Police Say Akia Eggleston Was Murdered By Father Of Unborn Baby After Posting Sonogram Pic

Investigators in Baltimore say that pregnant woman who has been missing since 2017 was murdered by the father of her unborn child after she posted a sonogram image of their child online.

Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced on Thursday that they have arrested Michael Robertson, now 41, and charged him with murder in connection with the 2017 disappearance of 22-year-old Akia Eggleston.

“I hope that today’s arrest brings some sense and some measure of hope in the first phase in our pursuit of justice for Akia Eggleston,” she said. 

Robertson was in a relationship with another 22-year-old woman — who had just had a baby with the suspect — at the time of Eggleston's presumed murder. Eggleston was also eight months pregnant.

Mosby noted that Eggleston believed that she was going to and “was excited” to move in with Robertson. She said that, on May 3, 2017, Eggleston took out money orders to pay for the move; investigators believe that Robertson misled Eggleston with both his promise of cohabitation and an image of a unit.

Later that same day, prosecutors say that Robertson took a Lyft ordered by Eggleston to an area near her apartment. Around the same time, Eggleston sent a friend a Facebook Message to invite to her to her baby shower, which was supposed to take place a few days later.

It was Eggleston's last known communication. 

That evening, police say, Eggleston’s phone and Robertson’s were tracked together downtown, after which her phone activity ended permanently, according to a statement of probable cause.

While the pregnant woman’s body was never found, Mosby said that Robertson googled about trash pickup, dumpsters and landfills in Baltimore 18 times around the time that Eggleston vanished. Investigators focused on dumpsters located 30 feet from Eggleston’s apartment; they believe she may have ended up in a landfill in Northern Virginia.

Robertson moved to Michigan with the mother of two of his children — including the one born shortly before Eggleston's disappearance — within days of being interviewed by police, according to the probable cause statement.

As per alleged motive, Mosby said that there was a “volatile argument” between that woman and Robertson the night before Eggleston disappeared, fueled by the mother-to-be posting the sonogram image on Facebook. 

Eggleston was arrested in Michigan Tuesday and it is expected that he will be extradited to Maryland, where he’ll face two counts of first-degree murder for both the death of Eggleston and their unborn child.  It’s not clear if he has a lawyer.

In 2019, Oxygen focused on Eggleston’s vanishing on “Searching For.” She was also featured on the HBO docuseries “Black and Missing” which spotlighted Eggleston’s case as an example of the lack of attention for missing Black people.

On Thursday, Mosby spoke to the disparity in how white women and Black women are covered in the media.

"When you're a young black pregnant woman who goes missing, it almost hardly makes the news," she said, but she also credited Eggleston's family for their fight for justice.

“I give a special thanks to the family of Akia Eggleston who have never given up in their pursuit of justice for Akia and her unborn child,” she said.