Womb raider who suffered miscarriage murdered mother-of-five to steal her six week old baby daughter

A Houston woman was sentenced to 40 years behind bars after murdering her friend so she could kidnap her six-week-old baby. 

Erika Miranda-Alvarez, 35, pleaded guilty this week to fatally stabbing Carolina Flores, 33, in a grisly plot to steal the mother-of-five's baby in 2017. 

The killer had been a friend of Flores and her family for several years, and both women were pregnant at the same time before Miranda-Alvarez miscarried, leading her to devise her scheme. 

Prosecutors said this week that Miranda-Alvarez's defense planned to use an insanity defense, so offered her a plea deal in order to assure the murderer spends decades behind bars. 

Erika Miranda-Alvarez, 35, pleaded guilty this week to fatally stabbing a Houston mother-of-five and stealing her six-week-old baby 

Carolina Flores, 33, pictured with her baby Shamali, was murdered by Miranda-Alvarez, who had befriended her and knew her family for years 

Miranda-Alvarez had reportedly grown close to Flores during their pregnancies, but kept her miscarriage a secret and lied to Flores about having given birth shortly before the murder, reports KHOU. 

After stabbing Flores to death, family members found her body in her apartment on December 19, 2017, but quickly realized her baby was missing.  

Authorities launched a huge two-day search and issued an AMBER Alert to find the child, who was eventually found unharmed in Miranda-Alvarez's apartment. 

A SWAT team was used to breach the home, where Miranda-Alvarez was also found inside the home and taken into custody. 

Two hospital wristbands were discovered in the killer's pocket, one for Carolina Flores, and another for Shamali Flores, Carolina's baby. 

Following the murders, it was revealed that Flores' brother Juan Martinez-Miranda introduced the women, and he told KHOU at the time that his sister's death was 'painful.' 

'I cannot say if I'm upset, if I'm sad, or if I'm angry,' he added.  

Flores was found stabbed to death in her Houston apartment, and prosecutors said Miranda-Alvarez hid her phone in the toilet tank 

Police seen outside the Houston apartment, where Flores' family members discovered her body 

Authorities launched an exhaustive two-day search for the baby that led them to the apartment  

Prosecutors said Miranda-Alvarez systematically plotted the crime, and claimed to police after her arrest that she took the baby after finding Flores dead in her apartment, but did not kill her. 

'She knew what she was doing was wrong, and we know that from what she said to people and what she did, including dumping the victim’s cellphone in the toilet tank,' said Harris County Assistant District Attorney Casey Smith. 

As part of her plea deal, Miranda-Alvarez will not be eligible to appeal her conviction, and must serve at least 20 years before she is eligible for parole. 

Harris County DA Kim Ogg described the incident as a 'premeditated murder and kidnapping that should have never happened.' 

'I wish there was a way to undo all the harm and pain that this defendant inflicted on others, but all we can do is work to ensure that she spends decades in prison for her actions,' she said. 

Smith said members of the victim's family were in attendance to see the sentencing, and said they have 'waited a long time for justice to be done, and now hopefully this will finally give them some closure.'