LaPORTE CO. — A LaPorte woman accused of giving birth and abandoning a baby is pregnant. Kathy Phillips is charged with murder and neglect after a baby was found dead near her home.

Phillips just hired a new attorney. Phillips' husband says their decision to hire a new attorney was a money issue. Her new attorney was not present in court Friday because of prior commitments.

The prosecution did not comment on her pregnancy. But there's no doubt she's now pregnant. A noticeably pregnant Kathy Phillips arrived in court with her proud family.

“We're thrilled about it, thrilled about it. I don't think that anyone should grow up as an only child, and so far, that's what Ella is,” Phillips’ mother, Marcia Ruminski, said Friday.

But police don't agree. They say DNA evidence proves that the Phillips are the parents of the baby girl found dead in march 2006 — DNA evidence the family says it hasn't seen.

“It's been over a year. Where is it?” husband Garry Phillips said.

The Phillips say they have pictures of Kathy that show she was not pregnant when that baby girl would have been born.

She's now five months pregnant and showing. The Phillips also say this pregnancy was not planned.

“It was a big surprise to me when she told me,” Garry said.

“My daughter has never been pregnant other than with my first granddaughter and with this child,” Ruminski said.

The Phillips say it would have been impossible to hide a pregnancy, saying Kathy weighed more than 200 pounds when she gave birth to her daughter Ella.

“There is no way. You see her now and she’s five months pregnant. There is no way. I saw her every day. A mother knows. No way my daughter was ever pregnant,” Ruminski added.

Phillips is charged with murder and neglect, but the family says she's innocent and they want privacy to focus on raising their daughter.

“Do you know what that does to my daughter? I don't even want to talk about that,” Garry said.

“I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy. This is the worst thing any family can go through,” Ruminski said.

A status hearing was rescheduled for next week so Phillips' new attorney can be present.

The judge wants to keep the trial on schedule for October, which, by the way, just happens to be when Kathy Phillips is due to deliver her baby.

The first attorney asked for a change of venue, but it is not known if the new attorney going to ask for that as well.

Their original attorney requested it because of all the publicity the case has gotten. That hearing is still scheduled for next month, but that could get dropped or pushed back.