Prosecutors seek death penalty in Texas kidnapping

October 18, 2012 @ 3:03 pm

Associated Press

HOUSTON (AP) - Texas prosecutors will seek the death penalty against a Houston woman accused of killing a mother and abducting her newborn son earlier this year outside a clinic, authorities said Thursday.

Investigators believe Verna McClain, 31, was desperate for a baby to pass off as her own after suffering a miscarriage. She is facing a charge of capital murder for allegedly shooting Kala Golden-Schuchardt outside a pediatric clinic in suburban Houston and taking her days-old son. The baby was found safe with a relative of McClain.

E. Tay Bond, one of McClain's attorneys, said he was disappointed by the decision from prosecutors and that the death penalty should not be considered in this case because his client has no prior criminal history and would not pose a future danger. He said psychological experts are still reviewing her mental state.

The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office announced its decision to seek the death penalty during a court hearing Thursday. Kelly Blackburn, the lead prosecutor in the case, said his office would not be commenting on what led to the decision, but said prosecutors spoke with Golden-Schuchardt's family about seeking the death penalty.

"They are on board in regards to the decision," he said.

Bond said "if there is a typical capital murder case, it certainly is not this one."

"She's a mother. She has no criminal record. She is a nurse," he said. "There is no evidence that she would pose a future danger to society especially in a state that offers life without parole as an alternative to the death penalty."

Bond said McClain, due to her mental state, was not able to assist in her defense at Thursday's hearing and he expects that to continue.

No trial date has been set. She remains jailed without bond. Her attorney said he believes McClain could go to trial in April or May.

The shooting happened outside the Northwoods Pediatric Center in Spring, about 25 miles north of Houston, where McClain had taken her three children for checkups. Investigators believe Golden-Schuchardt was randomly targeted.

Authorities said the 28-year-old mother was placing her son, Keegan Schuchardt, into her pickup truck when McClain, a vocational nurse, repeatedly shot her, snatched the child and sped off. Golden-Schuchardt died at a hospital. But she was first able to give a description of who had shot her and taken her son.

McClain initially told investigators she had found the baby after it had been left on her doorstep. But authorities say she later confessed.

___

Follow Juan A. Lozano at http://www.twitter.com/juanlozano70


(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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Comments (4)


  • Add A Comment

  • Newton wrote...
    My god how insane.
    April 17, 2012 9:33 pm
    What kinda animal could do such an act.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • MagneticPatriot wrote...
    Where are the NAACP and all the other band wagon jumpers?
    April 19, 2012 6:26 am
    So this apparently white guy Zimmerman shoots Trayvon Martin, a black youth, and people come out of the wood work to protest. This whack job (a black woman) kills a white woman, steals her baby and nothing…

    NAACP - This is exactly why no one cares except you. Either you care for both and comment on them equally or your seen by people as a raciest organization only commenting on white on black crime and not black on white crime.

    And you have to wonder what the problem is?

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Snout wrote...
    The NAACP will show up when
    April 19, 2012 11:59 am
    this "lady" is sentenced to death. Texas has the death penalty and as Ron White put it, "We USE it."
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • gb1118 wrote...
    They will find....
    April 23, 2012 9:10 am
    Some "chemical imbalance" or some type of "depression" to get this "woman" off. Women can't be held responsible for murder, it's always something else fault.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }