The Newwark (NJ) Post is reporting that two abortion doctors, Steven Chase Brigham and Nicola Irene Riley have been charged with murder in connection with a botched August 2010 abortion procedure at a secret Elkton, Md. facility.

Brigham, 55, of Voorhees, N.J. was arrested in Camden, N.J. by homicide detectives there on Wednesday night. He remained in the Camden County Jail on Thursday awaiting an extradition hearing. Riley, 46, of Salt Lake City, Ut. was arrested by the Unified Police Department in Utah on Wednesday night. She, too, awaited an extradition hearing on Thursday at the Salt Lake City Jail.

Brigham was charged with five counts of first-degree murder and five counts of second-degree murder. Riley was charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of second-degree murder. The charges are the result of a Grand Jury investigation.

While late-term abortions are not illegal in Maryland, those who kill viable babies killed in the commission of crimes can be charged with murder in that state.

According to a press release from Operation Rescue, who has kept pressure on law enforcement in this case for over a year, Brigham operated a secret late-term abortion clinic in Elkton, Maryland, even though he had no license to practice in that state. He hired Riley to do late-term abortions there and at his abortion clinic in Baltimore.

Brigham would start the late-term abortions at his office in New Jersey, then caravan the laboring women to Elkton where the abortions would be completed. The clandestine abortion scheme was discovered after a woman suffered a life-threatening botched abortion in August, 2010. When police raided the Elkton abortion clinic, they discovered the remains of 35 aborted babies, one of which was 33 weeks gestation.

Further details about the Maryland and New Jersey abortion operations, developed by Operation Rescue, can be found here.

“We have worked for over a year to make sure Brigham and Riley were brought to justice. We kept the story in the public eye, and followed up with police and prosecutors. This is a victory for the pro-life movement,” said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman.

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