By AP/KWMU
Kansas City, Mo. – The federal death penalty trial for Lisa Montgomery gets under way Monday in Kansas City.
Prosecutors hope to prove that Montgomery's desperation for a baby led her to plan the December 2004 killing of 23-year-old Bobbie Jo Stinnett of Skidmore, Missouri.
Stinnett was eight months pregnant when she was killed. Montgomery has pleaded not guilty.
Stinnett was strangled, and a kitchen knife was used to cut the baby from her womb. The baby survived.
Montgomery's lawyers have said they plan to use an insanity defense.
Opening arguments are scheduled for Thursday morning. The trial is expected to take a month.