Baby cut from slain mother released from hospital

Suspect in killing of pregnant Ohio woman commits suicide

In this story: 'She didn't look pregnant' No suicide note RELATED STORIES, SITES

RAVENNA, Ohio (CNN) -- A week-old baby boy who was cut from the womb of his slain mother was released from a hospital Thursday, carried by his father. Michelle Bica, a neighbor who was caring for the child as her own and is suspected in the gruesome crime, committed suicide earlier this week.

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The infant, named Oscar, cried briefly as a nurse and others strapped him into a car seat outside Robinson Memorial Hospital in Ravenna, Ohio.

Neighbors were skeptical when Bica said she had given birth -- so the heavyset woman showed them a baby boy last week to prove it.

But as police pieced together the truth, it now appears that Bica shot and killed Theresa Andrews, a pregnant neighbor, before slashing open the woman's womb and removing the baby in a brutal Caesarean section.

Michelle Bica lied to her neighbors, saying that she had just given birth to a baby boy

Authorities say Bica may have convinced her husband that she was pregnant because of her size.

She told her husband, Thomas, the baby was theirs and that she had given birth while he was working, Detective Greg Francis said Wednesday.

Blood samples from the infant and the presumed father, Jon Andrews, were being analyzed to confirm a genetic match. Results were expected Friday. Coroner Roger Marcial said a tissue sample also was taken from Theresa Andrews during an autopsy to help identify her as the baby's mother.

Bica, 39, killed herself Tuesday as police arrived to question her about the week-old disappearance of Theresa Andrews, who lived a few blocks away.

Andrews' body was later found buried in the dirt floor of Bica's garage, and the 8-pound, 6-ounce baby boy was found alive inside her home.

While Thomas Bica told police he believed his wife's story of giving birth, the couple's neighbors weren't so accepting.

"She kept telling neighbors she was pregnant and we couldn't get over it because she didn't look pregnant," said a woman who lives nearby. "Then, Monday she went over and said, 'Well, here's my baby.'"

Theresa Andrews, who was killed and had her unborn baby taken from her body, with her husband Jon

The coroner said Andrews was shot once in the back and likely died instantly. The .22-caliber bullet matched ammunition in the gun Bica used to kill herself.

Bica left no note of explanation, Francis said.

Prosecutor Victor Vigluicci said the baby probably was delivered September 27, the day Andrews disappeared in Ravenna, a city of about 12,000 some 30 miles southeast of Cleveland.

The baby's due date was October 4.

The day Theresa Andrews disappeared, she had paged her husband at work and said a woman had called inquiring about a Jeep they were trying to sell. After Bica and Theresa Andrews met for a test drive, the pregnant woman was never seen again.

Jon Andrews, a sheet-metal worker, told police that when he got home that afternoon, the vehicle was gone and his wife was missing. Police found the vehicle about a block away and later found the Jeep keys in Bica's purse.

A series of cellular phone calls to the Andrews' house led police to Bica. There was no indication the women had known each other.

Thomas Bica, 41, a county corrections officer, was questioned and released. He had met his wife in 1994 while she served a jail sentence for receiving stolen property, Vigluicci said.

Detroit Bureau Chief Ed Garsten and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Body of missing pregnant woman found with baby forcibly removed
October 3, 2000

Ravenna Police Department

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