The mother of the Texas woman killed in an alleged baby-stealing plot said in a new interview that she believes her daughter’s friend planned the depraved act.

Heidi Broussard’s distraught mother, Tammy Broussard, told NBC’s  “Dateline” in an interview set to air Friday night that her daughter was known to “take care of damaged people” — and that’s why she befriended Magen Fieramusca, who has been indicted in connection with her death.

The indictment, released earlier this week, indicates that Fieramusca killed Broussard by “ligature strangulation, with a leash and with her hand.”

“She premeditated all of this,” Tammy Broussard said on the program. “We really want to know why. Why would you hurt a friend? I mean, you’re supposed to be her friend. Why would you do that? We would just like to know why.”

Broussard’s body was discovered in mid-December in the trunk of a car at Fieramusca’s home near Houston.

Broussard’s 3-week-old daughter, Margot, was found inside Fieramusca’s home, unharmed, police said at the time of the discovery. She has since been reunited with her father, Broussard’s fiancé, Shane Carey.

“I can’t explain how you really feel,” Tammy Broussard said on the program.

COMING UP: Following the news that a lifelong friend was charged with murdering Heidi Broussard, @CanningAndrea sits down with Heidi's mother Tammy.

Watch tonight on @NBCNightlyNews and tomorrow on @DatelineNBC. pic.twitter.com/xK03vI8G2j

— NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (@NBCNightlyNews) January 30, 2020

“I mean, your heart is overwhelmed, but at the same time,” she added, choking back tears, “my daughter was gone.”

Fieramusca had initially been charged only with kidnapping and tampering, according to an arrest affidavit unsealed earlier this month. The affidavit indicates that Fieramusca coordinated an elaborate hoax — faking her own pregnancy for months and planning to pass off her friend’s newborn as her own, according to reports.

“It didn’t look like a pregnant belly,” Heidi’s mom said of Fieramusca. “She was faking it.”

Tammy Broussard told “Dateline” she knows her daughter would forgive Fieramusca, but for her, it’s not so easy.

“You know, it’s like you see a table full of candles and all lit, but then they go and snuff it out like that,” Broussard said. “That’s what she did. She took the light away. Heidi was a light in everybody’s life.”

In a Tuesday statement, Fieramusca’s attorney Brian Erksine said prosecutors had not given them the evidence against their client.

“We cannot act to fairly and vigorously represent our client when we start defending her with our hands tied and eyes blindfolded,” the statement said. “Those accused, as well as the public at large, understandably want swift and certain answers from our criminal justice system. We call upon patience and resisting the rush to judgment until all the facts are in. Unless the State has proven these allegations beyond any reasonable doubt, Ms. Fieramusca remains innocent.”