then cut the fetus free of the umbilical cord. Stinnett's mother, Becky Harper, found her daughter in a pool of Hood in her Elm Street home in Skidmore about 3:30 p.m.

Thursday. Victoria Jo, who was about one month premature, is doing well and is "a miracle," her father, Zeb Stinnett, 23, said Saturday. "I want to thank family, friends, Amber Alert and law enforcement officials for their support during this time," he said. Montgomery remained in jail Saturday on federal charges of kidnapping resulting in death. FBI officials would not reveal the location of the facility where Montgomery is being held, but said she is expected to have her initial court appearance Monday.

It is uncertain whether that will be in Kansas, where she was arrested, or in Missouri, where she was charged. The investigation remains open, but officials "don't anticipate any additional charges in the next 48 hours," said Jeff Lanza, a spokesman for the FBI's Kansas City, office. Investigators said they tracked Stinnett's missing baby to a rural farmhouse in Melvern, where Montgomery lived with her second husband, Kevin. Neighbors said there were six offspring in the Montgomery house, all from previous relationships. It was unclear how many, if any, were Lisa Montgomery's children.

Saturday, there was an outpouring of sympathy for Stinnett, who friends described as a gentle, quiet woman who adored animals. People from Oklahoma, Norway, On Saturday, two rat terrier dogs, the. kind bred by Stinnett, barked to keep visitors away from the two-story house and farm machinery parked in the barn lot. No one responded to a knock at the door. Residents said Lisa Montgomery had not been in town more than two or three years and was, to their way of thinking, new to the community.

Her husband's father, according to townspeople, was once a member of the Melvern City Council. When Montgomery took the baby to the First Church of God on Friday, people there doted on her. The baby was beautiful, said Kathy Dewey, a church songlead-er, who hugged and kissed the child. Montgomery chose the name Abigail, because she "wanted a name from the Bible," Dewey said. The biblical Abigail, who is mentioned several times in the book of Samuel, is described as a clever and beautiful woman beset by troubles, ignorance and aggravation Dewey said she suspected something wasnt right when Montgomery described the child's birth.

"She said she went shopping, had the baby in Topeka and then drove herself home," Dewey said. "I thought, This is Kevin Montgomery told authorities that when he got home from work at 5:15 p.m. Thursday, his wife called to say she'd been shopping in Topeka, had gone into labor and delivered a baby at the Birth and Women's Center in Topeka. When investigators checked later, they learned there were no births at the center Thursday. Kevin Montgomery told detectives he and his two children, a ninth-grader and a high school senior, met Lisa Montgomery in the parking lot of a Long John Silver's restaurant in Topeka and drove her and the baby home.

By 3:30 p.m. the next day, authorities had the infant in their custody. "This is not something you expect here," said Kathy Sage, owner of the Whistle Stop Cafe on Main Street, where the Montgomerys ate breakfast Friday. This is something you read in the newspaper happened in California or New York." Neighbors said Lisa Montgomery was friendly, but usually kept to herself. They said she worked at the Casey's Carry Out Pizza in Lyndon, the county seat located about 15 miles up the road.

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