Catherine J. GoinsRINGGOLD, Ga. – Catherine Joann Goins, the woman whom police say killed a mother to steal her baby, is going to prison for the rest of her life.
Goins, 39, pleaded guilty to malice murder, felony murder, armed robbery, aggravated assault and kidnapping during a hearing in Catoosa County Superior Court on Friday morning. Facing a potential death penalty, Goins will instead go to prison for life without the possibility of parole.
Her plea came 20 months after police say she told her friend, Tony Richards, she would need to come by his house. Richards, who was working that day in September 2014, left a key outside for her.
Later that morning, Goins met Natalia Brianne Roberts – and her 3-week-old baby. Goins told her she had some clothes she could donate to the newborn, and Roberts agreed to meet her at Richards’ house. Roberts brought her baby and her 3-year-old child.
According to a release from Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney Herbert “Buzz” Franklin, Goins convinced Roberts to walk down the steps in a narrow hallway. She shot Roberts with a .380 pistol, according to the release, killing her immediately. Then, she called Richards.