Man: Pregnant mother didn’t know suspect in attack

MILWAUKEE (AP) — A relative says a pregnant Milwaukee mother did not know the woman whom police say abducted her and forcibly removed the full-term fetus, killing both of them.

Police say a 33-year-old woman removed the fetus from Maritza Ramirez-Cruz’ uterus by force but haven’t elaborated. The woman was arrested after she tried to pass the baby off as her own. She has not been charged.

Carlos Mercado, the grandfather of Ramirez-Cruz’ three children, says she left her home Thursday morning to run an errand and no one saw her alive again. He says Ramirez-Cruz didn’t know the suspect and no one knows why she would have gone with the woman.

Mercado says his son, Christian Mercado, is devastated, and he doesn’t know how his son will raise the other children.