Pregnant mother of 3 is found killed inside Kentucky home, then autopsy reveals her unborn child had been removed

A Tennessee man has been arrested in connection with the death of a pregnant Kentucky woman after authorities said an autopsy found no fetus in her womb, according to People. The victim, 41-year-old April Barlow Celio of Pineville, is described as a mother of three, and police have not said how she or her unborn child died.

Pineville police responded on Sept. 23 to a call about a deceased person in the 300 block of George Martin Drive, and the Bell County Coroner’s Office determined the death was a homicide. Investigators learned the next day that Celio had been pregnant. However, the Kentucky State Medical Examiner’s Office found no fetus in her womb, police said.

While processing the scene, investigators with the Pineville Police Department, the Bell County Sheriff’s Office, and Kentucky State Police recovered what they believe were fetal remains. The U.S. Marshals Service said in a release that the victim was pregnant at the time of her death and that the fetus had been removed. Officials have not said how the fetus was removed from her womb.

Police say the suspect was a wanted fugitive who was tracked to Tennessee.

Investigators identified 41-year-old DeMarcus Kenneth Johnson-Wright as a suspect, and the Marshals Service described him as having “an extensive violent criminal history” and several outstanding violent felony warrants out of Tennessee. A Bell County judge issued warrants on Sept. 25 charging him with first-degree robbery and kidnapping.

Additional warrants issued on Sept. 30 charge him with murder involving domestic violence and tampering with physical evidence. The domestic violence designation does not explain how he and Celio knew each other, and authorities have not described their relationship publicly.

After the added warrants, local authorities asked the U.S. Marshals Service Central Kentucky Fugitive Task Force for help. Investigators developed information that Johnson-Wright was staying at a home in the 200 block of Timber Court Drive in Clarksville, Tennessee, about 250 miles from Pineville, and the Middle Tennessee Fugitive Task Force joined the effort.

Agencies arrested him there around 11 p.m. Central time, with help from the Clarksville Police Department’s Special Operations Unit and a Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office K-9 unit. A search warrant was later executed at the residence, and investigators said they recovered materials related to the case. However, they have not said what those materials are.

Johnson-Wright was booked into the Montgomery County Detention Center in Tennessee, where he is awaiting extradition to Kentucky. The charges against him are allegations, as he has not been convicted of any crime. A separate Texas case produced an indictment over a missing roommate after her remains turned up in a creek.

Celio’s sister, Amanda De Paz, wrote, “My sister was murdered,” and said the children “are left with questions, memories, and the heartbreaking reality that their mother’s life ended in violence.” Authorities have not said what led to her death, as the investigation remains active.

Johnson-Wright is expected to be extradited to Kentucky to face the warrants in Bell County, where authorities could release more about how Celio and her unborn child died as the case moves forward.