A Tennessee woman shot and killed a Georgia woman who recently gave birth so she could steal her baby to hide her fake pregnancy, police said Wednesday.
Catherine Goins, 37, lured Natalia Roberts to the home of a friend in Ringgold, Ga., on Sept. 19 with the promise of giving her new clothes for her 3-week-old baby, Catoosa County police told Northwest Georgia News. As Roberts was walking down a flight of stairs, Goins took a .380-caliber handgun and shot the mother in the back of her head.
Goins then drove off with Robert's newborn and her other child, a 3-year-old.
The Hixson, Tenn., native was arrested Tuesday and faces a slew of charges, including malice murder and tampering with evidence, the newspaper reported.
"Catherine Goins had been living a ruse that she was pregnant with her most recent boyfriend's baby, but he had recently learned that she was not pregnant and left her," Catoosa County Sheriff Gary Sisk said according to Northwest Georgia News. "Catherine Goins killed Natalie Roberts because she wanted her baby."
Police said after Goins shot the 30-year-old mother, she called her ex-boyfriend Tony Richards, the homeowner, saying she shot an intruder. Richards told Goins to call 911, but Goins ignored him and left the scene with the baby and 3-year-old, investigators said.
Richards remained on the phone with Goins and tried to consoler her and convince her to call 911. Richards eventually called 911 and Goins later returned with the children before police arrived. The ex has not been charged in the case.
Goins told law enforcement she was spooked by noises she heard in the house and ran to the bedroom for the gun. She claimed she stepped into the hallway, saw a "darkened shadow" and open fired, Sisk told the newspaper.
But detectives soon concluded that Gonis plotted to kill Roberts, whom she had never met until the day of the murder.
"Giving her baby clothes was the story used to get her to come back to the house," Sisk said. "She had just met her, saw that she had a baby, and Catherine Goins needed a baby."
