May 14, 2009 11:59 pm US/Eastern
Murder Is #1 Cause Of Death For Pregnant Women
FORESTVILLE, Md. (WJZ) ―
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The body of pregnant Valicia Andrea Demery, 19, was discovered on the running track at the high school where she graduated.
The shocking murder of a pregnant woman in Prince George's County highlights an alarming reality in Maryland. Murder is the leading cause of death for pregnant women. Many of them are murdered by the man who got them pregnant.
Derek Valcourt talks to the father of a victim killed just this week and examines why too many women end up pregnant and murdered.
Elizabeth Walters was nine months pregnant when she was shot point blank in the head. Five months pregnant Latoyia Figueroa was strangled to death.
The body of pregnant Valicia Andrea Demery, 19, was discovered on the running track at the high school where she graduated.
"That really hurt. You know, to know that something happened to your kid," said Garrett Demery, victim's father.
In each case, police say the killer was the unborn baby's father. Ending the pregnancy was the motive.
Valicia Demery was run over by a car. Police say her boyfriend and father of her unborn child, Bernard Bellamy, was behind the wheel.
"Detectives said that he just hit her and kept going," said Garrett Demery.
Bellamy, 20, and Demery both attended the Forestville Military Academy. They went to her prom, even after he started college in West Virginia. Her father thinks a baby wasn't in his plans.
"You know, you never think it would be your kid. You see this stuff all the time," said Garrett Demery.
In an exclusive interview with WJZ, Demery says his daughter exchanged text messages with Bellamy.
She said: I really hope you cum to ur senses soon. I didn't make this baby myself.
He replied: I hope u come 2 urs b4 its 2 late.
She asked: B4 whats too late?
Answer: U will see
"He did not want her to have the baby, very adamant about. I kept telling her just leave the guy alone, but she wanted him to be part of the baby's life," said Garrett Demery.
The tragic death of this pregnant woman is not the only one. Across Maryland, pregnant women are being killed at an alarming rate. Forty-one pregnant women have been murdered in Maryland since researchers began keeping track in the 90s.
"We were completely shocked to find that homicide was the leading cause of death," said Isabelle Horon, Md. Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene.
The majority of these victims are young, single and African-American. It's a profile that fits Valicia Demery exactly.
Thirteen years ago, Maryland passed a law allowing prosecutors to charge a pregnant woman's killer with two murders.
Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger got a double murder conviction in the Elizabeth Walters case.
"Ours was the first case in Maryland ever done. And it was interesting the law had been on the books for some 13 years and nobody had ever used it," said Shellenberger.
Of the 36 states with similar laws, Maryland is one of the few that requires proof that the unborn child could have survived outside of the womb.
"Do I think it's tough enough? No, I don't think the law is tough enough," said Shellenberger.
Eyewitness News has learned prosecutors are now investigating whether that same law can be used against Valicia Demery's accused killer. Valicia was five months pregnant with a baby girl.
"He not only took one life, he took two. He took hers and a life that hadn't even started yet," said Garrett Demery.
Many Marylanders would like to see our law stronger. In California, for example, unborn babies at any age are protected.
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