3 Days Old Keegan Schuchardt Found Safe After Woman Kills His Mother Kala Marie Golden, LVN Verna McClain Arrested & Charged With Capital Murder. DP on the table.

Suspect:
Police are looking for a skinny Black, Female wearing grey sweatshirt and blue jeans. The suspect was last heard from in 25230 Burrough Park Drive, Spring, Texas.
Incident Date: 4/17/2012 00:00

Victim:
Name: Keegan Schuchardt
Hair: Unknown
Eyes: Unknown
Ethnicity: White
Age: 3 Day(s) old
Height: 1ft 8in
Weight: 6
Gender: Male

Vehicle:
Make: LEXUS
Model: Unknown
Color: Light Blue
License State:
License Text:
Description: Possibly Lexus

An Amber Alert has been issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety for a three-day-old boy.

Authorities say the infant was last seen in Spring, Texas near Houston.

DPS says the infant's name is Keegan Schuchardt. Keegan is described as a white male, 1'8" tall (20 inches), weighing five pounds.

Authorities say the newborn is wearing a green and white one-piece outfit that snaps between the legs. The outfit has the word "handsome" across the front.

Authorities released the following description of the suspect and vehicle:

Skinny black female, gray sweat shirt and blue jeans fled the scene in a light blue or sea-green four-door newer model vehicle, possibly a Lexus.

If you have any information, please contact the Montgomery County Sheriff's Department at 936-760-5800.

The Amber Alert was issued following a shooting at a pediatrician's office around 2 p.m. Tuesday, in Spring, TX.

Authorities say the newborn's mother died from gunshot wounds at a Houston hospital.

The skinny black female that's described as the suspect is wanted for the mother's shooting death as well.

Officials say three-day-old Keegan was kidnapped from his mother, who was leaving the pediatrician's office mid-Tuesday afternoon.

The suspect reportedly took the child's infant carrier, but did not take the base of the carrier.

The suspect drove southbound on Burrough Park toward I-45 and it is unknown where she traveled from there.

Montgomery County Sheriff's Lt. Dan Norris says the mother went to her pickup truck after a checkup and had a verbal altercation with a woman in a Lexus parked next to her. The woman shot the mother repeatedly and took her baby. The dying mother tried to reach into the Lexus for her child, but it sped away hitting her.

Norris says witnesses reported hearing up to seven gunshots and that a man was in the woman's car. Norris says the driver's side of the car is blood-stained, and the baby was last seen in a one-piece green-and-white outfit displaying the word "handsome."

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I put the picture on the comment after I posted the article, Nite. You're not losing your mind! ;)

An Amber Alert for a three-day-old boy has been canceled after the newborn was found.

According to the Harris County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, the boy, identified as Keegan Schuchardt was found alive in Houston.

According to KTRK-TV in Houston, a person has been detained in this case but no arrests have been made.

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BJ, thanks so much for posting this. I signed up for Amber Alerts and get texts and when I saw this was a 3 DAY old baby, I forwarded the text to BJ as was with the kids at my eldest grandson's baseball game.

I got another text about 20 min ago saying the Amber Alert had been cancelled. Am glad they have someone in custody. WOW. 3 days old!! I bet the parents were freaking. Am going to keep up on this as want to know Who took a 3 day old baby and How.

David J. Phillip / AP
By Isolde Raftery, msnbc.com

Updated at 10:20 p.m. ET: A newborn abducted in the parking lot of a pediatric clinic Tuesday has been found safe, the Houston Chronicle reported. His mother was shot dead during an altercation with a woman who then snatched the child and drove off with him.

Police have detained a person of interest.

The mother, Kala Marie Golden, 28, of Spring, Tex., had taken her 3-day-old son, Keegan Schuchardt to the clinic for a checkup, authorities told the Chronicle.

The Chronicle reported that Golden was getting into her red pickup truck when she and another woman, wearing a gray sweatshirt and jeans, started to argue. The woman then pulled a gun and repeatedly shot Golden, who cried out, “My baby, my baby.”

The shooter placed the baby in her car as Golden lurched forward, trying to grab back her child. The shooter was described as thin, in her late 20s or early 30s, African American and with gold-colored hair.

A man was in the passenger’s seat, witnesses told reporters.

The car, a light green or sky blue Lexus with blood stains, knocked down Golden as it drove off, the Associated Press reported. Golden was transported to a hospital where she died of her wounds, the Chronicle reported.

Baby Keegan, who is white with brown hair, wore a green-and-white onesie with the word, “handsome,” the AP reported.

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Updated at 1 p.m. ET: A Texas woman was charged with capital murder Wednesday after allegedly shooting a mother and snatching her 3-day-old baby in the parking lot of a pediatric clinic, reports say. The newborn was later found safe with the suspect's sister.



The mother, Kala Marie Golden, 28, of Spring, Tex., had taken her son, Keegan Schuchardt, to a clinic for a checkup on Tuesday, when she was confronted by Verna McClain, a 30-year-old vocational nurse, authorities said.

An argument broke out, according to witnesses. "I did see the lady get out, and they were struggling," said Tia Collins.

McClain then shot Golden up to seven times and snatched the baby from her arms before driving away in a Lexus, according to reports. Golden reportedly cried out, “My baby, my baby," and lurched forward to grab her child as the vehicle drove off.

Golden was transported to Memorial Hermann hospital in The Woodlands where she died of her wounds, officials said.

McClain was not employed at Northwoods Pediatric Center in Spring, 20 miles north of Houston, where Golden took her baby for the checkup, clinic receptionist Jackie Longoria told The Associated Press. McClain has three children of her own, said Houston television station

Montgomery County District Attorney Brett Ligon told ABC's "Good Morning America" that McClain's statement to investigators suggests Golden was in the wrong place at the wrong time and that the shooting was part of a plan to kidnap any child she could find, The Associated Press reported.

"There were statements as indicated in the arrest record that were made by Ms. McClain that led us to believe that, in fact, this was an intentional act on her part," Ligon said. "Not that Ms. Golden was targeted specifically, but that this was part of a plan to kidnap a child."

McClain is being held without bail.

Witnesses said they also saw a man in the Lexus that was at the scene, but police said authorities do not believe a second suspect is at large.

Keegan was found unharmed Tuesday evening with McClain's sister, Corina Jackson, at the Harris County home of McClain's parents.

The baby was reunited with family members Wednesday morning after being in the care of Child Protective Services, officials said.

Keegan's father, Keith Schuchardt, told the Houston Chronicle that he learned of the shooting because Golden, who lay dying, asked another woman to call him and tell him what had happened.

He told KHOU he would miss Golden.

"She was sweet, lovable. I loved her, and she loved me," Schuchardt said. "Everything was going fine until today."

He and Golden were married for more than three years and had three young sons, KHOU said.

Golden's mother, Linda Golden, told the AP that she had been baby-sitting another of Kala's sons when someone at the scene called her using her daughter's cellphone. She rushed to the clinic but was unable to see her daughter because paramedics were trying to save her.

"I wanted to kiss her before they put her in the ambulance," Linda Golden said.

Linda Golden said she had no idea what could have sparked the slaying and abduction.

"That's the hardest she's ever fought," Linda Golden said. "She died trying to save her baby."

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This is just so awful!!! And the Mom/Dad has three other children and now they have no Mother. Horrific!!!
I saw the tail end of this on GMA this morning and they were saying that man in the car SHOULD be charged because he was the one who went and got the newborn from the car AFTER the female pulled out the gun and started to shoot. If he was that involved I don't understand why he isn't charged!!!!! I'll look for a link to what I saw and heard. They had NG on with Dan Abrams (I think that's his name) and reluctantly have to say I agreed with NG on what she said.

A nurse accused of killing a Texas mother in a parking lot and stealing her 3-day-old son had suffered a miscarriage and believed she needed to show her fiancé that she had a child, authorities said Wednesday.
A judge refused to allow bond for Verna McClain, 30, a mother of three children.
McClain told her fiancé "she was pregnant and had given birth to a child, by him, said Montgomery County Sheriff's Capt. Bruce Zenor. "She represented this as her child."
Witnesses said Kala Golden, 28, who was shot outside a Houston-area pediatrician's office Tuesday, screamed and attempted to chase after the car with her son inside, CNN affiliate KTRK reported.
The car struck Golden as it left the scene, the station said. She died later at a hospital. Authorities said she had several gunshot wounds to the torso.
McClain is accused of killing Golden and taking 3-day-old Keegan Schuchardt. She was arrested just before midnight Tuesday, according to an arrest report.
She is charged with capital murder, Montgomery County District Attorney Brett Ligon told reporters.
Zenor indicated the attack on Golden was random. A handgun has been recovered, officials said.
Police believe the kidnapping was the motive for the shooting, the report said. The baby was found safe about six hours later at the residence of the suspect's sister, authorities said.
"It was a very emotional event for everybody who was there," Ligon said of the recovery of the infant.
Keegan was initially taken into the custody of Texas Child Protective Services, CNN affiliate KHOU reported.
Golden's husband, Keith Schuchardt, told KHOU he had not yet signed Keegan's birth certificate, which complicated the process of getting his son back.
The baby was returned to him Wednesday after the paperwork was resolved, according to Warren Diepraam, Montgomery County district attorney trial division chief.
Schuchardt told the station he was at work when he got a call regarding the shooting. His wife was dead when he reached the hospital, he said.
"It's just a random thing, I think," he said. "We don't have any enemies. I don't know why anyone would do it. Maybe she lost her baby and wanted a baby ... or to sell him. I want to get my baby back."
According to the arrest report, Golden, carrying Keegan, was leaving the Northwoods Pediatric Center in the Houston suburb of Spring when the incident took place Tuesday afternoon.
"The defendant confronted Mrs. Golden and shot her multiple times in the parking lot," then took the baby and left, the report said.
McClain's vehicle was found at an apartment complex, according to the report.
The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office said detectives began a "systematic canvas and search" of areas near the shooting scene and spied the car at the apartment complex. The detectives questioned residents and examined the vehicle, alerting investigators of their findings.
A SWAT team entered an apartment in the complex to search for the baby, the statement said. McClain returned to the apartment as the investigation was continuing and asked to speak to police, the report said.
"She admitted to shooting Mrs. Golden and taking her baby," the arrest report said.
During an interview with authorities, McClain provided information that only someone at the scene would know, the report said.
Evidence was found at both residences and in the car "that support the arrest of the suspect," the sheriff's office said.
McClain's sister, Corina Jackson, told police her sister had said she would be adopting a child soon.
"After killing Golden and kidnapping Keegan, defendant stated to Corina that she now had the child and would be needing to do the adoption, indicating that the abduction of the child was her motive for killing Golden," the report said.
McClain's oldest child is about 16 and the youngest is 6, Diepraam told CNN.
Authorities said Tuesday that Golden and the woman parked next to her at the doctor's office apparently spoke to one another or argued before the shooting.
"They were talking," witness Tia Collins told KTRK. "I did see the lady get out, and they were struggling." She said she heard gunshots and saw Golden fall.
Collins was among witnesses reporting two suspects at the scene, but the sheriff's office said investigators believe McClain acted alone.
The shooting shocked Houston-area residents. Spring is about 20 miles north of the city.
Jennifer Hartis, a friend of the victim, was one of the many left wondering why.
"She never did anything wrong. She's just a mom doing her best to take care of her kids, and I miss her," Hartis told CNN affiliate KPRC. "Keegan is only 3 days old. He needs to know his mom, and she can't do that now. "
"I'm thinking this is crazy," Frank Johnson of Houston told KHOU. "I'm thinking this doesn't really happen every day in the city. I mean, you hear about a lot of shootings and other types of crimes, but somebody kidnaps a baby, 3 days old, and the mother to be shot? I mean, that's serious stuff. That's really scary."
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CONROE — Attorneys for a Spring woman accused of snatching a 3-day-old baby and fatally shooting his mother say they will request a bail of $100,000 or less for their client, who is expected to plead not guilty at a Monday hearing.
Verna McClain, 30, is charged with capital murder in the death of Kala Golden Schuchardt and is being held in the Montgomery County Jail without bail.
She appeared in court Thursday for a bond hearing, which was delayed until Monday to give her attorneys time to review the case.
Authorities say McClain killed 28-year-old Schuchardt Tuesday afternoon in the parking lot of Northwoods Pediatric Center in Spring, before placing the woman's newborn, Keegan Schuchardt, in her car and speeding off.
McClain has confessed to the shooting and abduction, officials said.
Deputies found the boy unharmed around 8 p.m. Tuesday at a home in northwest Harris County where McClain told detectives she had taken him.
Montgomery County Sheriff's Detective John Schmitt said McClain, a vocational nurse, appeared remorseful for what happened when talking with detectives.
McClain's attorney, E. Tay Bond of Conroe, said that while showing remorse usually means people are admitting they had something to do with the crime, “we're certainly not at that stage.”
In court Thursday, Judge Fred Edwards appointed Bond and Conroe attorney Steve Jackson to represent McClain. The judge also asked McClain if she understood the capital murder charge against her. She replied: “Yes, sir.”
He also asked if she had any assets or owned a car or house. McClain, who has three children and recently suffered a miscarriage, replied, “No sir.”
Montgomery County District Attorney Brett Ligon has the option to pursue the death penalty but said he would not make a decision until all evidence in the case has been presented.
McClain is being held in a 24-hour holding cell. Bond said he is concerned about her mental condition but did not know if she was suicidal.
He described his client as “confused, mumbling and visibly upset” when he met with her Wednesday night. He said he will have her evaluated after she has had to time “soak in some of this.”
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Verna McClain is escorted by Montgomery County Sheriff officers to a prison transport van from the Montgomery County Courthouse in Conroe, Texas, after her hearing Thursday, April 19, 2012. McClain is charged with capital murder in the shooting death of Kala Golden, as well as the kidnapping of her 3-day-old son, Keegan Schuchardt.

(CBS/AP) CONROE, Texas - A judge has denied bond for Verna McClain, the nurse accused of fatally shooting a young mother in suburban Houston and kidnapping the woman's newborn son.

McClain, 30, did not speak at a Monday bond hearing in Conroe, Texas. Montgomery County District Attorney Brett Ligon argued the nurse committed a cold, calculated and premeditated murder.

Defense Attorney E. Tay Bond had asked for a bond of $100,000 or less for McClain.

The shooting last week outside a pediatric center north of Houston killed 28-year-old Kala Golden. Her 3-day-old son Keegan Schuchardt was then abducted but found safe hours later with McClain's sister.

The nurse had recently suffered a miscarriage, according to authorities. Officials in Montgomery County say McClain had told her fiance' she had given birth to his child. The sheriff's office said Wednesday that McClain tried to represent Keegan as her own child. Her sister allegedly told authorities that McClain had plans to "do the adoption" after taking Keegan.

Montgomery County Sheriff's Detective John Schmitt said McClain, who authorities say has admitted shooting Golden and stealing the baby, does "appear remorseful for what happened."

The kidnapped baby has been returned to his family, according to his father, Keith Schuchardt, who said he had been married to Kala Golden for three years.

McClain is a vocational nurse who has three children. She is estranged from the children's father.
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What started out as an Amber Alert turned into a horrific, unspeakable crime!! I hope this woman gets the Chair!

A Houston nurse accused of fatally shooting a mother and then kidnapping her newborn baby has now been formally charged with capital murder by a Montgomery County grand jury.
The grand jury indicted Verna Deann McClain, 31, on Tuesday, alleging that McClain murdered Kala Golden Schuchardt, 28, of Spring, outside a pediatric clinic as Schuchardt was leaving with her newborn son, Keegan.
If convicted, McClain could face the death penalty or life in prison without parole. Montgomery County District Attorney Brett Ligon has made no decision yet on seeking the death penalty, according to a press release from the District Attorney’s Office.
While McClain’s defense attorneys, E. Tay Bond and Steve Jackson, are still developing their defense, they “stand firm in our belief that a sentence of death is not warranted,” Bond said late Tuesday afternoon. “The community dealing with one death is enough, and another death would not serve any end for justice.”
McClain, who is being held without bond in the Montgomery County Jail, allegedly shot Kara Schuchardt multiple times before snatching 3-day-old Keegan from his mother’s arms as they left the pediatric clinic April 17.
The baby was found safe hours later at the home of McClain’s sister on FM 1960 in Harris County after McClain approached investigators when police converged at the Fawn Ridge Apartments, where she was living at the time.
She initially presented herself as a witness, but officials said her story “began to fall apart” and she confessed to Keegan’s location.
Officials believe McClain acted alone and was the only person responsible in the shooting and abduction.
McClain, a licensed vocational nurse with no apparent criminal history, allegedly took Keegan Schuchardt because she reportedly had a miscarriage not long before the shooting and abduction, and she allegedly was trying to convince her fiance she was pregnant.
While McClain’s car was parked next to Kara Schuchardt’s car in the parking lot of the Northwoods Pediatric Center in Spring – where McClain allegedly took her own children – law enforcement officials have said the shooting of Kara Schuchardt and abduction of her baby appeared to be a “random choice” on McClain’s part.
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The Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office will announce Oct. 11 whether prosecutors will seek the death penalty against Verna Deann McClain, the woman accused of shooting and killing a Spring mother and abducting her newborn son in April.
McClain was in court Thursday morning so prosecutors and her defense could set a date to meet and discuss evidence. That meeting will be in early October, attorneys said, and McClain’s next court date is Oct. 11 in the 9th state District Court of Judge Fred Edwards.
Defense attorney Tay Bond said he and co-defense counsel Steve Jackson will meet with lead prosecutor Kelly Blackburn and District Attorney Brett Ligon to talk about evidence and that the state likely would announce its death penalty decision Oct. 11.
Blackburn confirmed he and Ligon will make their decision known that day in court.
The state has turned over 800 pages of police reports in addition to numerous videos, including witness statement videos, Jackson said.
“We have to go through it all,” he said. “It’s very time consuming.”
McClain, 31, a licensed vocational nurse with no previous criminal history, allegedly shot Kala Golden Schuchardt, 28, of Spring, several times at the Northwoods Pediatric Center off Sawdust Road in Spring, took 3-day-old Keegan Schuchardt from his mother’s arms and fled.
Montgomery County Sheriff’s detectives located the car in which McClain allegedly fled at a nearby apartment complex where McClain lived, but no one was inside the apartment.
However, McClain allegedly appeared at the apartments and presented herself to investigators as a witness, investigators previously said. Her story, however, fell apart, and she allegedly confessed to taking Keegan to her sister’s home in Houston.
Investigators located the baby at the home, unharmed.
McClain allegedly took Keegan Schuchardt because she reportedly had suffered a miscarriage a short while earlier and was trying to convince her fiance she was pregnant.
Keegan Schuchardt is white, and McClain and her fiance are black. McClain’s attorneys have previously said there could be aspects of drug use and mental illness in McClain’s case.
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October 18, 2012

SPRING, Texas— The Montgomery County District Attorney will ask for the death penalty for Verna McClain.

McClain, 30, is accused of killing Kala Golden Schuchardt and abducting her 3-day-old baby outside a Spring pediatric clinic last April.


Montgomery County investigators said that McClain had been pregnant with her fiance’s child and the couple was planning to marry in May. But after she suffered a miscarriage, investigators said McClain decided to find another child and convince her fiancé it was his.

Investigators said McClain went to the Northwoods Pediatric Center Tuesday specifically to find a woman with a baby.

"We think she knew the patterns of the pediatric center because she’d taken her children there in the past," said Lt. Dan Norris with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.

Kala Golden had taken her baby to Northwood Tuesday for a checkup. When she returned to her truck, McClain was waiting with a handgun, according to authorities.

"An altercation erupted with the suspect. The suspect shot Kala several times, then took the child from the pickup," said Montgomery County Sheriff Tommy Gage.　

Despite her wounds, deputies said Golden tried to get the baby away from McClain. The suspect　hit the dying mother with her car as Golden reached into the Lexus screaming, "My baby!" according to Norris.

An Amber Alert was quickly issued for Keegan, and Golden was rushed to Memorial Hermann in The Woodlands, where she died.

Keegan was found unharmed hours later with McClain’s sister.

McClain was arrested and remains jailed without bond.

In an interview with KHOU 11 News a few weeks after the shooting, McClain spoke about the crime.

"One day, I’m a law abiding citizen, a mother who’s never done anything wrong. The next, I’m a monster," she said.

McClain was despondent throughout much of the jailhouse interview, breaking down and sobbing uncontrollably in the room.

"I’m nothing like what these people are making me out to be. I’m the same person everybody knows and loves," said McClain. "Don’t sit and look at me as if I’m some sort of monster. I’m not. Until you know the facts, don’t sit and judge."

"Right now, I’m so paranoid I don’t know who to trust," said McClain. "Mentally, I’m borderline."

McClain's mother said recently she doesn't believe her daughter will get a fair trial.

"I don’t believe Verna’s guilty. There’s laws that constitute people like Verna not being guilty,” Jeannette Jackson said.

The victim’s husband, Keith Schuchardt, reacted strongly to Jackson’s remarks.

“With what McClain did, my wife didn’t have a fair trial either,” he said. “She didn’t even have a chance.”

McClain's trial date has not been set.


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