Ripper guilty
Nailed for murder after killing preg pal, taking baby
A BRONX JURY — after deliberating about five hours — found a deranged woman guilty of murder nearly two years after she slit her pregnant friend’s throat and carved her unborn baby from her body.
The panel of seven men and five women issued their verdict in a hushed courtroom just before 5 p.m. Thursday after asking to review a range of evidence and testimony.
Ashleigh Wade was convicted of second-degree murder and kidnapping for performing the crude Caesarean section on Angelikque Sutton (photo, left), 22, after plunging a knife into her multiple times on Nov. 20, 2015. Wade claimed the baby was hers. The killer even pretended she was pregnant before plotting and executing the sickening crime.
Sutton’s mother, Deborah Sutton, and other relatives silently wiped tears from their eyes after the verdict came down.
“Justice prevailed, the truth was revealed and my daughter was avenged,” Sutton said as she hugged her husband.
William Sutton added, “Whatever you write, write something good about my daughter, because she was a beautiful girl, a beautiful girl.”
One juror said she had no trouble finding Wade (photo, right) guilty of murder but felt sympathy for the 24-year-old woman who now faces up to life in prison.
“It's unfortunate because there are no winners here really,” said juror Maggie Santiago, 64. “The child has to live with this.”
Santiago said she felt “horror” when she saw the gruesome images of Sutton’s mangled body shown by prosecutors throughout the trial.
“The case is going to stay with us for a while,” she said. “You have a child that has to go through this every year on her birthday. It’s a horrible thing.”
Wade’s lawyer, Amy Attias, briskly left the courtroom, saying only, “She’s sobbing and she’s sorry.”
The sentencing was set for Oct. 20. Wade faces 25 years to life in prison.
“The facts of this case are unfathomable: A child was yanked from the womb moments after her mother was murdered on her wedding day,” Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said.
“Two years later, that child is a vibrant little girl, a testament to survival and hope.”
Attias told the jury on Wednesday that Wade should be convicted of manslaughter instead of murder. She argued that Wade was acting under extreme emotional disturbance when she stabbed Sutton 20 times on her wedding day and removed the baby, Jenasis.