PITTSBURGH — A woman accused last week of slicing open a pregnant woman's belly and taking her baby was obsessed with getting an infant and even had hallucinations of hearing babies cry after a February 1990 miscarriage, according to court records.

Several months later, Andrea Curry-Demus stabbed one woman in an apparent plot to steal her newborn; the next day, she kidnapped another baby from a hospital.

Curry-Demus, 38, of Wilkinsburg, was charged Sunday with homicide, kidnapping and related offenses in the death of Kia Johnson, 18. Authorities say the women met at the Allegheny County Jail on July 15 while visiting different inmates.

Johnson's decomposing body, with her wrists and ankles bound by duct tape and layers of tape and plastic covering much of her head, was found Friday in Curry-Demus' apartment.

Online court records show a preliminary hearing on Curry-Demus' homicide, kidnapping and unlawful restraint charges has been scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday. Her attorney, Angela Carsia, told Pittsburgh newspapers that Curry-Demus plans to plead not guilty.

Court records for Curry-Demus' previous criminal cases paint a picture of a then-21-year-old apparently unable to deal with the loss of her own child in her seventh month of pregnancy. She also told authorities she had miscarried at age 12.

While awaiting resolution of those cases, Curry-Demus was twice briefly committed to a state mental hospital. An examination found her to be "in the midst of a major depressive episode." She also reported that she kept "hearing babies cry."

She was found competent to stand trial, but also diagnosed with major depression and a mixed personality disorder. She graduated high school, but tests showed she had a "borderline intelligence level."

Curry-Demus pleaded guilty in January 1991 to kidnapping, concealment of the whereabouts of child and related offenses and was sentenced to 3-10 years in state prison for taking the baby from the hospital. The baby was recovered unharmed.

She also pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and was placed on probation for ten years consecutive to her time in the stabbing case. She was released in August 1998.

Meanwhile, Johnson's family has announced that her funeral will be Friday in McKeesport. The family has named her son after her: Terrell Kian Johnson.