Prosecutor will seek death penalty for Verna McClain

By Michelle Homer - Khou.com

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.

Prosecutors, defense attorneys look at Verna McClain's past for answers

By Malini Basu - Khou.com

May 24, 2012

SPRING, Texas— The woman accused of shooting a mother outside a pediatric center and stealing her baby son was back in court Thursday morning.

Verna McClain didn't respond to questions as she shuffled into the courtroom in hand and foot shackles, but she appeared to have tears in her eyes.

McClain, 30, is charged with capital murder for allegedly killing Kala Golden Schuchardt and abducting her 3-day-old baby on April 17.

The baby was found unharmed hours later.

Prosecutors filed a motion in court Thursday to free up information about McClain’s past.

"It’s a case that could carry the death penalty as the ultimate range of punishment. We feel that we have to ask the defense for any information that would help me in my decision to whether or not we are going to seek the death penalty," said Montgomery County District Attorney Bret Ligon.

The defense argues McClain should not get the death penalty because she is a mother of three who may have suffered a mental breakdown on the day of the killing.

Defense experts are interviewing family members to learn more about what could have led to the shooting.

"Back to her grandparents, investigate their lives. Was drug use involved? Mental health issues," said Defense Attorney Steve Jackson.

McClain’s mother and grandmother sat behind her in court Thursday. But her attorney said she still hasn’t seen her three children.

Montgomery County investigators said that McClain had been pregnant with her fiancé’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.

Last month, KHOU 11 News reporter Rucks Russell witnessed a jailhouse visit between McClain and her fiancé Kevin Carter.

The suspect sobbed uncontrollably throughout much of the visit.

"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."

McClain pleaded not guilty last month and remains jailed without bond.

Montgomery County Judge denies bond for Verna McClain

By Kevin Reece - Khou.com

April 23, 2012

CONROE, Texas – A Montgomery County Judge on Monday denied bond for Verna McClain, the woman accused of killing a mother outside of a Woodlands-area pediatric center and abducting the victim’s newborn son.

The judge agreed with District Attorney Brett Ligon that there was enough evidence for a capital murder case and, if the DA chooses, a chance at the death penalty.

"The burden on us is to put forth evidence, that we believe that she would be found guilty of capital murder, but not only would she be found guilty of capital murder but that a jury, if given the task, would in fact come back with a penalty of death. We believe that we met that burden," Ligon said, adding that they have not yet decided if they will actually pursue the death penalty.

McClain, 30, appeared shaky and fidgety – rocking back and forth as she sat for the nearly two-hour hearing.

According to testimony, just hours after she allegedly shot 28-year-old Kala Golden and abducted then-3-day-old Keegan Schuchardt, McClain approached detectives and told them that she’d found the baby on the front steps of her sister's apartment complex and had taken him to another home in Houston for safekeeping.

Det. John Schmitt testified how he first met McClain at the apartment complex, where the getaway car – a powder blue Lexus registered to McClain’s sister – was found.

Schmitt said the Lexus had blood on the driver’s side door, where Golden had fought for her baby.

Detectives also said they found a bloody pair of pants at the apartments, along with a blood-covered cell phone and a .380 caliber Taurus semi-automatic pistol matching the caliber shell-casings found at the shooting scene.

When they pressed McClain further, deputies said she confessed that she was the one who killed Golden and snatched the child.

Keegan was found unharmed that night at a home with McClain’s sister, investigators said.

Still, defense attorneys on Monday asked the judge to grant McClain a bond of $100,000 or less, so she could be released to tend to her own children.

They also indicated that they will challenge the admissibility of McClain’s confession and will have experts evaluate McClain’s mental state. Defense attorneys noted that, so far, police have no witnesses who actually saw McClain in the getaway car.

But Judge Fred Edwards sided with the DA, saying there was enough evidence to hold McClain without bail for what he described as a cold, calculated, premeditated murder. She was sent back to the Montgomery County Jail, where she remained under 24-hour suicide watch.

"I’m disappointed because this is the United States, and bail and bond is a big issue as part of our constitutional protections, and for it to be denied – certainly rare. Certainly rare," defense attorney E. Tay Bond said.

McClain’s next court date has not been set.

Sheriff: Verna McClain took baby to fool fiance'

Khou.com

April 18, 2012

SPRING, Texas – Authorities say a woman accused of killing a young mother and abducting her 3-day-old baby had recently suffered a miscarriage.

Montgomery County investigators on Wednesday said Verna McClain, 30, had been pregnant with her fiancé’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.

"She needed to justify having a child to her [fiancé]," Capt. Bruce Zenor with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said. "And she had led him to believe that she was pregnant and had a child, so she needed a child. She needed to produce a child."

McClain is accused of shooting Kala Golden multiple times outside the Northwood Pediatric Center near The Woodlands Tuesday afternoon and taking Golden’s newborn son, Keegan Schuchardt.

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

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.

Hours after the abduction, detectives who canvassed parking lots in the area spotted a Lexus fitting the description of the killer’s car at the Fawn Ridge apartment complex, located in the 12400 block of Sawmill Rd.

While officers were searching the complex for the missing child, they said McClain showed up and asked to speak to them.

Investigators said McClain admitted to shooting Golden so she could take the baby, and told investigators where Keegan was.

Texas Rangers found the child at a home where McClain’s parents live, around 8:15 p.m. Tuesday. The baby was with McClain’s sister, deputies said. He was not harmed.

The sheriff’s office said that McClain tried to represent Keegan as her own child to family members. Her sister allegedly told authorities that McClain had plans to "do the adoption" after taking Keegan.

Keegan was placed in CPS custody, but was released to unnamed family members late Wednesday morning.

Keegan’s father, Keith Schuchardt, said he did not have his son.

Schuchardt said he hasn’t yet signed Keegan’s birth certificate, complicating the process of getting his child back.

"My son-in-law is trying to get his child, and they got to run background checks on everybody before we can even get our baby back. My daughter’s baby. It was my daughter that was murdered. And it’s just really sad," said Linda Golden, the victim’s mother.

Keith Schuchardt said he was at work when he got the call about the shooting, and by the time he got to the hospital, his wife was dead. He said he didn’t know why anyone would want to harm her.

"It’s just a random thing, I think. 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. I know that," Schuchardt said.

Though initial reports from the scene of the abduction indicated there was a man in the car with McClain, detectives on Wednesday morning said they believe she acted alone.

Still, the investigation was ongoing Wednesday.

Deputies said they were interviewing McClain’s fiancé, who was not named, Wednesday afternoon.

Investigators said it was not clear why McClain chose to take Keegan, who is white, if she intended to pass the child off as her own. Deputies said both McClain and her fiancé are black.

Mother Dies After Being Shot 7 Times and Having Baby Stolen in Kidnapping Plot

By Liz Klimas - TheBlaze.com

April 18, 2012

SPRING, Texas (The Blaze/AP) — The parking lot of a pediatric center near Houston was the scene of fatal abduction Tuesday, but not for the 3-day-old infant who was kidnapped. Kala Marie Golden, mother of Keegan, was leaving the center where she was shot up to seven times and her son snatched.

Although, Keegan was found alive and relatively well, Golden died after paramedics tried to save her. This morning, Montgomery County District Attorney Brett Ligon told ABC’s “Good Morning America” that Verna McClain has been arrested and charged with capital murder.

Witnesses say an argument broke out between Golden and another woman as Golden left Northwoods Pediatric Center in Spring on Tuesday afternoon with her newborn Keegan. The woman shot Golden up to seven times and snatched the baby from her arms before driving away in a blue or light green Lexus, according to witness accounts. Some reports say Keegan was taken from his carseat.

The Houston Chronicle has a more detailed account of the kidnapping and murder. It states Golden, whose married name could be Schuchardt, followed the woman who took Keegan even after being shot and tried to enter the vehicle to retrieve him but was hit by the car as it sped away.

Ligon said McClain’s statement to investigators indicate the shooting was part of a wider plan to kidnap any child and that Golden was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“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.”

He made no mention of a man whom witnesses said they saw in the Lexus that was blood stained on the driver’s side.

Keegan was found unharmed Tuesday evening. Ligon says Child Protective Services are looking after him but that they expect the baby to soon be reunited with his father, Keith Schuchardt.

The Montgomery County Police Reporter has more details on McClain’s possible motive and states she also confessed to the incident:

At an earlier date she told her sister she would be adopting a child soon. After the shooting and kidnapping she contacted her sister and told her she now had the child and would need to do the adoption.

McClain has no prior record and is a licensed vocational nurse registered in the State of California since 2008.

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.

Ligon wouldn’t say where the infant was found, but he said it wasn’t at a nearby apartment complex raided by officers wielding guns and riot shields Tuesday evening. Spring is about 20 miles north of Houston.

Joshua Jesson said he was at the clinic with his girlfriend when he heard gunshots. He said he saw a Lexus next to the pickup truck, then later looked back and saw the car was gone and a woman lying in the spot where the Lexus had been parked.

“I thought she just passed out. Then somebody ran in here and said, `Somebody got shot,’” he said.

Police quickly surrounded the clinic and much of the parking lot with crime-scene tape, and yellow markers were placed next to a purse and pair of brown sandals near a red pickup truck. Spent ammunition also was nearby.

Linda Golden described her daughter as sweet-natured and kind.

“We went everywhere together and did everything together,” she said.

She 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.”