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The tragic loss of a pregnant woman, whether through murder or disappearance, is particularly heart-wrenching, as it represents the loss of two lives: the mother and her unborn child.
Often, these crimes are motivated by the victim's pregnancy and the potential scandal it might provoke. Consequently, those who stand to lose the most from the child's birth often become prime suspects.
10. The Kerry Babies Case
The Kerry babies case remains one of Ireland's most baffling mysteries. On April 14, 1984, the body of a newborn boy, brutally stabbed, was discovered on White Strand Beach near Cahersiveen in County Kerry.
Unable to identify the infant, authorities named him “Baby John.” The investigation soon focused on Joanne Hayes, a woman from Abbeydorney village, who had recently been seen with a baby but no longer appeared pregnant.
During police interrogations, Hayes and her family initially admitted to killing Baby John. However, their confessions were riddled with contradictions, and they later alleged that they had been pressured into confessing.
Shockingly, it was revealed that Hayes had delivered another baby boy on her family farm, but the infant had passed away soon after birth. She chose to bury her son in a makeshift grave on the property.
The father of the child was reportedly Jeremiah Locke, a married local man, explaining the secrecy surrounding the birth. Blood tests showed the baby had type O blood, consistent with both Hayes and Locke.
In contrast, Baby John had type A blood, which appeared to eliminate Hayes as the mother. Investigators, however, later proposed that Hayes had experienced superfecundation, becoming pregnant by two men simultaneously and delivering twins. They concluded that both deceased infants were hers.
Hayes faced murder charges for Baby John’s death, but the case sparked such widespread controversy that all charges against her and her family were dismissed. She was never prosecuted for the death of her own child. To this day, Baby John’s biological parents and the details of his murder remain a mystery.
9. The Murder Of Evelyn Hernandez
One of the most high-profile crimes in recent history was the murder of Laci Peterson, a pregnant woman who disappeared on Christmas Eve 2002. Her dismembered body was later discovered in San Francisco Bay, and her husband, Scott Peterson, was ultimately sentenced to death for killing her and their unborn child.
A similar tragedy had occurred in the same region just months earlier but received far less attention. In 2002, Evelyn Hernandez, a 24-year-old single mother from El Salvador, lived in San Francisco with her five-year-old son, Alex.
On May 1, Evelyn was just a week away from delivering her second son when she and Alex mysteriously disappeared. Soon after, her wallet was found in a parking lot near the workplace of Herman Aguilera, the father of her unborn child.
On July 24, a decomposed female torso and a pair of legs were found near the Bay Bridge. DNA analysis confirmed the remains belonged to Evelyn Hernandez. The rest of her body, her unborn child, and Alex were never located.
Evelyn had been in a long-term relationship with Aguilera. However, after learning he was already married, she ended their relationship upon discovering her pregnancy.
Aguilera initially assisted the police but later ceased communication. His wife provided him with an alibi for the day Evelyn vanished, which has kept him from being a primary suspect.
When the Laci Peterson case gained media attention, the parallels between the two crimes sparked theories of a connection, though this was later dismissed. Evelyn Hernandez’s murder and her son’s disappearance remain unresolved.
8. The Disappearance Of Celina Mays
On the night of December 15, 1996, 12-year-old Celina Mays went to sleep at her aunt’s home in Willingboro, New Jersey. The next morning, her father found her room empty, with pillows arranged under the blankets to mimic her presence. All her belongings remained untouched.
When Celina was reported missing, a startling revelation emerged: the 12-year-old was nine months pregnant and expected to deliver in two weeks. This was especially scandalous as Celina and her family belonged to the Gospel of Christ Ministries, a strict Pentecostal church led by her aunt.
At the time of her disappearance, the church faced accusations from former members, who alleged it functioned like a cult, isolating its members from the outside world.
Celina had been attending regular appointments with an obstetrician. While she never disclosed the father’s identity, she mentioned having a 16-year-old boyfriend who was not part of her church community.
Celina’s father stated he intended to conduct paternity tests to identify the baby’s father before her disappearance. Given that the father could face statutory rape charges if identified, some speculate Celina may have been killed or died during a botched abortion.
Rumors also circulated that Sean Smith, Celina’s 23-year-old cousin, might be the father, especially after he was charged in 1998 with the aggravated sexual assault of two teenage girls. Despite these theories, Celina Mays has been missing for nearly two decades, and the details of her pregnancy remain shrouded in mystery.
7. The Death Of ‘Miss X’
On March 18, 1967, the body of a young woman was found beside a rural road in New Castle County, Delaware. She was estimated to be between 16 and 25 years old, possibly of European descent, and was wearing only bikini underwear with the manufacturer’s labels removed. Her hair was tied back with a red ribbon.
The victim had been partially placed inside a canvas laundry bag marked with the name of a Trenton, New Jersey, company called American Laundry Dry Cleaning. Despite extensive efforts, investigators found no significant leads. Unable to identify her, she was dubbed “Miss X.”
A key detail about Miss X was that she was three months pregnant at the time of her death. In 1967, abortion was illegal, and the presence of a soaplike substance in her vaginal cavity suggested a botched illegal abortion might have led to her demise.
Miss X likely developed septicemia, a severe infection, which could have turned fatal without proper medical treatment. In 2011, authorities successfully extracted a DNA profile from a blood sample of the victim.
When the DNA profile was compared with genealogy databases, a link was found to maternal relatives in Virginia and North Carolina. However, none of these relatives could identify the young woman, leaving her identity unresolved. She remains known as Miss X.
6. The Disappearance Of Kristine Kupka
On October 24, 1998, 28-year-old Kristine Kupka was visited at her home by Darshanand “Rudy” Persaud, a Guyanese immigrant. Kristine, who was five months pregnant, left with Rudy, and her roommate noted that he appeared unusually anxious.
Kristine later left a voicemail on her sister’s answering machine, stating she was heading to Rudy’s new apartment in Queens. She never returned home and was never seen again.
Kristine was a student at Baruch College, and Rudy had been her part-time chemistry instructor. The two had started a relationship, but Kristine only discovered Rudy was married after she became pregnant with his child.
Although Kristine appeared ready to raise the child alone, Rudy had allegedly pleaded with her to terminate the pregnancy, fearing his family would reject him if they discovered the truth.
After Kristine declined, she reportedly grew fearful of Rudy. By October 24, their relationship had improved, and Kristine was willing to let Rudy be involved in their child’s life.
Despite Kristine mentioning plans to visit Rudy’s apartment, Rudy claimed to police that he had taken her to a shopping center and dropped her off two blocks from her home. His account contained inconsistencies, and he eventually ceased cooperating with investigators.
In 2010, authorities excavated the basement of a store once owned by one of Rudy’s cousins. A cadaver-sniffing dog indicated the possible presence of human remains, but no physical evidence of a crime was found. Rudy Persaud remains the primary suspect in Kristine Kupka’s disappearance, though the case remains unresolved.
5. The Murder Of Reyna Marroquin
In 1999, the new homeowner of a Long Island property found a 55-gallon drum in the crawl space. Upon opening it on September 2, they were stunned to discover the mummified body of a young woman inside.
The woman had been brutally beaten to death and was nine months pregnant with a male fetus. The drum also contained personal items, including an address book, which helped police identify her as Reyna Marroquin, an immigrant from El Salvador who had moved to New York in 1966 and vanished three years later.
Authorities traced the drum to Melrose Plastics, a Manhattan-based company where Marroquin had worked before her disappearance. The company was owned by Howard Elkins, who had previously owned the house where the drum was found.
Using the address book, police located a former friend of Marroquin, who revealed that Marroquin had been involved in an affair with the married Elkins and was carrying his child. Marroquin had reportedly informed Elkins’s wife about the pregnancy and expressed fears that Elkins might harm her. Soon after, Marroquin disappeared.
When police questioned the 70-year-old Elkins, they informed him that a court order would require him to undergo a DNA test to confirm if he was the father of the unborn child.
On September 10, Elkins took his own life by shooting himself. A posthumous DNA test confirmed he was the father. While it is highly probable that Elkins killed Marroquin, his suicide left the case without a definitive resolution.
4. The Disappearance Of Bethany Decker
In January 2011, 21-year-old Bethany Decker, five months pregnant, lived in Loudon County, Virginia. Her husband, Emile Decker, returned home that month from his military deployment in Afghanistan. The couple had a one-year-old son together.
However, their marriage was unstable. Bethany had been in an affair with Ronald Roldan and had moved in with him while Emile was deployed.
Despite this, the couple planned a trip to Hawaii to reconcile. After returning, Bethany was last seen on January 29 when she called her workplace. She then vanished without a trace.
Ronald Roldan was likely the father of Bethany’s unborn child. Known for his abusive and controlling behavior, Ronald was believed to be the last person to see Bethany before her disappearance.
He provided conflicting statements to the police before ceasing cooperation. In November 2014, Ronald was involved in a domestic altercation with another girlfriend, during which they shot each other twice.
Ronald’s girlfriend was shot in the head, resulting in the loss of an eye, but she survived. Her actions were deemed self-defense, while Ronald was charged with attempted murder. Although he has never been charged in Bethany Decker’s disappearance, he remains a key suspect.
3. The Murder Of Rose Harsent
In 1902, 22-year-old Rose Harsent worked as a servant at Providence House, the home of a clergyman in Peasenhall, England. On June 1, her father arrived at the house to find her body in the kitchen. She had been stabbed, her throat cut, and her body doused with paraffin in an attempt to burn it. Harsent was six months pregnant at the time.
A search of Harsent’s room revealed a note from an anonymous person arranging a midnight meeting in the kitchen. The investigation quickly focused on William Gardiner, a local carpenter living nearby with his wife and six children. Rumors in the village suggested he had been secretly involved with Harsent and was likely the father of her unborn child.
Several pieces of circumstantial evidence implicated Gardiner. A broken bottle from the crime scene had contained medicine prescribed for his children. A bloodstained knife was found in his home, and he was seen tending to a bonfire the morning after the murder.
Gardiner was charged with murder and faced trial in November. His wife, however, provided him with an alibi and explained the presence of the broken medicine bottle by stating she had lent it to Harsent for a cold.
A mistrial was declared after one juror refused to convict Gardiner. His second trial also resulted in a hung jury, with 10 jurors voting for his acquittal.
The prosecution chose not to pursue a third trial, and Gardiner remained free for the rest of his life. The true identity of Rose Harsent’s murderer remains a topic of debate to this day.
2. The Disappearance Of Cecilia Newball
In 1994, 32-year-old Cecilia Newball resided in Chatsworth, California, with her husband, Alfredo Newball, and her six-year-old son, Rene Perez Jr., from a prior marriage. Cecilia and Alfredo had been married for two years, and she was eight months pregnant with his child.
On September 20, Alfredo went to work, leaving Cecilia and Rene at their apartment. When he returned that evening, both Cecilia and Rene were missing.
All their personal items were left behind, and Cecilia’s jeep was parked outside. Inside the vehicle were her engagement and wedding rings, along with a generic farewell card bearing her signature.
Three days later, Alfredo received a typewritten letter postmarked from Van Nuys, allegedly from Cecilia. She claimed she and Rene had fled to Honduras with a doctor named “Arturo,” who might have been the true father of her unborn child. Many doubted the authenticity of the letter.
In the months before Cecilia vanished, she received several odd phone calls. During one call, a woman claimed to have a video of Alfredo kissing another woman at a baby shower and wanted to arrange a meeting for Cecilia to view it. However, the woman never followed up.
On another occasion, Cecilia was contacted by a woman posing as Alfredo’s coworker, who said his colleagues were organizing a baby shower for him. Cecilia was supposed to meet this woman on the day she disappeared, but no such event was planned, and none of Alfredo’s coworkers had made the call.
Police suspected Alfredo might have been involved in the disappearances due to his seemingly indifferent behavior. However, no evidence linked him to the case. The whereabouts of Cecilia, Rene, and Cecilia’s unborn child remain a mystery.
1. The Death Of Baby Michael
On March 3, 1999, the body of a newborn baby was discovered inside a large trash bag on Canady Pond Road near Fayetteville, North Carolina. The infant was about one day old and appeared to have been healthy. The placenta was also found inside the bag.
The baby died from blunt force trauma and was likely thrown from a moving vehicle. His injuries were severe enough to suggest they were inflicted before his death. Unable to identify him, the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office named him “Baby Michael” after St. Michael, the patron saint of law enforcement.
There were intriguing clues about Baby Michael’s parents. The day before his discovery, witnesses recalled seeing a couple at a nearby clinic. The woman, visibly pregnant, appeared anxious when told she needed a hospital maternity test.
That same night, a driver spotted a man and a pregnant woman in a parked car near Canady Pond Road. When asked if they needed help, they declined. Since no records show Baby Michael being born in a hospital, it’s believed the woman gave birth at that location.
Although the couple remains unidentified, Michael’s mother left behind DNA and a pubic hair, which could help identify her in the future. Shortly after Baby Michael’s death, the man who found his body placed a cross at the site as a memorial.
In March 2011, the memorial site was mysteriously vandalized. Some speculate that Michael’s mother may have been behind the act.
