On This Date in Crime History: Baby Boy Hope murder 2/5/1999

23 Responses

alanna, on November 3, 2006 at 3:15 pm said:

I just watched the Oprah and Jessica interview. I was very upset after seeing her interaction with Oprah and her explanation of the terrible crime. She had the most irritating voice known to man and always seemed on the verge of tears, although at no point in time did one fall down her face. Quite the performance of guilt and remorse.

I will not go as far to wish she were dead or anything close to as vengeful. That is not the purpose of my post. I just feel distraught after watching the interview, and I am interested to hear if others feel the same.

I will take the opportunity to question her remorse. Is it that she is sorry she killed and disposed of her child, or that she was caught for doing so?

She was a young girl who murdered her child. To refuse murder is irrisponsible. Why stab a child who was birthed still-born? It makes no logical sence. Shock is no excuse. She had months to prepare for the birth. She knew she was pregnant. She had to expect to give birth at some point. She was sitting at the dinner table having dinner with her family 30 minutes after the birth and acted normal enough so not to let on anything was out of the ordinary. Shock?

In my opinion, as flippant as it may sound; she was a girl who was terrified that her cheerleading outfit wouldn’t fit, and now is a young girl who is upset that she can’t wear one in prison. Is she sorry about the dead child? After that interview, I don’t believe so.

What do others think?

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Rosemary, on November 30, 2006 at 8:15 pm said:

I have just watched the jessica and oprah interview in Australia on Dec 1st 2006.
Who are we to judge her?. I don’t agree with Alanna’s comments at all and feel that none of us can possible know what Jessica went through at the time she had her baby and in the time after the birth. It is so easy for us to sit back and say she is this and she is that after the event. Jessica made a terrible mistake that she will have to live with for the rest of her life. I don’t think she was irritating at all, I don’t think she is evil and she spoke with conviction. She deserves a chance to put this behind her now and move forward and hopefully young girls will realise there are options available.
Blame society, blame her boyfriend, blame her parents as well if you must apportion blame but Jessica should not be solely blamed

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Justin, on November 30, 2006 at 8:34 pm said:

In response to Rosemary, that type of thinking is precisely what’s wrong with society. Blame society, blame the boyfriend, blame the parents….because SHE stabbed the baby. How ’bout we start blaming the culprit and stop blaming everyone else? Then maybe things like this won’t happen.

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Rosemary, on November 30, 2006 at 9:15 pm said:

Who said anything is wrong with society? You did and on what do you base this so called theory? I never said that I blamed society, her boyfriend or her parents. There is no denying they all had a role to play in her state of mind. I know that yes she was the one that stabbed the baby and yes she has been punished by the courts but who are you to read into her mind and make judgements about why she did it or why she didn’t do it. None of us will ever know the full story of what happened on that day. And she does deserve a chance to get on with life if you could call it that.

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- Donna, on July 20, 2011 at 10:21 am said:
  
  I’m glad you live in Australia and not in America. Twisted. We don’t have any idea what was on her mind. In America the justice system has to look out for the victim first…the baby. You’re very ignorant to say they all had a role to play in her state of mind and not talk about the role SHE played…her role was MURDERER. Take a bite and chew on that for awhile. Get back with me when it digests. So twisted.
  
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distressed, on November 30, 2006 at 9:54 pm said:

Also having just watched the show in Australia I am quite distressed. I think that she does need to own the truth. If she had said that she stabbed the baby because she didn’t want anyone to find out, rather than she stabbed him because she wanted him NOT to suffer, I may have believed she is sorry for what she did. I think she is sorry for being caught.
Also stating that she believed the baby to be still-born was just something she would have been taught to say as it would have helped her case. It would have been a mitigating circumstance and in effect not her who actually caused the death (possibly).
I think 6 years is too lenient. Any person (regardless of age or lack of mental stability) who can push a knife through a body (dead or not) and then store it in a closet is capable of many other things. I hope that she does not spend a single day where she does not think of what she did and do truly hope that sometime in the future she can really be sorry for what she did.
And yes, where were the tears? Sad, sad story

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Caroline, on December 1, 2006 at 6:56 am said:

I saw this horrible story today on Oprah, here in Oz. I was upset, discusted, outraged, sick, in shock!
I just couldn’t believe that this happened! It is very very sad.
Being a Mother myself and having gone through post natal depression, i still could have NEVER done anything like what Jessica did. This is just horrific!!! She really showed no real emotion, and i think shes only sorry she was caught, NOT for this crime. That poor baby……what she said about not wanting him to feel any pain, is crazy….so does she think stabbing him would be pain free??? Give me a break!
I am still shaking my head over this and asking Why????? why why why????
Her lowlife X boyfriend was just as bad as her.
To also hear her say she wants to have more children one day….OMG!
That makes me feel sick and angry!
A very sad sad story 😦 One i will NEVER be able to forget 😦

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Natalie, on December 1, 2006 at 4:39 pm said:

I too watched this on Opera yesterday (1/12/06) here in Australia, and I can not stop, thinking baout that poor little baby. I am a mother of two and I could not imagine for one second doing that to my baby. I felt that the girl had no remorse what so ever, as stated before she was on the verge of tears but actually never shed any. I was in tears myself watching the interview and for her not to have any at all, was very strange….

I must say though that Opera did such a great interview, she must be given credit for her excellent interview skills.

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rose, on December 10, 2006 at 5:31 pm said:

i realize her mother was like a friend more than a parent. her mother talk to jessica aboutreponsibility of dating and when it comes to sex.the result was a innocent child was killed and a young girl’s who doesn’t have a future. her mother was divorced and had a hard time. But she had to leave her feelings a side and focus on her children. a parent couldn’t be a friend but a parent who shows his/her children who is boss? Who says what to do or not to do? How a child should behave? the most in important think is respect with a parent and the child. Listen to each other. in Jessica case, there was lack of connection with her mother. Wanted to save her relation with her boyfriend. her boyfriend should tell her what she did is wrong? And should tell someone. Her sentence would be light

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Louise (New Zealand), on March 26, 2007 at 7:46 pm said:

Have just watched Oprah and Jessica here in New Zealand. I wholeheartedly agree with Alanna. The girl was faking her grief. I think she is a little hollywood chick, and she might be convincing to some, but not to me. I think Oprah could see right past her act too. She’s not remorseful in my opinion.

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svane, on April 27, 2007 at 4:41 am said:

Do anyone know where I can go to watch the exact oprah-show on the web?

Thanx

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sierra, on June 20, 2007 at 2:54 pm said:

hello,
i am 12.

in the middle of watchin the oprah show… jessica needs to accept what she did and acknowledge that it is wrong. my heart goes out for the baby and wish that it would have lived and gone to a good family.. she is sick for doing what she did. if i would ever get pregnant i would never ever stab my baby… but 1st of all i wouldnt get pregnant cuz i wouldnt have sex. we can blame her but we need to let her try to get better. i feel that she is faking … oprah kept asking about what really happened.

i deeply think that she stabbed baby boy hope because it was deformed and she didnt want to deal with him… the dad is wrong too for not encouraging her to tell someone.. how could she sit through dinner knowing there was a baby upstairs that needed a mother..

i am deeply sorry for the family of jessica… i pray for her and hope she can get her life in order..

sincerly,
sierra…

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Disgusted, on June 20, 2007 at 4:02 pm said:

Sierra,
Your very perceptive for a girl of 12. There are always other options besides murder. Inexcuseable!

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Angela, on June 21, 2007 at 6:36 pm said:

Hi,
My name is Angela and im a 12 year old girl.
I just watched the Oprah show and i must say im shocked.
I myself a 12 year old was crying when i heard about Baby Boy Hope…..It was Jessicas own fault she had a baby…but she didnt have to kill it…i am so worried that if i get prengent at a younge age i wont do what Jessica did…i can understand that it is hard to have a baby at the age of 15…if i was in her stuation 6 years again i would have never killed my baby…i would have ether put it up for aponpettion or cared for it. I am so grossed out that a 15 year old would kill her own baby…..And im shocked cuz now she says i want to have more kids?? crazy
i no that she didnt mean to do it….shes younge so what
but it was wrong and i think she shouldnt have to severe 6 years in prison i think it should be 4 years in prison….her x boyfriend got 2 years in prison cuz he dumoped the body…thats still gross and wrong he should have got 3 years
but i am glad they are put away for a while

rest in peace Baby Boy Hope

with love,
Angela

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Angela, on June 21, 2007 at 6:38 pm said:

RIP BABY BOY HOPE

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Ashley, on June 23, 2007 at 2:04 pm said:

FIRST I WOULD LIKE TO SAY SAY R.I.P BABY BOY HOPE!!!! IM NOT MAKING EXCUSES BY NO MEANS FOR JESSICA BUT SHE WAS VERY YOUNG AT THE TIME BUT AGAIN THAT IS NO EXCUSE FOR HER ACTIONS… BUT EVEN THOUGH SHE MADE A REALLY BIG MISTAKE,, THAT DOES NOT MEAN THAT SHE CANT LEARN FROM HER MISTAKES… WHO R U PEOPLE 2 JUDGE HER FOR WHAT SHE DID. WHEN YOU ALL KNOW THAT YOU HAVE SKELETONS IN YOUR CLOSESTS ALSO. (THEY MAY NOT BE AS BIG AS HERS BUT THERE STILL THERE) ALTHOUGH, I COULD NEVER DO THAT TO MY CHILD BUT WHEN YOUR YOUNG AND YOU HAVE SO MUCH PRESSURE NOT JUST FROM YOUR PARENTS BUT BY YOUR PEERS TOO IT CAN BE ROUGH ON A FEMALE I AM 19 AND I HAVE NEVER BEEN PREGNANT BUT I CAN’T EVEN IMAGINE WHAT WAS RUNNING THROUGH HER MIND AT THE TIME. FROM THE TIME SHE FOUND OUT SHE WAS PREGNANT TO THE TIME SHE ACTUALLY DELIVERED HER BABY YOU OR I KNOW WHAT WAS RUNNING THROUGH HER HEAD SO DONT JUDGE HER OR POINT FINGERS UNLESS YOUR HANDS ARE CLEAN…

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Stephanie, on June 24, 2007 at 12:24 pm said:

all of us go on saying how we are soo upset about this story and we dont really look at wat the girl was going through at that time.. i watched the oprah story.. it was very saddening to even think something like that could have happened, but what if it had been you? would you feel the way that you now feel to this poor girl?!

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Amy, on June 24, 2007 at 1:34 pm said:

What she did was wrong and she needed to get some time for that but people need to take in account, this doesnt excuse what she did, 15 is a difficult and trying age. You’re not a child but not a women. At 15 you are still trying to figure out where you fit into society. To be pregnant and have a baby on top of all that, can be devastating. Not just to the body but to the mind too. She wasnt thinking and she did what she thought was right,no matter how wrong it was. With the right therapy, she can be a productive part of society. This is something that will following her around for the rest of her life.

Stephanie, you are right. No body knows what was going through her mind at the time. I had my first child at the age of 18 and it was difficult for me so I cant imagine what she was feeling at 15 to go through what she did.

I am by no means saying what she did was wrong but let her pay her debt to society and go on with her life.

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Amy, on June 24, 2007 at 1:36 pm said:

OPPs I meant I am by no mean saying what she did wasnt wrong…..

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Amy, on June 24, 2007 at 1:38 pm said:

Caroline,
There is no two people is the world that go through post natal depression the same way. Where some might not do something so horrible others will… Your mind and how you handled it may be different from the way others handle it.

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Misty, on September 18, 2007 at 3:45 pm said:

Having sex then worrying if your pregnat is one of the worst fears a girl can go through.
She must have been in a panic after finding out she infact WAS pregnat.
To all the young ladies, one night of “fun” can never amount to a life long commitment.
BE SMART =)

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sofia rm, on October 9, 2007 at 7:32 am said:

It’s so easy to people judge everyone and other’s acts, as if they were God and perfect persons who would never do nothing wrong in their lifes. She was 15 years old, she hide the pregnancy also because she had not support from her boyfriend and she was affraid to tell her family, the baby borned in pain (because of her boyfriend), and i believe that had cause her atitude when she look the baby face. If her family was there for her, if the boyfriend loved and respected and supported her, if the baby born with no skull problems, everything would be different. She did something wrong, but we cant forget how stupid we were at 15 years old, so stop blaming her. If she didnt suffer all those years, she would not tell to her new boyfriend, and keep that as a secret. She should feel terrible with her self all the 6 six years, in a painful silence, and she deserves to go on with her life. She must take this as a lesson and not as a unforgiven sin, and if she can work with teenagers maybe it would help to dont happen other baby boy hope again. So wash your hands, before blaming people and if no one deserves to live, and restart all over again. Wanna blame her forever and ever? Want to send her to an island to life with her own sin forever? Go yourself to an island to think about your own way of thinking and judge people. Maybe one day its you people who need forgiven from someone.
Sorry for my english, just a girl from Portugal.

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Ebony, on January 22, 2008 at 4:11 am said:

Just because she was 15, it doesn’t excuse what she did to the baby, my mum had my big sister when she was a teen & she had it alot harder then Jessica & did my mum stab her baby, NO!!!
She wasn’t in love with Tom, & he wasn’t in love with her, I should know I’m a 15 year old, we don’t know S*** about real love!!! He was an 18 year old boy & he picked a 15 year old girl coz they are easily persuaded into having sex with them!!!! I mean what did she think waz gonna happen!!!! You have sex & there’z a possibility you’ll get pregnant!!! And now that baby has had to pay for her own stupidity. GRRRRR!!!! I just don’t get & never will get, how she or anyone could stab a beautiful little baby!!! She’z gotta major screw loose!!!!

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