Woman charged with cutting open pregnant neighbor to steal baby

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- A Pennsylvania woman is accused of beating her pregnant neighbor with a baseball bat, driving her to a secluded area and cutting her belly in an attempt to steal her baby.

Police say the attack on Valerie Oskin was stopped before her baby was taken because a 17-year-old boy on an all-terrain vehicle came across the women in a wooded area northeast of Pittsburgh.

Oskin's baby is in stable condition after being delivered by an emergency Caesarean section, and Oskin is in the trauma ward at Allegheny General Hospital. Oskin was believed to have been in her third trimester.

Charges against Peggy Jo Conner include attempted homicide.

Police say the pregnant woman was cut over an old Caesarean scar and probably would have bled to death had the teenager not come across them when he did.

They say Conner told the boy that Oskin was fine. Still, he called his father, who notified police.

(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)