PITTSBURGH -- Authorities say a slain pregnant woman may have been alive and was possibly drugged when a baby was ripped from her womb, allegedly by a Wilkinsburg woman who tried to pass the infant off as her own.

Andrea Curry-Demus was arrested last week when doctors discovered the newborn baby she took to a Pittsburgh-area hospital wasn’t hers.

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According to police, Curry-Demus told them she befriended a pregnant woman named “Tina” and arranged to buy the baby for $1,000 after she miscarried in June.

While in jail on endangering the welfare of a child charges, a decomposing and mutilated body was found in Curry-Demus’ Ella Street apartment on Friday, police said.

On Sunday, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner confirmed the body to be that of Kia Johnson, 18, of McKeesport.

Dr. Karl Williams' office said they needed to use dental records to positively identify Johnson.

Police said Johnson’s hands and feet were bound with duct tape, and her face was covered with a plastic material that had also been secured with duct tape. Her uterus was cut open and a placenta was recovered at the apartment, too, police said.

Johnson was 36 weeks pregnant, authorities said. Allegheny County Police Superintendent Charles Moffatt said a "very sharp instrument" was used to cut open her belly.

On Monday, Assistant Superintendent James Morton said he did not know if the item used to cut Johnson was among evidence seized from her apartment.

The Allegheny County medical examiner, Dr. Karl E. Williams, was unable to provide a specific cause of death or say whether she had been alive when the baby was removed.

"Obviously, there is a certain window of opportunity the baby is dependent on the mother being alive. How long that window of opportunity is, I can't say exactly," he said at a news conference Saturday.

Police have since filed criminal homicide, kidnapping and unlawful restraint charges against Curry-Demus.

Police said Curry-Demus and Johnson met while visiting separate inmates at the Allegheny County Jail.

Video surveillance at the jail shows Curry-Demus talking with Johnson for several minutes Tuesday afternoon, authorities said. The women were at the jail visiting different inmates, police said.

Investigators believe Johnson is the mother of the child Curry-Demus tried to pass as her own last week. Further tests needed to be completed to confirm that relationship, authorities said.

The body "was in a state of moderate decomposition" and appeared to have been dead for about two days before it was found, said Williams.

Famed pathologist and former Allegheny County coroner Dr. Cyril Wecht said evisceration means to cut into the abdomen and remove organs and tissues.

"Obviously, they did so to get to the baby," he said.

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A memorial fund for raising the child has been set up by Johnson’s family.

Kia Johnson Memorial Fund PNC Bank
560 Lysle Blvd
Mckeesport, PA 15132