Crime and Court Roundup: Milwaukee woman to be sentenced to life in prison for killing a pregnant woman

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A Milwaukee woman will be sentenced to life in prison this afternoon for killing a pregnant woman and her full-term child. 34-year-old Annette Morales-Rodriguez was distraught because she was not physically able to give her boyfriend their own child. So she attacked 23-year-old Maritza Ramirez-Cruz – carved out the victim’s full-term baby – and tried to claim it was hers. It happened in October of last year on a Milwaukee street. Both the victim and her unborn son had died. Morales-Rodriguez was convicted on two counts of first-degree intentional homicide – but the defense said the deaths were reckless and not intentional. The defendant’s lawyers said she should go to prison for no longer than 40 years. The judge can set a possible early supervised release date for Morales-Rodriguez. Prosecutor Mark Williams is not saying what he’ll recommend. Meanwhile, author Anne Speckhard said Morales-Rodriguez has multiple personalities – and she should be in a mental institution instead of prison. Speckhard has written a new book about the case called “Fetal Abduction – The True Story of Multiple Personalities and Murder.” She said she wrote the book because she was troubled by the outcome of the court case. As she put it, “I just wanted justice done.”

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A Janesville man is due in court today on his seventh drunk driving charge, after his vehicle almost hit a Rock County sheriff’s deputy. Officials said the 45-year-old man was speeding early yesterday – and his vehicle crossed the center line and almost collided with the deputy’s oncoming squad car. The officer stopped the car – and officials said the driver looked like he had fresh facial injuries from another accident earlier. They also said the man’s car had heavy damage on its front end. Deputies were not able to determine where the earlier crash had taken place.

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Janesville Police arrested a 54-year-old man yesterday for the murder of his estranged wife. 45-year-old Traci Moyer was found strangled to death in her home early last Saturday – and the suspect, Krystopher Carlisle, was found unconscious next to his wife’s body. He was taken to a hospital, and police said he was the only person-of-interest in their investigation into Moyer’s death. The woman had filed for divorce, and the couple was separated. The husband is facing a possible Rock County charge of first-degree intentional homicide.

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