Drop Dead Serious With Ashleigh Banfield

Episode: Michigan Monsters: Horrific New Revelations in the Murder of Rebecca Park | Rebecca Park Case Update
Date: December 10, 2025

Overview:

In this chilling episode, Ashleigh Banfield delves into one of the most shocking true crime cases to come out of Michigan: the murder of 22-year-old, pregnant Rebecca Park. Banfield gives listeners a detailed breakdown of the brutal crime, the complex web of family betrayal, shifting alibis, and the ongoing search for answers surrounding both Rebecca Park’s murder and the disappearance of her unborn child. With her signature irreverent, direct style, Banfield ties in both her own reporting and expert commentary, notably from true crime podcaster Stephanie Pratt, to explore new revelations and critical forensic and legal questions as the case unfolds.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Case Background and Shocking Crime Details

• Rebecca Park (22, 38 weeks pregnant) found murdered, baby missing:
  • “[Rebecca] was 38 weeks pregnant, right? Just like two weeks away from giving birth when she was found stabbed in the woods. Her unborn baby gone, like, vanished. Rebecca’s there, mutilated, but her baby is gone.” (Banfield, 02:15)
  • The suspects? Rebecca’s biological mother, Courtney Bartholomew, and her stepfather, Bradley Bartholomew:
    • “The people they arrested for this despicable crime, they were family. They were Rebecca’s family.” (Banfield, 02:53)

2. Pre-meditation and Gruesome Planning

• Courtney and Bradley accused of careful planning and research:
  • Investigators reveal they did medical research on how to perform a C-section and planned to lure Rebecca with the promise of an $18,000 inheritance check.
  • “[Prosecutors say] Courtney told detectives... her husband Bradley had been searching how to perform a C section on his phone.” (Banfield, 05:55)
  • The inheritance check was a ploy to get Rebecca to their home:
    • “Prosecutors believe [the check] was bait, pure and simple bait. How about 18,000? Wave. Wave.” (Banfield, 07:46)

3. Family Dysfunction, Motives, and Twisted Relationships

• Layers of betrayal and personal vendettas:
  • Rebecca had reconnected with Courtney recently; her adoptive mom, Stephanie Park, helped expose how Courtney lured Rebecca.
  • Love triangle revelations: Rebecca’s fiancé, Rich Fowler, was also romantically linked to both her sister, Kimberly Park, and her mother, Courtney Bartholomew.
    • “Rebecca’s sister ... was romantically involved with Rebecca’s fiancé. The mom ... also was apparently involved with Rich, her daughter’s fiancé.” (Banfield, 09:05)
• Motives for murder included revenge and twisted ambitions to have a baby:
  • “Courtney claimed ... her husband, Bradley, wanted to kill Rebecca as payback ... Bradley believed that Rich Fowler ... had reported him to the police for violating his sex offender registration.” (Banfield, 10:44)
  • Bradley’s version: Courtney “wanted Rebecca’s baby for herself.” (Banfield, 10:52)

4. Brutality of the Crime, Autopsy, and Timeline

• Rebecca was alive when the baby was forcibly removed:
  • “Rebecca was stabbed to death after being mercilessly tortured. Her killers had cut her baby out of her womb while she was still alive.” (Banfield, 06:36)
  • Autopsy report: Six sharp force wounds on her back, wounds to arms, neck, face.
    • “Two stab wounds to the face.” (Banfield, 18:38)
    • “Placenta was hanging from the open abdominal wound with attached umbilical cord, and the fetus was absent.” (Banfield, 19:25)

5. Courtney and Bradley’s Conflicting Stories

• Each blamed the other, with rapidly shifting details as police confronted them:
  • “These guys are idiots. I mean, absolute morons. ... when they found out that they were trying to blame each other, that's when the more believable stories started to spill out.” (Banfield, 15:57)
  • Courtney initially claimed an unknown friend took Rebecca, then that an older man was involved, then implicated Rebecca’s fiancé, Rich.
  • Bradley lied about his whereabouts, but phone data placed both at the scene.
• Both give different accounts of what was done with the baby’s remains, each implicating the other.

6. Disposal of the Infant & Aftermath

• Macabre details about the baby’s disposal:
  • Both Courtney and Bradley claimed the baby was put into a cooler, then a trash bag, then discarded in a dumpster.
    • “I stuck him in a cooler, stuck him in a trash bag, and threw him in the trash.” (Banfield quoting Courtney, 21:11)
  • The remains have not yet been recovered as of the episode’s release.

7. Expert Commentary: Stephanie Pratt Interview (28:28–33:43)

• Analysis of the “blame game” and corroboration of key facts:
  • “When they questioned Courtney Bartholomew, she stated Brad was the one who hid in the truck ... then when they brought Brad in, he switched it on Courtney and said she was the one that was swinging the knife.” (Pratt, 28:28)
  • Both handled weapons and were involved in some form.
• Motives explained:
  • “In interviewing Courtney ... she told me directly that she had plans to move to Texas ... We want to have a baby together. ... she talked about a NICU baby that was hers ... So when you put all of this together, I believe the motive was to have a baby, a baby she had already named.” (Pratt, 30:24–31:03)
• Forensic details:
  • Both claim the baby was placed in a blue cooler, then a trash bag, left in a dumpster. Pratt highlights the importance of the baby’s remains for forensic and justice purposes.

8. Legal Charges and Outlook

• Extensive and severe list of charges reported by Banfield:

  • First degree premeditated murder; felony murder; torture inside a place of confinement; conspiracy to torture; assault on a pregnant woman with the intent to cause miscarriage or stillbirth; conspiracy to commit that assault; unlawful imprisonment; moving a dead body; and potentially more.
    • “I truly believe there will be more charges. I think the sordid nature of this crime, the fact that they're both blaming each other... maybe police will throw up their hands and say this whole lying to authorities, obstruction of justice, all that... We got a dead to rights on premeditated murder.” (Banfield, 35:07)

• Potential for even more charges relating to the baby’s death, depending on whether it can be proven the baby was alive after birth.

  • “If that baby was alive and that baby died, that's the murder of a child. They may not be able to prove that ... If they cannot prove the baby was alive, then they may not be able to charge for the death.” (Banfield, 36:25)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “The crimes that were committed against Rebecca Park, damn, this is on a whole other level.” (Banfield, 02:00)
• “I mean, as a true crime reporter, pretty much most of what I cover involves people behaving really badly. But this... is a whole other level.” (Banfield, 02:14)
• “Rebecca’s there, mutilated, but her baby is gone. And the worst part ... the people they arrested ... were family.” (Banfield, 02:23)
• “Getting someone in the face is a message. It is a personal vendetta. It is anger most of the time, if not all of the time.” (Banfield, 18:45)
• “[Courtney] used her own hunting knife to cut the unborn baby from Rebecca’s womb, but she claimed... ‘in an attempt to save the baby.’” (Banfield, 20:20)
• “These guys are idiots. ... that's when the more believable stories started to spill out. Details that neither one had offered before.” (Banfield, 15:57–16:15)
• “[Stephanie Pratt:] They both were there, they both were involved. They both handled some sort of weapon. And I think that's going to be the underlining case.” (Pratt, 29:13)
• “What a couple. What a sorted pair of humans to commit a crime like this and then to just be so quick to say, yeah, it was the other guy ... That's the kind of people we're dealing with here.” (Banfield, 34:06)

Important Timestamps

• [01:35] – Episode begins, Banfield’s introduction and context
• [02:15] – Initial summary of Rebecca Park’s murder and family connection
• [05:55] – Premeditation: Google searches, inheritance ploy discussed
• [09:05] – Complicated family/romantic entanglements
• [10:44] – Motives: revenge and desire for the baby
• [13:18] – Details from autopsy and the attempted cover-up
• [15:57] – Analysis of conflicting alibis and shifting blame
• [18:38–19:49] – Brutal autopsy findings and evidence against Courtney & Bradley
• [21:11] – Quotes regarding the baby’s disposal
• [28:28–33:43] – Stephanie Pratt interview, deep dive into the “blame game,” forensic details, and family motives
• [35:07] – Review of criminal charges and outlook for further developments

Tone and Language

Banfield’s delivery matches her trademark blend of detailed crime analysis and irreverent, unsparing commentary. She uses biting sarcasm and dark humor (“These guys are idiots. I mean, absolute morons.”) while always returning to a place of seriousness and respect for the victim’s plight. The episode’s tone is urgent, anguished, and utterly unapologetic—especially in calling out both the horror of the crime and the flawed, contradictory attempts at misdirection by the accused.

Final Thoughts

The episode ends with Banfield promising to stay on top of the latest developments, urging her audience not to miss a moment as the legal and investigative process unfolds:

“I'm going to be covering every single update, every filing, every twist, every little thing that comes next. Please make sure you're subscribed because this one, it's going to be filled with details. I don't want you to miss a thing.” (Banfield, 37:45)

Listener’s Note:
This episode is graphic and disturbing, both in its language and its factual details. For those following the Rebecca Park case, Banfield provides one of the most comprehensive and clear-eyed breakdowns to date, setting the stage for further shocking updates still to come.