A Pregnant Woman Believed She Was Moving in with Her Child's Father. Then, She Missed a Baby Shower and He Was Found Guilty of Murder.

A defendant in Maryland arrested and convicted of the murder of his pregnant girlfriend, who vanished shortly before she was to attend a baby shower, recently learned his fate.

On Feb. 3, 2022, Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced Michael Robertson, 41,was arrested in Michigan and faced two counts of first-degree murder in connection to the disappearance of Akia Shawnta Eggleston, 22, and her unborn baby, WJZ-TV reported.

According to Mosby, in the spring of 2017, the victim believed she was going to move in with Robertson, who was already in a relationship with another 22-year-old woman who had recently given birth to their second child.

Investigators learned that on May 2 that year, Robertson allegedly sent Eggleston photos of an apartment, which a reverse image search later showed was different from the one he told her about.

Eggleston withdrew money from the bank and got a $450 money order.

The following day, the two arranged to meet, investigators said, and phone records allegedly show Robertson was in her neighborhood early that evening.

Around 7 p.m., Eggleston's phone was disabled or turned off, and detectives believe she was murdered.

Family who arrived to Eggleston’s apartment for her baby shower not long after discovered the apartment cleaned out, according to WJZ-TV.

Police initially believed Eggleston left of her own free will, but they eventually began to suspect she was the victim of foul play.

“At this state, I think we’re prepared to pivot, that foul play is something that we’re absolutely exploring,” Baltimore Police spokesman T.J. Smith said in July 2017. “We’re obviously beyond the point where she could have given birth.”

Mosby noted Eggleston had shared a sonogram photo on social media hours before she went missing and police learned the suspect and the mother of his two children allegedly got into a “volatile” dispute.

Eggleston's body has never been found.

Robertson was convicted in July 2023 of two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Eggleston and her unborn baby, and a judge recently sentenced him to serve two life sentences behind bars.

"My prayers are with Ms. Eggleston's family, who had to wait such a long time to see justice done," Baltimore City State's Attorney Ivan Bates said of the case.

Assistant Baltimore City State's Attorney Kurt Bjorklund noted, "You can prove a case in many different ways. This case was highly circumstantial. But when you have enough circumstances, when you have enough puzzle pieces, it makes the case extremely strong and tight, and that's what this was."