Baby cut from slain mom’s womb found dead as 5 are arrested in alleged murder-for-baby plot

The remains of the baby girl ripped from her mother’s womb were found in a wooded area in Colombia after investigators arrested five people in the murder-for-baby plot, which authorities said was orchestrated by a woman the victim believed to be a friend.

Hopes that María Camila Potosí’s newborn would be found safe were dashed when one of the suspects charged in the case led officials to the child’s remains.

Potosí, who was eight months pregnant, was killed after meeting Yulieth Angulo for what she believed was a trip to pick up baby supplies, officials said. Angulo, however, had other plans, according to authorities.

In court documents reviewed by The Post, officials allege Angulo paid four members of a local street gang about 4 million Colombian pesos — roughly $1,265 — to kidnap and murder 21-year-old Potosí in order to steal her unborn child.

Pretending to be pregnant herself, Angulo befriended Potosí several months earlier through a city-run program for expectant mothers, authorities said.

On July 16, Angulo accompanied Potosí to a prenatal appointment and then convinced her to get supplies for the baby, investigators said.

Surveillance cameras captured the pair riding away on a motorcycle, with Potosí seated on the back. The mom-to-be was never seen alive again.

Prosecutors allege that Angulo brought her to a house in Cali’s Alto de Polvorines neighborhood, where the four gang members were waiting.

One of the alleged gang members, identified by authorities as Nitzon Mondragón, then attacked and fatally stabbed Potosí.

Investigators believe that the whole group then allegedly worked together to remove the baby from Potosí’s womb, a spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office told The Post.

They then allegedly cleaned the home in an attempt to destroy evidence before suspect Juan José Narváez transported Potosí’s body nearly five miles away to the La Buitrera neighborhood, officials said.

Potosí was found dead by the Meléndez River in La Buitrera, Cali, with at least four stab wounds and her baby removed from her womb on July 20. Her body had been concealed under multiple blankets, authorities said.

Angulo was the first of the group to be arrested after her own family reportedly turned her over to authorities after recognizing her in the video with Potosí, according to El Colombiano and RCN Noticias.

Benavides, the Cali Metropolitan police commander, said all five suspects were arrested Thursday in Cali and Tuluá.

After locating the remains of Potosí’s baby, authorities confirmed the pair to be mother and child through DNA testing, Ariel Emilio Cortés, the director of Colombia’s Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences, told online news portal Infobae.

The five suspects were charged with murder, kidnapping and evidence tampering during a hearing Friday evening. Each of the accused has pleaded not guilty.

Colombian President-elect Adelardo de la Espriella took to X about the horrendous case, writing that “those who committed this act of barbarity do not deserve to be called human.”

He also called on tougher penalties for anyone who is charged and convicted of murdering and abusing children, “so as to guarantee not only swift justice, but also that they never regain their freedom for the rest of their lives.”