Human remains have been found in the search for a missing pregnant teenager, leading authorities to charge her boyfriend with murder.
Kylee Monteiro, 18, who her family says was 11 weeks pregnant, was reported missing on August 7 after visiting her boyfriend, 22-year-old Gregory Groom, at his home in Rehoboth, Massachusetts the night before.
It was Groom, the father of Monteiro’s child, who had initially reported her missing after her family became concerned that they had not heard from her.
He had claimed that Monteiro arrived at his house looking for a place to stay on August 6 and the two had got into an argument, at which point she left his property, prosecutors said in court on Wednesday, according to NBC Boston.
But as police continued their investigation, they spoke with one of Monteiro’s sisters, who said she was texting Monteiro that night – and Monteiro told her Groom had become physically aggressive.
‘He threw me on the ground and pulled my hair and strangled me,’ the sister said Monteiro texted her.
‘My phone is at four percent and if I die, it was Greg.’
The sister said she later received a text message from Monteiro saying she was going to spend the night at Groom’s.
Kylee Monteiro (pictured), 18, who her family says was 11 weeks pregnant, was reported missing on August 7 after visiting her boyfriend’s house in Rehoboth, Massachusetts
Kylee’s family has said she had gotten into a physical altercation with her boyfriend, 22-year-old Gregory Groom, the night before her disappearance. The two are pictured here before Kylee’s prom
Groom was charged Wednesday with murder, as well as aggravated assault and battery on a pregnant person, domestic assault and battery and intimidation of a witness
Still, family members were left worried, with her sister Faith telling how Monteiro sounded frantic in a phone call that night – her tone conveying an urgent, unspoken plea for help.
‘She was desperate for help,’ Faith told ABC News. ‘She was calling out to friends, family, anyone she could, telling them that she was in danger. The whole situation is very scary.’
Faith immediately offered to pick her up, but Kylee declined. Still, Faith said her sister wasn’t the type to ask a stranger for a ride and ‘doesn’t know how to survive on her own.’
As reports of the fight and other domestic issues swirled, prosecutors said Groom returned to the Rehoboth Police Department on Tuesday and admitted that he had pushed Monteiro, causing her to fall backwards and hit her head.
He reportedly also acknowledged that when Monteiro tried to contact someone, he knocked the phone out of her hand.
When police then informed Groom that they had applied for and were granted a search warrant, and were set to search his home with cadaver dogs and an excavator, he drew a rudimentary map.
It showed that he and his girlfriend had gotten into an argument behind a shed on his property, where he was known to stay.
During that altercation, Groom said he stabbed Monteiro twice in the neck and once in the chest – with the blade breaking off in her chest, killing her, prosecutors have claimed.
Groom reportedly admitted that he had hit Monteiro and stabbed her several times
Prosecutors say the suspect (pictured) told cops how he spent several hours digging a grave
They said the suspect also told cops how he spent several hours digging a hole in the woods 20 yards from where he had killed her, and when police returned to the scene Tuesday evening, they found a large pile of brush next to the shed.
Blood and other physical evidence was then recovered from underneath the pile, prosecutors said.
Police also found another pile of brush about 20 yards away, underneath which they found a five-foot deep hole containing what they believe to be Monteiro’s remains, though authorities are waiting for confirmation of an identity from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
Groom was then charged Wednesday with murder, after previously being charged with aggravated assault and battery on a pregnant person, domestic assault and battery and intimidation of a witness in connection with the altercation.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges at the Taunton District Court, and was ordered held without bail.
He is now due back in court for a probable cause hearing on September 10.
