North Carolina Man Charged for Killing Pregnant Woman, Baby

State   |   Sarah Terzo   |   Jan 19, 2012   |   8:32PM   |   Charlotte, NC

An ex-convict who killed a pregnant woman will be charged with two counts of murder in the death of the woman and her unborn baby.

Mark Anthony Cox, who was recently released from prison where he served time for robbery and breaking and entering, allegedly killed 22-year-old Danielle Watson, who was pregnant at the time of her murder, during an armed robbery.

North Carolina, where the crime took place, recently passed a law allowing prosecutors to file double murder charges in cases where the victim is a pregnant woman. According to Rep. Dale Folwell, a Winston-Salem Republican, the proposed law was in committee for decades before finally passing. Cox will be the first person charged under this new law.

Folwell told a reporter at the Charlotte Observer, “Obviously, the sponsors of this legislation, including myself, never hoped this day would come.  But we are glad that for the first time North Carolina has joined a lot of the rest of the country to have this tool in the toolbox for district attorneys.”

Police had been summoned to the scene of the robbery by Watson’s fiancé, but there was a delay of several hours because they went to the wrong address. The robbery took place at the Flying Biscuit Cafe, where Watson was the manager. Her body was later found behind a dumpster.

Laws allowing criminals to be charged with an additional count of murder for killing an unborn baby during the slaying of his or her mother have wide support among the public. However, pro-choice groups have consistently opposed them. Organizations such as Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America argue that these laws are a threat to legalized abortion. They oppose any legislation that considers an unborn baby to be a person, even laws that punish violent criminals for killing mothers and unborn children who are very much wanted by their families.

LifeNews.com Note: Sarah Terzo is a pro-life liberal who runs ClinicQuotes.com, a web site devoted to exposing the abortion industry.