Lisa Montgomery: who is the first woman to get the US federal death penalty in nearly 70 years - and what happened to her victim Bobbie Jo Stinnett?

Lisa Montgomery murder of Bobbie Jo Stinnett in 2004 was described as “especially heinous”

Lisa Montgomery was found guilty of killing Bobby Jo Stinnett (Wyandotte County Sheriff)

The US is to execute a woman for the first time since 1953, the Justice Department confirmed over the weekend.

Lisa Montgomery murdered pregnant woman Bobbie Jo Stinnett in 2004 before cutting out and removing her baby.

US Attorney General William Barr described the murder as "especially heinous”.

Montgomery’s move on to death row comes a year after Trump gave the green light for the resumption of federal executions.

Who is Lisa Montgomery?

In 2004 Lisa Montgomery visited the home of Bobbie Jo Stinnett to buy a dog.

According to the Department of Justice Montgomery then attacked a heavily pregnant Ms Stinnett.

A description of events reads: "Once inside the residence, Montgomery attacked and strangled Stinnett - who was eight months pregnant - until the victim lost consciousness.

"Using a kitchen knife, Montgomery then cut into Stinnett's abdomen, causing her to regain consciousness. A struggle ensued, and Montgomery strangled Stinnett to death. Montgomery then removed the baby from Stinnett's body, took the baby with her, and attempted to pass it off as her own."

In 2007 Montgomery was found guilty of kidnapping resulting in death with a jury recommending a death sentence.

Public defenders Kelley Henry blamed Montgomery’s death on a history of mental health.

She said: “In the grip of her mental illness, Lisa committed a terrible crime… Yet she immediately expressed profound remorse and was willing to plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence with no possibility of release.

“Lisa Montgomery has long accepted full responsibility for her crime, and she will never leave prison. But her severe mental illness and the devastating impacts of her childhood trauma make executing her a profound injustice.”

When is Montgomery due to be executed?

Lisa Montgomery is due to be executed on December 8 in Indiana by lethal injection.

What happened to Stinnett’s daughter?

Stinnett’s daughter Laura Jo survived the attack and, now 16, has been raised by her father.

Who was the last woman to be executed in the US?

The last woman executed in the United States was Bonnie Heady, in 1953.

She, along with accomplice Carl Austin Hall, was found guilty of kidnapping and murdering Robert “Bobby" Greenlease, the six-year-old son of a wealthy car trader.

Hall shot and killed Greenlease before demanding a ransom of $600,000, which Greenlease’s father paid.

Days after the murder Heady was arrested at her home in Kansas.

She was executed by method of gas chamber in December of the same year.