A Texas man was arrested earlier this week on serious charges related to the death of his former girlfriend’s unborn child. The Sheriff’s Office revealed on Monday that J. Benta, 38, faces capital murder and evidence tampering charges following a months-long investigation into the terrible case.
Texas authorities said the investigation began after the defendant’s ex-partner revealed odd circumstances surrounding her pregnancy. She insisted on carrying the pregnancy despite pressure from her then-partner, who supposedly urged her to undergo an abortion.
According to the sheriff’s office, the defendant purposefully inserted a pill intended to abort early pregnancies into the woman’s drink without her knowledge or consent. The medication consumption resulted in the loss of the unborn child.
Law enforcement officers indicated that the defendant’s actions were deliberate, and he attempted to conceal the crime by tampering with evidence. Authorities have not divulged the exact tactics used to tamper with evidence, but they are part of an ongoing investigation.
According to Sheriff Auther, the victim had an ultrasound in October of last year, when she was about six weeks pregnant, and her doctor told her that the baby had a strong heartbeat, good vital signs, and appeared healthy.
Later that day, the victim met the defendant for coffee. During their encounter, she expressed her concern that he had secretly slipped abortion-inducing pills into her drink without her knowledge or consent, according to the sheriff’s office.
The following day, the sufferer complained of exhaustion and profuse bleeding, forcing a trip to the emergency hospital. She informed Texas police that she had lost the baby on October 19, which she believes was caused by the defendant secretly giving her the pill after arranging the coffee shop appointment to discuss her pregnancy further.
The victim claims that during their meeting, the defendant had already purchased a drink for her, which she inadvertently took and contained the abortion-inducing medicine.
After dating for about a month, the victim found she was pregnant with Banta’s child.
