A Michigan couple allegedly planned and carried out the gruesome murder of a pregnant woman and the removal of her unborn child, prosecutors said Tuesday—and the case is even more horrifying because one half of that couple is the victim's own biological mother. Rebecca Park, 22, was 38 weeks pregnant when she went missing in early November, the Detroit Free Press reports. Her body was discovered on Nov. 25 in the Huron Manistee National Forest, but the baby was "not present," authorities said at the time.
Prosecutor Johanna Carey told the court during a Tuesday arraignment that Park's biological mother and stepfather, identified as Cortney and Bradly Bartholomew, ages 40 and 47, researched and planned the crime before taking Park into their home, restraining her, and then driving her to a remote area where they stabbed her and cut the baby from her womb. Carey said Tuesday that the baby did not survive, though no further details were given.
The pair left Park in the woods, prosecutors say. The charges against the Bartholomews include two counts of murder, torture, conspiracy, assault of a pregnant woman with intent to cause miscarriage or stillbirth, unlawful imprisonment, and moving a dead body, Fox 2 Detroit reports. Two other family members had previously been charged in connection with the case: Park's sister, who is accused of lying to investigators, and Park's fiance, who faces drug charges unrelated to the murder case, per Michigan Live. The case has shocked the community, with dozens of people attending the arraignment and demanding justice for Park and her unborn child. The estranged sister of Bradly Bartholomew told the Free Press he and Cortney Bartholomew wanted a child but were unable to get pregnant.
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