HILLSBORO — An Oregon woman obsessed with having a baby pleaded guilty Wednesday to the murder of a pregnant woman whose unborn child was cut from her abdomen after she was bludgeoned to death.

Korena Roberts, 29, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Her plea means she won’t face trial and a possible death sentence.

She was accused of beating 21-year-old Heather Snively with a collapsible police baton in June 2009 and using a straight razor to open Snively’s abdomen.

Roberts’ boyfriend found her in the tub with a lifeless infant that doctors determined had never drawn a breath. It was due two months later.

Body in crawl space

Officers found Snively’s body in the crawl space of Roberts’ home.

For months before the killing, Roberts told neighbors she was pregnant, going so far as to acquire a stroller, baby formula and parenting magazines.

A few weeks before the killing, Snively moved to Oregon from Maryland to be with her fiance. Detectives have said they believe Roberts and Snively met through an online classified service where both were looking for baby clothes.

Roberts had attempted to contact other pregnant women through Craigslist and by telephone before making the connection with Snively, District Attorney Bob Hermann said in court Wednesday.

During a bail hearing last November, Roberts’ attorney said she had given birth to a stillborn child in 2007 and seemed obsessed with babies, repeatedly watching videos of births on YouTube, sewing baby clothes and telling people for about a year that she was pregnant.

Roberts’ boyfriend, Yan Shubin, told police he called 911 on June 5, 2009, after coming home and finding Roberts with a baby covered in blood.