The Associated Press
R A V E N N A, Ohio, Oct. 5 — A baby boy police say was
cut from the womb of his dead mother left the
hospital today, wrapped in a black and white
blanket.
Jon Andrews, husband of the slain woman, carried the
child he has named Oscar out of Robinson Memorial Hospital
and left for the house of an unidentified relative.
The child, wearing a black and white knit hat, cried
briefly as a nurse and others worked to strap him into a car
seat.
Test results are still pending to confirm that Andrews, 23,
is the father of the infant found in the house where police
say Andrews’ wife, Theresa, was killed. However, authorities
say all evidence points to the child being his baby.
“This is probably the best thing, under the
circumstances,” police Chief Randall McCoy said of the
baby’s release from the hospital. The test results are
expected Friday.
Andrews’ attorney, Nicholas Phillips, said the family will
be in seclusion with the baby until Sunday, the day of Ms.
Andrews’ funeral.
Infant Is ‘God’s Gift,’ Says Father
Jon Andrews “asked to me to mention to everyone that
young Oscar is God’s gift to the world, as well as Theresa’s
gift,” Phillips told reporters gathered outside the hospital.
The 8-pound, 6-ounce infant was found late Monday at
the house of Michelle Bica, 39. Authorities say Bica
pretended to be pregnant, then abducted and killed
23-year-old Ms. Andrews, and took the child as her own.
Bica killed herself as police arrived to question her about
Ms. Andrews’ disappearance. Authorities then found the
pregnant woman buried in Bica’s garage.
The coroner said Ms. 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, Detective Greg Francis
said Wednesday.
The heavyset Michelle Bica told her husband, Thomas,
the baby was theirs and that she had given birth while he
was working, Francis said Wednesday.
Prosecutor Victor Vigluicci said the baby probably was
delivered Sept. 27, the day Ms. Andrews disappeared in
Ravenna, a city of about 12,000 some 30 miles southeast of
Cleveland.
Ms. Andrews had paged her husband at work and said a
woman had called inquiring about a vehicle they were trying
to sell.
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.
Mysteries Remain
Since Bica’s suicide, investigators have not been able or
willing to say:
Whether Michelle Bica planned the baby theft or acted
impulsively;
What knife or other instrument she used and whether it
was found;
How she managed to take the victim’s body from her
house to her detached garage about 10 feet away in daylight
and bury it without anyone knowing.
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. |
