Verna McClain Nurse 'who killed mother and stole baby' in court

The nurse who gunned down a new mother and snatched her three-day-old baby outside a doctor's clinic so she could raise him as her own has appeared before a judge.

Vea McClain, 38, appeared before a Montgomery County judge wearing a pink and white striped jumpsuit and, when asked if she understood the capital murder charge against her, replied: 'Yes, sir.'

McClain, who recently suffered a miscarriage, is accused of fatally shooting Kala Golden Schuchardt, 28, on Tuesday afteoon in Spring, Texas before fleeing with her son Keegan Schuchardt.

'Killer': Vea McClain, 38, appeared in a Montgomery County court on Thursday to say she understood the capital murder charges against her after she allegedly shot a new mother and stole her baby

It has now emerged that McClain, a registered nurse and mother of two, had suffered a miscarriage but did not tell her fiance, who she planned to marry in May, the Houston Chronicle reported.

Instead, she told the man that she had given birth to their baby. Investigators claim she was looking for a baby to present as theirs, and had picked Kala at random after seeing her outside the clinic.

Her sister also told authorities that McClain had told her she was planning to adopt. She added that once McClain had snatched Keegan, she said she had the baby and needed 'to do the adoption'.

Ms Golden was walking to her pick-up truck after a check-up with Keegan around 2 p.m., when a woman in a 2007 Lexus parked in the adjacent spot starting fighting with her, police said.

Appearance: Court appointed attoey Steve Jackson, left, talks with McClain in the courtroom

 

Shackled: McClain, who told her fiance she had given birth before she took the child, is transported to prison

After shooting the 28-year-old mother at close range, McClain allegedly placed the baby in her car and sped off, hitting Kala as she shrieked 'my baby!' from the ground. She died shortly after.