7 Twisted New Details in Baby Cut from Pregnant Woman's Womb Case

Did Rebecca Park's own mother, Courtney. Barthamu, and her stepfather, [music]. Bradley Barthamu, plot to kill her and. steal her unborn baby? And once they. were caught, did they turn on each other. with horrific [music] confessions, each. blaming the other for the stabbing and. the brutal Cesareian section? There is. shocking new information that we have. obtained from court documents that. [music] lay out a nightmarish he said, she said between Bradley and Courtney. that you really have to [music] see to.

believe. We're going to break it all. down for you right now with former state. attorney Dave Aaronburgg. Welcome to. Sidebar presented by Law and Crime. I'm. Jesse Weber. Okay, I got to say this real quick. So, we use something here at Law and Crime. that can actually be very useful to you. It is called Truthfinder. It is a. powerful public record search service. You want to talk about useful? You plug. in a name, you get address information, criminal history, and let me say that. can give you some peace of mind.

Truthfinder is one of the largest public. record search services in the United. States. And with a paid subscription, you can get access to unlimited reports. about almost anyone. And that includes, by the way, looking up registered sex. offenders in your area, too. By the way, you might be shocked to look up yourself. and see what's out there. So stay. informed, stay safe, check public. records with Truthfinder now at. truthfinder.comlcidebar. There is this very wild and deeply. disturbing case out of Wexford County, Michigan that we got to talk about. Now,

if you've been following us here at. Sidebar, you're going to remember this. one. At the center of the allegations is. Rebecca Park, a 22-year-old woman who. was 38 weeks pregnant when she was. reported missing in early November. And. what police describe as a desperate. missing person's case is alleged to have. quickly spiraled into a nightmare of. murder, lies, betrayal. The charges as. filed by prosecutors. This is what it. alleges. That Rebecca's body was found. weeks later in a wooded area. An autopsy.

cited in the affidavit indicates that. she had been stabbed multiple times and. her baby had been cut from her womb. The. investigation, according to the court. documents, led detectives through a. tangled web of family drama and secret. relationships and what they characterize. as a flood of deliberate misinformation. Now, initially, the investigative focus. turned to Rebecca's own sister, Kimberly. Park, who first reported her missing. The affidavit for Kimberly's arrest. shows that her story kept on changing.

She eventually allegedly admitted to. lying to police, stating she was fed. false stories by Rebecca's boyfriend, Richard Fowler, to throw suspicion onto. their biological mother, Courtney. Barthamu, and her husband, Rebecca's. stepfather, Bradley Barthomyu. Now, Kimberly's arrest affidavit includes her. alleged confession that Fowler told her. he killed Rebecca, but crucially, those. specific murder allegations against. Fowler appear to have gone nowhere. The. murder charge that he was initially. facing, open murder, that seems to have.

been dropped. The case against him seems. to have stalled, at least for now. He is. facing drug charges, but authorities say. it's Courtney and Brad who are. responsible. According to detectives, this was just the first layer. The more. severe allegations are in the charging. documents for Bradley and Courtney. Barthamu. They're both charged with. first-degree murder, torture, unlawful. imprisonment. There's other charges as. well. The probable cause affidavit. supporting those charges are chilling to. say the least. They allege a story of.

premeditation of a plan to get Rebecca. to their home. The documents detail how, according to the conflicting accounts, by the way, conflicting accounts that. Bradley and Courtney later gave police, that Rebecca was put into a truck, driven to a remote trail, stabbed, and. then while she was there, allegedly. still alive, subjected to basically a. cesarian section to remove her baby. The. baby, the documents state, did not. survive, but the baby has not been.

found. And a particularly shocking. element within the affidavit in the. description of Bradley and Courtney once. in custody. This is immediately now. they're turning on each other in. separate interviews. They're pointing. the finger at one another. They're. recorded statements as summarized by. detectives. It presents this macob. He. said, she said, each blaming the other. for the stabbing and for cutting the. baby out. One claims it was a revenge. plot against Fowler. The other claims it. was about stealing the baby. The. detectives notes from those interviews. lay out what they describe as a scene of.

cruelty. So, the allegations present a. scenario involving a murdered young. mother, an infant removed from her womb. dead, a sister who confessed to lying to. police, allegedly a boyfriend implicated. by others in the coverup, and the birth. mother and stepfather seemingly accusing. each other from their jail cells. So, you want to see how detectives alleged. that they piece this whole case. together? I know it's complicated. Well, the court documents, especially those. probable cause affidavit, provide their. raw, unfiltered narratives. It's all in.

the documents to help us make sense of. this or try to make sense of this legal. maze and the shocking allegations. We're. bringing in somebody who has spent his. career in the trenches of cases like. this, former Palm Beach County State. Attorney Dave Aaron, who's with me on. set. Dave, thanks so much for coming on. Appreciate it. Um, first of all, before. everybody knows, um, I think everybody. loves the work that you do. You have a. substack as well. Thanks, Jess. Yeah, Dave Aaronberg, D- A V- A R O N B RG. I'm on Substack. >> I call myself the Florida law man.

>> and I appreciate the the plug. Also, you. can find me doing videos on YouTube for. Legal AF and Midas Touch Network. >> This is why we love you, you know. I. mean, you you have a great expertise in. this trying to sort out what is a. complicated case. I want to start here. >> So, with the first person arrested in. this case, it wasn't for murder. It was. for allegedly lying to authorities. We're talking about Kimberly Park. This. is Rebecca's sister. She was the one who. originally reported her missing, but. according to her arrest affidavit says. that Kimberly was communicating with the.

detective throughout the investigation, but then on a social media live. broadcast, she accused her mother. Courtney and stepfather Bradley of being. involved. And when police interviewed. her about that, she gave them a detailed. story that it was Courtney and Bradley. that had struck Rebecca in the head, caused a seizure, and then had a friend. come take the body away. But the. affidavit states that just days later. after Rebecca's body was found, Kimberly. apparently changed her story entirely. In an interview, I want to look at that. document. It quotes her new statement. Quote, "Park identified that on Tuesday,

November 4th, 2025, while she was at. Richard Fowler's home, he told her that. he killed Rebecca Park and that he. wanted to protect Kimberly by not. sharing details with her." Park said. that Fowler had also been encouraging. her to mislead the investigation and it. was the reason she was sharing. misleading information on social media. live broadcasts. And she also allegedly. said that Rebecca was stored in another. location, but apparently law enforcement. looked into this. There was nothing to. back it up. Dave, this is like a. complete 180. And it it's confusing why.

she would allegedly lie. Yeah, it. perhaps he was trying to protect her. mother at one point, but then the. stories keep changing and you wonder if. there's some mental issues with the. sister. This is going to be a problem. for prosecutors in that you have all. these moving parts, these different. people who keep pointing the fingers at. each other. And when you start doing. that, it could lead to some reasonable. doubt. Even though it's pretty clear now. that this was a heinous, horrific crime. caused by deranged individuals and there.

is plenty of motive involved here. >> But authorities don't believe Fowler was. involved in the murder. He was hit. He. was originally arrested on Opra murder. That seems to have been dropped. He's. just facing drug charges. So, they don't. believe her account, which also makes me. wonder. >> if she would even be a reliable witness. at a trial if she worked out some sort. of deal considering what she's facing in. light of uh Courtney uh and Bradley. Is. she a reliable narrator? >> No, she's not reliable at all because. she's been lying to police. And so, and.

you have people I I saw Fowler. interviewed, he didn't come across as. very credible and now the sister doesn't. come across as credible. So, you wonder. if they're going to have that witness. that prosecutors like to have who's like. the narrator narrator of the whole. story. Someone who who leads the jury. into what happened because it is kind of. complicated here with all these. different people moving parts. >> So, this is a little bit of a problem. for prosecutors, although the evidence. is what it is. And. >> and let's go into that. So, that was. just the alleged obstruction case. Right. now, the murder allegations are against.

the biological mother Courtney, the. husband Bradley. They're both charged. with first-degree murder, torture. There's a horrific charge related to the. assault of a pregnant individual causing. miscarriage or still birth. Right in the. middle of the probable cause affidavit. for Bradley, we get to the heart of this. case. These are these recorded. interviews with Bradley and Courtney. after they were taken into custody. And. the affidavit describes them being. interviewed separately. Not a surprise. there. And Dave, this is where it gets. really sinister, really macob, because.

they immediately start blaming each. other. And the detective writes that. their stories are a classic he said, she. said, but obviously they have this. nightmarish twist. So, I want to go to. the scene using the affidavit. It. alleges that in Bradley's interview, he. initially pointed the finger at. Courtney. He's quoted as saying, "I'm. sure Courtney stabbed her because she. did have a hunting knife." He goes on to. allege, according to the affidavit, that. he was there, claimed that Courtney was. the one who stabbed Rebecca and then. performed this crude C-section. He said.

he witnessed it, that it happened on a. trail behind their house, that Courtney. wanted the baby for herself. Then in. Courtney's separate interview, summarized in the same affidavit, she. allegedly tells the opposite story. When. asked, "What do you think Bradley has. been telling us?" She allegedly says, "He's probably saying it's both of. them." And then she lays out her. version. She allegedly claims that. Bradley pulled Rebecca from the car, put. her in a truck, that he was the one who. stabbed Rebecca, and cut the baby out. and she claims he told her it was.

revenge against Richard Fowler for his. relationship or alleged relationship and. all this. Dave, as a prosecutor here, how do you sort through that information. and you're charging both of them even. though they're pointing the finger at. one another? >> Sometimes you just don't know what the. truth is. You're dealing with untruthful. individuals and so you charge them both. You can charge them both with the. conspiracy and with a conspiracy to have. to have an agreement and between two or. more people and one overt act. Well, you've got that here.

>> They're charging conspiracy, too. Yeah, >> that's right. That's and that's the. reason why you do it. I think conspiracy. is one of prosecutor's best friends. because you can get a conviction when. you don't know who actually was the. murderer. You can also charge them both. as principles if they're both involved. in this scheme. But it it seems like. Courtney uh is saying that they're both. involved while Bradley is saying no, it's just Courtney who is involved. >> So A, do any of these statements come. into trial because I imagine it would. confuse jury or B do prosecutors just.

say they're both responsible. Rebecca. was stabbed. She the baby was cut out of. her womb. They not get specific on who. did what? Well, the statements are. coming in because it's not hearsay. because it's a statement by a defendant, by a party opponent. But as far as. whether the prosecutors want the. statements and it doesn't matter because. the defense will bring in the statements. and whoever they're representing will. say, "Oh, look, look at the difference. uh the different accounts here. This is. all reasonable doubt." You want to. confuse the jury so that they're left.

wondering who did it and why and why. would a mother do this to her daughter. You're saying at a trial if it they're. tried together, defense attorneys are. going to be pointing the finger at the. other person saying they're responsible, they're responsible like in the same. trial. >> Well, together or separately? >> Yeah. Well, separately, for sure, >> right? Either way, they this is their. best defense. That's why they will both. have their own lawyers because it's a. clear conflict to represent them both. And they're both going to point the. finger at each other. That's their best. defense. And now you have the added. spectre of the daughter, the sister of. the victim.

>> who was saying, well, no, it was. Fowler who did it. Fowler who did it. So. now you've got three potential suspects. for this murder. That's why the. conspiracy is crucial for prosecutors. because you don't have to identify who. it was who killed her. >> And I want to go into the detective. writing about the evidence that they. were collecting that they say. contradicts their early story, supports. elements of the crime. So, for instance, the document states that early on, Courtney told police that Rebecca left. her house in a mysterious black sedan. with tinted windows. It was a story that.

sent investigators essentially down a. false lead because later in an. interview, the affidavit quotes her. admitting Courtney confirmed for. Detective Lieutenant Pisker that the. story about the black car was made up. and never happened. And the affidavit. also details what detectives call. consciousness of guilt actions. It. states that a state trooper while. securing their home overheard Courtney. tell Bradley that the seat covers from. their white Ford F-150 truck had. recently been burned due to a spill.

Cell phone records obtained via search. warrant and outlined in the affidavit. allegedly place both of their devices in. the area where Rebecca's body was later. found on the night she disappeared. And. maybe one of the most chilling details. from the forensic side, the autopsy. report. Okay, it states that Rebecca had. multiple sharp force wounds, that her. abdomen had been cut open with the fetus. absent, but it also notes a specific. kind of odd finding that her stomach. contained quote copious amounts of a.

blue green chalky residue. Dave, it's. clear she was killed. She was brutally. killed. Um, the baby, you know, I think. by all accounts is is dead. They don't. know where it is or we don't know. But. this this the the forensic evidence, the. actual evidence here. What does that. tell you about the story? >> Well, it's going to inflame the jurors. The jurors are going to be outraged when. they hear that he had a baby killed in. this way and the mother's stomach cut. open. I mean, they're they're going to. want to find someone guilty. So, that.

helps the prosecution. The problem is. that although these these defendants. don't seem to be very bright, quite. frankly, they may be crazy like a fox in. that they may luck into getting. reasonable doubt because there's so many. different explanations. There are so. many different people to point fingers. at whether it's the sister, the fowler, whether it's the the boy, the husband, or the mother. And there's so much going. on here that you need to focus the. jurors, keep their eye on the ball that. you don't need to identify who killed. them. You don't you just have to.

identify that some there was a murder. and that there was an agreement perhaps. the fact that they were there at the. same time that tells you a lot. What was. he doing there? The the mother's. husband, what was he doing there? If. unless he was involved in it, he was. just a innocent bystander. >> And it's really confusing because. there's these allegations like why would. he get involved? Well, if Fowler there's. been allegations that he was involved. with he was romantically involved with. multiple women in this case, right? Um. both sisters. >> Yeah. And I think that, you know, this. this is idea of like, oh my gosh, you.

know, was this a revenge plot of some. sort or did Courtney want the baby uh. for herself in a twisted kind of. >> But you hit on that. That's important. because the jurors want to know the why. That's the thing. They don't have to. The the why motive is not an element to. a murder case, but jurors want to know. And that's a compelling reason. You have. this deranged mother who wants the child. for herself like out of a horror movie. And again, if she's saying things that. or he's saying things that are not. backed up by the evidence, it does.

become a question of do they try to sort. it out and come up with a direct clear. narrative and theory of what happened to. Rebecca and this baby to tell the jury. >> It depends on the evidence. If it looks. pretty clear that you can focus on one. person, the evidence points to that we. don't have all the evidence available to. us, then you can do that. But if it is. what we're talking about now, then the. better approach, I think, is not to try. to lock yourself in to one approach, one.

explanation, just say they were there, they agreed. There were no innocent. bystanders here. They're all going down. for it. >> And there's this lingering question, right? Richard Fowler, the boyfriend. that Kimberly first implicated, then. recanted, later said he confessed to. her. He's not charged with murder. anymore. In fact, the murder related. charges seem to have been dropped. He. was arrested on these separate older. drug charges. But according to the. allegations in Kimberly's affidavit and. the statements from Bradley and Courtney. blaming each other, his name is all over. this case as a potential motive either.

as a co-conspirator or target of. revenge, a manipulator. And based on. what we see in these documents, you do. wonder could there be a change with. respect to him? >> Yeah. And that's when I say all because. I don't know how many people I mean is. it just the two of them or is Fowler. part of it as well? So that I think is a. possibility that they bring him back in. When I saw Fowler's first interview at. the beginning, [snorts] uh, when the. victim went missing, it was a little. deceptive, I thought. I mean, when I saw. he said, "Well, you can ask anyone. We. we were always, uh, texting each other.

all day. We're in touch. Just ask. anyone." Like, why are you being so. defensive, dude? So, I think that. there's a chance that he could be. charged more seriously. But either way, he's still charged with a serious crime. >> Look, at the end of the day, this is a. awful, awful, awful killing. I mean, even before people were arrested and we. talked about her body being found, your. mind races to the worst possible. scenario, unfortunately, it's been. confirmed by the affidavit at the very. least about what happened to her and. what happened to the baby, it's. horrifying to think about. And the idea. that the loved ones, the loved ones.

might be responsible, it's it's again. unthinkable. Um Dave, thank you so much. for taking the time. Really really. appreciate it and love that you uh came. in. Dave Arinberg, everybody. Thank you. >> Thank you, Jesse. >> Appreciate it. And that's all we have. for you right now here on Sidebar. Everybody, thank you so much for joining. us. And as always, please subscribe on. YouTube, Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you should get your podcast. You can follow me on X or Instagram. I'm. Jesse Weber. [music] I'll speak to you. next time.