Photo: Facebook
In an arrest affidavit, Texas authorities allege that the suspect, Magen Rose Fieramusca, “presented Heidi Broussard’s newborn child as her own to her boyfriend,”KVUE,KXANand theAustin-AmericanStatesmenreport.
Fieramusca has been charged with two counts of third-degree kidnapping and tampering with a corpse in the death of longtime friend 33-year-oldHeidi Broussard.
During their investigation, authorities found that Fieramusca’s phone was in the Austin area, near Broussard and her fiancé’s apartment on Dec. 12. They also found Fieramusca had searched some form of “Heidi Broussard” 162 times online between Nov. 11 and Dec. 18, and also searched “bodies found in Austin Texas,” the affidavit alleges.
Magen Fieramusca.Courtesy of Humble Police
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.
The owner told authorities he and Fieramusca had dated but had broken up in March and still lived together, though it is unclear if the owner is the same person referenced in the affidavit as Fieramusca’s boyfriend. The owner said Fieramusca told him she was pregnant but said he never saw Fieramusca’s bare stomach. He said he believed he was the father of her supposed child.
During an interview with a Texas Ranger, Fieramusca said she had given birth at a birthing center on Dec. 12. When pushed for more details, Fieramusca was allegedly unable to given a name for the birthing center and then told the Texas Ranger she gave birth alone.
Austin Police Department
Shortly after their interview, authorities searched Fieramusca’s home and noted the “unmistakable odor of decomposing flesh” coming from her car’s trunk. Upon further inspection, they found Broussard’s body stuffed in a black duffel bag in the trunk.
On Monday, Fieramusca’s attorney released the following statement to local station KVUE:
“[Attorney] Jackie Wood and I are anxious to review the evidence collected thus far and have many of the same questions you do. Those accused, as well as the public at large, understandably want swift and certain answers from our criminal justice system. We call upon patience and resisting the rush to judgment until all the facts are in. The cursory information contained in the recently released probable cause affidavit is nothing more than mere allegations. As with every American accused of a crime, unless the State has proven these allegations beyond any reasonable doubt, Ms. Fieramusca remains innocent.”
It is unclear where Broussard was killed. An autopsy found she had been strangled to death but nobody has been charged in her death.
“Heidi had so many friends. Everybody loved her. We thought Magen loved her too,”Broussard’s mother Tammy previously told PEOPLE.“But evidently that wasn’t the case. She wanted Margo, is what she wanted.”
source: people.com
