Bio

Julie Corey was born in 1974 and lived in Worcester, Massachusetts. She was a mother of five children. At the time referenced in the reports, she had partial custody of one child.

Medical records and testimony said Corey had been pregnant eight times. She had a tubal ligation operation at one point, but the procedure was unsuccessful and she remained able to become pregnant. A hospital record from April 2009 showed she was about 30 weeks pregnant and had visited UMass Memorial Medical Center complaining of pain.

Friends and family knew she was pregnant in 2009. She had a baby shower in May of that year. People who saw photos from the shower described her and her then-boyfriend, Alex Dion, opening gifts together.

Corey and Alex Dion had an on-and-off relationship that had lasted about two years. Dion and his family believed the child was theirs. Dion’s family held a cookout to welcome the baby and they planned to name her Alida Nevaeh.

Documents found in a car linked to Corey showed she used the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program. A WIC card in her name had an upcoming expiration date and a letter from the program urged her to attend an appointment and to bring a newborn’s birth certificate to maintain benefits.

Murder Story

On July 23, 2009, 23-year-old Darlene Haynes, who was eight months pregnant, was killed in her Worcester apartment. Authorities said she had been beaten and strangled with an electrical cord. Her abdomen had been cut and the baby was missing.

Haynes' body was found wrapped in a comforter and placed in a bedroom closet. Her body was discovered four days after the killing.

A search for the missing infant followed. The baby was found a few days later at a homeless shelter in Plymouth, New Hampshire with Julie Corey and Corey's then-boyfriend, Alex Dion. Julie Corey said she had delivered the baby.

Police arrested Corey six days after the murder. DNA testing showed the baby was the child of Roberto Rodriguez, Haynes' boyfriend.

Corey went to trial in Worcester Superior Court. The jury found her guilty of first-degree murder after about a day of deliberations. On February 18, 2014, she was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Prosecutors said Corey killed Haynes to take the baby and present the child as her own. They said Corey had recently lost a pregnancy and needed a baby to keep a relationship and certain benefits. Corey's lawyers said she did not kill Haynes and questioned the police investigation. They noted that Corey was found with the baby but did not call her to testify.

Haynes' father attended the sentencing and held his daughter's ashes. A statement from Haynes' nine-year-old daughter was read in court. The baby survived and later lived with her biological father.