A Tennessee man has been arrested in connection with the killing of a pregnant Kentucky mother after investigators say her unborn child had been removed before her body was discovered.
April Barlow Celio, 41, was found dead Sept. 23 inside a home on George Martin Drive in Pineville, a small city in southeastern Kentucky.
Police and the Bell County Coroner’s Office determined that Celio had been the victim of a homicide.
The investigation took an even more disturbing turn the following day.
According to authorities, the Kentucky State Medical Examiner’s Office determined during its examination that Celio had been pregnant, but no fetus was found in her womb.
Investigators from the Pineville Police Department, Bell County Sheriff’s Office and Kentucky State Police then continued processing the scene and recovered what they believe were fetal remains.
Authorities have not publicly disclosed how far along Celio was in her pregnancy, how she died or how the pregnancy ended.
As detectives worked the case, they identified DeMarcus Kenneth Johnson-Wright as a suspect.
Police described Johnson-Wright as having an extensive violent criminal history and said he also had several outstanding felony warrants in Tennessee.
On Sept. 25, a Bell County judge issued warrants accusing him of first-degree robbery and kidnapping.
Additional warrants were issued Sept. 30 accusing him of murder involving domestic violence and tampering with physical evidence.
The charges remain allegations and have not been proven in court.
Kentucky authorities then requested help from the U.S. Marshals Service in locating Johnson-Wright.
Investigators eventually tracked him to a home in Clarksville, Tennessee, roughly 250 miles from Pineville.
He was arrested there late Sept. 30 with help from federal marshals, Clarksville police and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities also searched the Clarksville residence and said they recovered materials believed to be connected to the Kentucky investigation.
Police have not publicly described that evidence.
Johnson-Wright was booked into the Montgomery County Detention Center in Tennessee and was awaiting extradition to Kentucky.
Investigators have also not publicly explained the relationship between Johnson-Wright and Celio despite the domestic-violence designation attached to the murder warrant.
No motive has been announced.
Details surrounding the alleged robbery and kidnapping charges also remain unclear.
Celio was a mother of three.
Her sister, Amanda De Paz, described the family’s grief in a fundraiser established to help with funeral expenses and support Celio’s children.
She said her sister was deeply loved by her family and that her sudden death had left them struggling to understand how to move forward.
For Celio’s three surviving children, the loss has been especially devastating.
The investigation remains active, and authorities have said additional evidence is still being reviewed.
Throw this trash through a wood chipper, feet first.
Demonic