Woman Tries To Kill Pregnant Friend To Steal Her Unborn Baby

An Arizona woman attempted to kill her pregnant friend in order to steal her unborn child, the victim revealed more than a decade after the plot.

Kassandra Toruga admitted to trying to kill her friend, Angelique Robledo, in 2011 so she could cut her open, steal her child and pass off the baby as her own, 7News.com.au reported.

The two had befriended each other the year prior and bonded over being pregnant at 18, according to the outlet.

While Toruga claimed she was three months pregnant, Robledo said she "didn't look pregnant." However, Robledo described her new friend as having "wide hips" and said she had no reason to doubt her.

The two spent time together and discussed their upcoming motherhood until Toruga invited Robledo to hang out on Feb. 16, 2011.

As Robledo was nine months pregnant and "really didn't feel like going out" at the time, she and Toruga stayed at the former's home instead, Robledo said.

Toruga pulled out a bag in the kitchen and asked Robledo to sit down after she revealed she had some presents for her friend's baby.

"She was acting really weird, but I didn't really have a reason not to trust her," said Robledo, who ended up following Toruga's request by sitting on a chair and closing her eyes.

Toruga took gifts from the bag, which included a baby's blanket, a onesie as well as a carry capsule, and dropped them on Robledo's lap.

"I started feeling really bad. This stuff was really expensive," Robledo said.

She and Toruga then went to Robledo's bedroom so they could test out one more gift: a custom-made animal projector light that was supposed to project colorful images onto a room's ceiling and walls.

However, Robledo said she felt like she was in danger after Toruga turned off the lights.

"I know it sounds crazy, but I felt she was going to do something bad to me," said Robledo, who turned the lights back on and went to the kitchen.

Toruga later met up with Robledo and claimed her water had broken. Robledo agreed to give her some dry clothes, and the two went back to the bedroom.

Toruga tried on her friend's dresses, but Robledo later noticed that her wardrobe was on fire.

Robledo filled up pots and pans with water from the kitchen to try to extinguish the blaze while screaming at Toruga to help her.

"I had no idea what Kassandra was doing, but I don't think she was helping put out the fire," Robledo said.

Emergency services arrived later and treated both teens for smoke inhalation.

Robledo told her mother that she believed Toruga tried to stab her and that her friend was also responsible for setting their house on fire.

She also found two butchers' knives and a pair of scissors that were loosely concealed by a newborn's nappy inside Toruga's bag right before the latter was taken to the emergency room.

Police then started investigating Toruga, who was still unaware that her bag's contents had been uncovered.

The fire was started by wax from a candle being poured continuously over clothes in Robledo's wardrobe, investigators said.

Robledo recounted her version of events, and detectives asked her to call Toruga on the phone so they could record her admitting to starting the fire.

"I had to pretend to be her friend and ask her how she was. She had no idea," Robledo said.

Toruga, who was found not pregnant, reportedly confessed to trying to kill her friend so she could cut her open, steal her baby and pass it off as her own after lengthy interrogations and numerous story changes.

She was sentenced to seven and a half years in a mental facility in February 2012.

"[Toruga] had no remorse. She admitted to trying to kill me and steal my baby. There is evil in this world," said Robledo, who felt she was "betrayed by a friend."

Robledo later gave birth to a boy. While Robledo initially feared for her safety when Toruga was released from custody, the married mother-of-two is now at peace after some counseling.

She is now telling her story to raise awareness of fetal abduction, a crime that was reported 18 times in the 33 years leading up to 2016, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.