Pregnant woman, 22, found dead after unborn baby cut out of womb

A woman has been charged after a 22-year-old pregnant mother was found dead with her unborn child cut from her womb, police say.

The deceased woman, identified by family as Reagan Hancock, was found inside her home in New Boston, in the US state of Texas, on Friday morning (local time), New Boston Police Department said in a release.

Investigations indicated an unborn child had been forcibly removed from her body.

Ms Hancock was about seven and a half months pregnant, Texarkana Gazette reported.

Police in Idabel, Oklahoma, allege a woman presented to a hospital with the foetus after crossing the border, US news outlet KSLA reported.

The unborn baby girl, who was going to be called Braxlynn, later died in hospital while the woman was arrested and taken into custody after attending officers linked the foetus to Ms Hancock’s death.

In a fundraiser set up for Ms Hancock’s husband Homer and their young daughter on PayPal, its description says the accused was one of Ms Hancock’s friends.

The suspect, reportedly aged 27, allegedly admitted to police she had kidnapped the child after telling her partner she was pregnant in February, McCurtain Gazette-News reported.

She allegedly told police she and her partner had a gender reveal party.

The suspect was later charged with kidnapping and murder of an unborn child, while further charges are expected, KSLA reported.

More than US$37,000 (AU$51,000) has been raised through two separate fundraisers for Ms Hancock’s family.

In a Facebook post, Ms Hancock’s mother Jess Brookes said she discovered her daughter’s body.

“Our Reagan was one of the most precious people you would ever meet. Please I beg keep us in your prayers,” she wrote.

Tributes for the young mother and condolences flooded in on Facebook following the family’s announcement.

“There are no words for something so horrific and tragic,” one person said.

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