CONCORD, N.H. – The boyfriend of the woman accused of kidnapping a baby girl who had been cut from her murdered mother's womb says he was convinced he was the infant's father.
Alex Dion, who was with Julie Corey when she was arrested in New Hampshire on Wednesday, tells the Boston Herald that Corey told him she was pregnant shortly after a breakup in October.
He says Corey told him she gave birth early on July 24.
Dion says he thought he had a "brand-new daughter" and was surprised when police with guns drawn surrounded the car that he, Corey and the baby were in outside a New Hampshire homeless shelter.
Dion was released after questioning. Corey, 35, remains jailed. Authorities are investigating the death of 23-year-old Darlene Haynes, whose mutilated body was found Monday in her apartment.
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Meanwhile, several people are seeking custody of the baby, a prosecutor said.
Corey of Worcester, Mass., was ordered held on $2 million bail in New Hampshire on Thursday, one day after being found with a 4-pound baby girl at a homeless shelter.
She is accused of kidnapping the infant carried by Haynes, a mother of three who was eight months pregnant.
Authorities say she had head trauma, but an exact cause of death has not been determined. It was not until an autopsy that authorities discovered the fetus was missing.
Neighbors say Corey and Dion used to live in the apartment building where Haynes' body was found.
Dion's relatives told the Telegram & Gazette of Worcester that they met the baby at a family gathering Saturday, and something didn't seem quite right. They told the newspaper Corey said she had been in labor for 20 minutes and returned home five hours later.
She appeared to be breast-feeding under a blanket although there was a bottle of formula nearby. The baby's umbilical cord also did not look like it had been cut by a doctor and was tied with a ribbon, not a clamp, they said.
Corey said little during a hearing Thursday in Concord District Court, where she appeared via video from jail. Judge Gerard Boyle ordered all police affidavits in the case sealed and scheduled a hearing for Aug. 30.
Corey has not been charged in Haynes' death, and Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. said investigators are still trying to determine who was involved.
Corey and Dion knew Haynes through Roberto Rodriguez, her estranged boyfriend and father of her 18-month-old daughter, who is now in state custody.
Relatives say Haynes had two other children, Jasmine, 5, and Lillian, 3, who are being raised by her mother.
The baby was in good health and is in the custody of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families, Early said. A custody hearing is scheduled for Monday in Worcester Juvenile Court. Early said several people are seeking custody of the baby.
Haynes' uncle Karl Whitney, acting as a family spokesman, said it was too early to condemn Corey.
"At this point in time, I've got to be grateful to her because she kept the baby alive," he said.
Corey, Dion and the baby arrived at the homeless shelter in Plymouth, about 40 miles north of Concord, Tuesday night, director Catherine Bentwood confirmed. She said the girl looked comfortable. Corey identified herself as the mother and agreed to have the baby seen by a local pediatrician.
Bentwood said the shelter received a call about Wednesday afternoon asking if staffers could keep Corey there. Officers arrived shortly afterward and arrested her.
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