Michigan Monsters: Horrific New Revelations in the Murder of Rebecca Park | Rebecca Park Case Update

Summary

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.

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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)

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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)

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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

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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.

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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)

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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.

Transcript

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[Ashley Banfield]

Hey everybody, I'm Ashley Banfield and this is Drop Dead Serious. Happy Holidays. As you can tell, I am super pumped about something. I launched the Merch store and if you are still stumped about your Christmas presents, I've got your back because I'm giving 20 off to you guys all the way through Friday of this week. It is currently December 9th. As I say this, I've got hoodies and T shirts and mugs and tumblers and notebooks and tote bags and phone accessories and blankets and hats. Something for people you don't like that much and something for people you do like a lot. Tell them that they're drop dead serious with something from the Merch store. Or you know what? Tell the world that you're drop dead serious get yourself something nice for the holidays, girl. You're worth it. It's super easy, Drop. It's super easy. Just go to shop.drop dead serious.com again. Shop.drop dead serious.com Again. 20% off for several more days. You're welcome. And by the way, it's really cute. I really like this stuff. It's really great. All right, so down to business. I cover some pretty ugly stuff, right? I mean, I'm drop dead serious. And I mean, as a true crime reporter, pretty much most of what I cover involves people behaving really badly. But the crimes that were committed against Rebecca park, damn, this is on a whole other level. So Rebecca was 22 years old. She 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. And the worst part of this whole sordid tale that I'm going to unravel for you is that the people they arrested for this despicable crime, they were family. They were Rebecca's family. Her biological mother, woman named Courtney Bartholomew, and Courtney's husband, Bradley Bartholomew. This couple was hauled in and cuffed within days of Rebecca being found like that in the woods, mutilated.

Both Courtney and Bradley were charged with crimes that don't get any more serious. First degree premeditated murder. And, oh, it doesn't end there. Just wait until I run down the entire list of the vile and disgusting things that police say this couple did to their pregnant daughter and the charges they're going to have to answer to in court. According to investigators, Courtney and Bradley Bartholomew didn't just act on an impulse one day. No. The prosecutors with Wexford county say that this couple had very carefully planned out this despicable crime. They say that Courtney and Bradley had done their research. And when they say that, they mean medical research, like how to remove a baby from a womb. They had done the research. According to the prosecutors. They created this whole detailed plan, and then they lured Rebecca again, almost nine months pregnant and just days from giving birth, into their home. And remember when I said that prosecutors said there was a detailed plan? According to the affidavits, Courtney told detectives Courtney, right, she's arrested and facing first degree murder. She told the detectives that her husband Bradley had been searching how to perform a C section on his phone. So, I mean, if you follow this podcast, you know how many dumb criminals actually do things on the Google, things that they actually carry out later? And then the Google is brought into the court. And the charges, yeah, they're easy to prove when you have the Google saying you did the thing that you're charged with. So I'll get to that in a minute, but I need you to brace yourself because the details in this are really, really bad. Rebecca was stabbed to death after being mercilessly tortured. Her killers had cut her baby out of her womb while she was still alive. Just let that sink in. Rebecca is alive, and police and prosecutors say this foul couple butchered her and cut that baby out of her, still alive. The story is being told about who did what and how. They're just unimaginable. It's a little confusing, actually, how the entire crime was carried out. But I think I can piece together sort of a plan for you, a flowchart of what happened. I'm going to start here. Courtney, as you know, is Rebecca's birth mother. And Rebecca had connected with her a couple of years ago. But Rebecca had an adoptive mom, right? Somebody who actually raised her. And that woman's name is Stephanie Park. That's why Rebecca's last name is Park. Rebecca Park. So her adoptive mom is Stephanie Park. And Stephanie told the Detroit Free Press that birth mom Courtney Bartholomew used something very specific to lure her daughter Rebecca to the Bartholomew home on November 3rd. She said it was an offer of inheritance money. And detectives say the affidavits include a photo of an $18,000 inheritance check. And who do you think it's made out to? Rebecca. Yeah, it's a check that prosecutors believe was bait, pure and simple bait. How about 18,000? Wave. Wave wave. Right?

[Stephanie Pratt]

Here's a check.

[Ashley Banfield]

It's inheritance. My long lost daughter I've just reconnected with in the last few years. 18 grand, and you're about to have baby. That sounds pretty tempting.

But this is not exactly how Courtney described this meetup to the investigators. Now, she offered a much kinder and softer version of events. Courtney claimed that she and Rebecca were simply planning to get together to, quote, spend some time, maybe even go get ice cream, and that they only went back to Courtney's house so that she could give her daughter Rebecca some laundry soap. From there, though, prosecutors say everything went sideways. Police say the Bartholomews, Courtney and Bradley, put Rebecca into a car, and then the rest of what happened was almost unspeakable. So let's break down exactly what prosecutors are saying happened to Rebecca that day and why the prosecutors believe they know the timeline because the allegations are darker and more calculated and far more disturbing than Anything we've heard so far in this case and what investigators say unfolded inside that house, inside that car, and in the hours that followed outside in the woods is like something out of a slasher movie. But there's a whole other twist as well in this complicated and sordid story. We're actually learning that Rebecca's sister, woman named Kimberly Park. Well, the talk is that Kimberly Park, Rebecca's sister, was romantically involved with Rebecca's fiance. You heard me right. The victim's sister apparently was involved with her fiance, a guy named Rich Fowler. And when it comes to Rich Fowler, apparently he was a busy guy when it came to this family, because the mom, Rebecca's mom, her birth mother, Courtney Bartholomew, also was apparently involved with Rich, her daughter's fiance. So fair to say with, you know, a family like this, who the hell needs enemies? According to the court documents, Courtney Bartholomew told detectives that this entire plan began as some twisted revenge plot against her daughter, Rebecca. Do what now? A revenge plot? Yeah, that's what the authorities are saying. They say that Courtney claimed that her husband, Bradley, wanted to kill Rebecca as payback. Payback against Rebecca's fiance, that guy, Rich Fowler, who seems to, you know, get around with the sister and the mom.

Bradley believed that Rich Fowler, the fiance, had reported him to the police for violating his sex offender registration. And apparently that got Bradley a very quick ticket back to jail. So he was mad as a mofo, and he wanted revenge against Rich. But when detectives spoke to Bradley. What? That's not true. He said something completely different. And he pointed the finger at who? Who do you think? What a lovely couple. He pointed the finger at his wife, Courtney. Police say he told investigators that, quote, courtney was mad because Rebecca was always bad mouthing her and wouldn't give her a chance to be a mom. And that, quote, courtney wanted Rebecca's baby for herself. Well, that's pretty indicting, isn't it? But Bradley also told detectives that during the crime, he never once heard the infant cry and that he didn't think the baby was even breathing.

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[Ashley Banfield]

Bradley claimed that they tried CPR and chest compressions, but when those efforts failed, Bradley said Courtney lashed out, yelling, quote the bitch killed my baby. As if to say the pregnant victim who was in the process of being murdered was somehow to blame for the baby not surviving after being cut from her body in the woods. You cannot make this stuff up. And the text messages laid out in the affidavits are just as disturbing. On October 28, days before Rebecca park was ever reported missing, Courtney Bartholomew texted her sister a bald faced lie, claiming that she'd given birth to a brand new baby boy. And she even gave this brand new baby boy a name, Ashton Lee Bartholomew. She said the little boy had arrived very early, 28 weeks and was fighting for his life in the NICU in Grand Rapids. None of this was true. All horseshit. And then came November 3rd, the day investigators believe that Rebecca was actually murdered. Her mom, Courtney got on the texting machine again and texted her sister again. This time though, saying the child that she'd claimed to have delivered premature, was, quote, not getting air and had died. Detectives then say she texted her sister again, quote all I know is I watched my child die right in front of me.

Oh, the humanity, right? All of it. The fake birth, the fabricated NICU story, the dramatic death text. Prosecutors say it was all all part of the Bartholomew's murder plan. And guess what? Investigators say the blame game between Courtney and Bradley did not Stop with pointing fingers at each other. In the days before Rebecca's body was discovered on November 25, after she'd been missing for weeks, both Courtney and Bradley tried to steer the detectives towards, you know, other people, other people that they claimed were involved in Rebecca's disappearance. But the documents also make something else very clear. Once each spouse realized that the other one was talking smack about each other, well, their stories certainly began to shift. Right. He said, what about me? She said, what about me?

These guys are idiots. I mean, absolutely morons. Detectives say the minute they found out that, you know, they were trying to blame each other, that's when the more believable stories started to spill out. Details that neither one of them had offered before.

Courtney initially claimed that some unknown friend had come and picked up Rebecca and taken her away that night. Then she floated the idea that an older man was involved. After that, she pointed detectives towards Rebecca's own fiance, Rich, you know, the guy she'd already been sleeping with. And she accused Rich of being abusive and even suggested that two other people were supposedly trying to, quote, get Rebecca away from Rich, the fiance. Oh, look how dangerous he is. P.S. i slept with him. Right? Bradley Bartholomew, he didn't fare much better with his stories. He first told detectives that he wasn't even home on the night that Rebecca disappeared. Yeah, unfortunately, again, not quite with it upstairs when it comes to true crime and how easily that can be checked, because the claim was quickly contradicted by all that pesky data that was pulled from his phone. I mean, you know how it goes, right? They just don't watch our podcast or Forensic Files or anything like, just watch csi, something.

Investigators say both Bradley's phone and Courtney's phone were pinging in the same locations that night, near their home and near the spot where Rebecca's body was ultimately found. So, you know, that's what you call evidence. Digital evidence. And then Bradley's story veered into something even more strange. He told investigators that just days before Rebecca disappeared, Rebecca's own sister Kimberly, told Bradley that she needed to get Rebecca, quote, out of the picture. And later, just one day before Rebecca's body was found, Bradley's got more to add. He claimed that same sister Kimberly, told him that she had taken Rebecca, quote, behind the house, and that he believed that meant Rebecca was dead. That's quite a jump, Bradley, but okay. According to the autopsy quote, Rebecca had six sharp force wounds on her back. Two to the right upper arm, one to her left trapezius area, two to the neck, and at least Two to the face. Just let that sink in. Two stab wounds to the face.

I cover this kind of stuff, right? I get it. And I know every crime I've covered where someone is shot in the face or stabbed in the face or the face is disfigured or beaten. It is personal. It's not accidental. It's not just because of, like, a struggle. It means something. 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.

But here's where things are going to get really uncomfortable in this podcast. The description of Rebecca Park's stomach, it was unspeakable. The autopsy report said that Rebecca had, quote, incised wounds and the placenta was hanging from the open abdominal wound with attached umbilical cord, and the fetus was absent.

Once detectives made it clear that this was now a homicide investigation and that each spouse was blaming the other, those stories began to unravel even faster. Courtney Bartholomew's first pivot was explosive. She accused her husband Bradley of confessing to her, saying that Bradley blurted out, I slit her throat, deserved it. That's a quote. I slit her throat. Deserved it. That's what Courtney says Bradley said to her. But then Courtney's version shifted yet again. How many versions is that now? I'm losing count. Detectives say Courtney later broke down and partially admitted her involvement, but she insisted that Bradley, quote, did everything. Police say Courtney claimed that Bradley came back carrying the baby's body and said, quote, brad took her. He brought the baby back. I tried. I didn't. I couldn't. I tried. I tried to save my grandson before she began to cry. Boy, I really hope that's on body cam. Boy, I really hope that gets released, because I want to see this act right. And then came the most chilling admission of all. Courtney told detectives that she used her own hunting knife to cut the unborn baby from Rebecca's womb, but she claimed that she did it, quote, in an attempt to save the baby. She insisted she never stabbed Rebecca with that hunting knife that she seems to have.

By the way, can I just tell you again, they don't watch CSI or this podcast, but I think we all know because we're kind of into this true crime stuff that you can match stab wounds to weapons, and you can certainly match, like, pivot marks or divots in bone. Yeah, you can match that to weapons as well. So that hunting knife. Wait for it. We'll find out what the forensics further prove or disprove. Courtney Bartholomew also told detectives that her husband Bradley, described what he had done with the baby's body in horrifying detail. Investigators say that Courtney insisted that Bradley told her, quote, I stuck him in a cooler, stuck him in a trash bag, and threw him in the trash. End quote. She also claimed Bradley threw her hunting knife into a dumpster. You know, the same knife that she'd admitted to using to do a C section on her daughter. She said the dumpster was in Cadillac, Michigan. That's a nearby city in Wexford County. But again, true to this couple's dysfunction, Bradley had a very different version of events. He said that his wife, Courtney, was the one who first put the unborn baby into a garbage bag and then into the cooler.

And that together, they later disposed of the baby boy's body near a home close to theirs in an area where logging had recently been done. Don't ask about the detail, but I'm sure we'll find out. And as for the crime itself, Bradley shed light on a few more sordid details. He said that Courtney had tricked Rebecca to get her out of the truck and then forced Rebecca to start walking, even after Rebecca had already been stabbed. He also claimed that Courtney had Rebecca lie down and that while Rebecca was still alive, that Courtney cut the baby out of her daughter's body. Incredulously, Bradley claimed that he was just standing right there beside the trail, telling Courtney that she doesn't need to do that. That wasn't right. Doesn't sound like he did much else, though, like, offer any resistance to this despicable butchery going on in front of him. Did he try to save Rebecca from the unimaginable torture and death that both she and the baby endured out there in the woods? Did he? No mention. Just stood there saying, that's not right. Don't do that.

Look, I think we're all wise to this kind of thing. People who make stuff up in their head aren't making it up with reality like, in front of them. It doesn't match the reality of what really happened out there.

Detectives say that once the baby had been cut from Rebecca's womb, the couple continued their sickening crime. And let me read directly from the affidavit, because police wrote, and I quote, bradley said they just left Rebecca there, that he couldn't tell if she was dead or not. Hmm. Courtney decided that they should head to the house, and Courtney was holding the baby on her lap as Bradley drove. Bradley said the baby never took a breath and that he never heard the baby cry. Took about 5 minutes to get back to the house, Bradley said. He also said that Courtney took the baby into the house and into her bedroom where she tried to perform CPR on the baby. He also said he too tried to perform CPR on the baby by doing chest compressions and breathing into his mouth. He said that went on for about 15 minutes. After they arrived home, Bradley said that Courtney went to the kitchen, got a garbage bag and placed the baby in a garbage bag and went outside with the baby. He said that the cooler was in the bed of the white truck and that he saw the baby go into the cooler because the cooler can be zipped up and it had the baby in it and they could dispose of the cooler and not be seen. End quote. That's from the affidavit. I can say that as of now, it is unclear as to whether investigators have recovered the remains of this unborn baby boy. But my colleague Jesse Weber did an interview on News Nation with Stephanie Pratt from the podcast Steph's Case Files. She has been nailing it. She's been way out in front with the reporting. Here is some of what she had to say.

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[Interviewer]

I want to start with Courtney and Bradley playing the blame game. The police, you know, telling police the other killed Rebecca, threw away her baby. Can you tell us more about what you know about their statements to police?

[Stephanie Pratt]

Yes, they seem to be playing, just as you said, the blame game. When they questioned Courtney Bartholomew, she stated Brad was the one who hid in the truck, and she was. Then to get Rebecca to get in the truck, they got in the truck. Courtney says they're just riding along, and then he just starts taking out the knife. And according to her, he was stabbing her four to five times in both the chest and the back. But then when they brought Brad in, he switched it on Courtney and said she was the one that was swinging the knife as he was stopping the truck to get out of the truck because the knife was still swinging and he didn't know what was going on. So each of them blame each other, but really what police have to do is overlap their stories to figure out what is correct. 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.

[Interviewer]

That's a really good point because right now they believe that they are responsible, not Richard Fowler, for the death. And this idea, I'm still confused. This idea that Courtney lured her out, well, stabbed her, made her lie down, took the baby out, I guess, because I'm trying to understand what the motive would have been for that. Whether it was to get the baby or there was tension, I don't really quite understand. And then why would Bradley want to kill Rebecca? What would be the motives here for both of them to do this?

[Stephanie Pratt]

Well, we know by Bradley's own testimony that him and Rebecca did not get along, so that would be one motive for him. But in speaking and interviewing Courtney Bartholomew myself, she told me directly that she had plans to move to Texas.

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And.

[Stephanie Pratt]

And I said, why Texas? That's So far away. She said, well, Brad went there for work one time. He liked it. I like it. We want to move there. We want to have a baby together. My son wants to have a sibling. In fact, in the affidavit, you'll note that she talked about a NICU baby that was hers, that was born early to a friend, stating that the baby was having trouble breathing. So when you put all of this together, I believe the motive was to have a baby, a baby that she had already named and had stated in the affidavit that she was mad at Rebecca for killing.

[Interviewer]

And I just want to circle back on this idea of if this is all true and Rebecca park endured all this, stabbed and had the baby ripped out of her and died. That is just unimaginable. It is unimaginable. And you think about this unborn baby, because the affidavits get into that, too, right? What happened to this unborn baby who still hasn't been found? What do the affidavits reveal that we didn't know before?

[Stephanie Pratt]

So Courtney both. One thing that Courtney and Brad both have in common is they say that the baby is inside a blue cooler that was placed inside a trash bag. Now, who placed the baby in the cooler? Courtney says Brad. Brad says Courtney, then in the trash bag. And then the baby was taken to a dumpster down the road at a house just north of them. And so I'm hoping that authorities are going to try to trace that to a land for where the baby might be. Who put the baby in the cooler? That's a good question. They both say each other. And the most shocking part of this is Courtney took that baby home even though the baby had already passed away, and took it to her bedroom and tried CPR for an additional 15 minutes before they decided to discard of the baby boy.

[Interviewer]

Only important from a human point of view and an emotional point of view and a justice point of view, but from a forensic point of view, can obviously say a lot. Real quick.

Rebecca's sister Kimberly telling police that, okay, it was Courtney and Bradley. Were the killers then saying it was Richard Fowler who confessed to the murder was. What did Kim. What did Kim tell you directly about that with. With Richard?

[Stephanie Pratt]

Well, we know by the affidavit that Kim started telling this story before Rebecca's body was found. Trying to paint this narrative and timeline for police going in there on November 5th and telling police that Rich was after Rebecca, that Rebecca was trying to get away from him and that he was angry and that he could have Been the one to do it. Now, what we also see in the affidavit is Kim was approached with the fact that cadaver dogs hit in her bedroom. She explained that away to authorities as the fact that her and Rich are having an affair and that there was bodily fluids inside the bedroom and that's what the dogs hit on. So now we have an affair between Kimberly park and Rich, who is engaged to Kimberly's sister Rebecca, who used to date their mom, Courtney.

[Interviewer]

Oh, my gosh.

It's hard to make sense of that. I mean, my gosh, the different people that are involved in all this, the connections, the allegations, trying to make sense of it, very, very tough.

[Ashley Banfield]

And that's where this case stands for now. We're not letting this one out of our sight because I swear, there are so many gaps and so many holes and so many problems with all of the bullshit that both Courtney and Bradley Bartholomew have been spewing to anybody who will listen. It seems the versions that they've both told each one getting more fantastical when they find out more about what, you know, the spouse has said. But don't you just love a couple like this? If they're guilty of this despicably heinous and violent murder and torture if they're guilty of it, Imagine them just all of a sudden like, eh, she did it. Meh, he did it. What a couple. What. What assorted pair of humans to commit a crime like this and then to just be so quick to say, yeah, it was the other guy, the man I supposedly love and married. Yeah, it was the other girl, the woman I supposedly love and married. Just like. Like, that didn't take a minute. It was him. It was her. That's the kind of people we're dealing with here. And I should tell you what the charges are before I sign off because they are unbelievable in the list. And I don't even know if it's over. There could be more charges added. So here we go. They are both charged with first degree premeditated murder. That's a natural. They're also charged with felony murder because don't forget, there's an allegation of a kidnapping and all the torture and the assault and the abuse and the stabbing. So, yeah, a felony was being committed and somebody died as a result. So felony murder. And then there's torture inside a place of confinement. This is curious to me because it says to me that maybe some of the stabbings started to happen inside the car because that's a place of confinement. Or maybe the woods they're holding her and stabbing her. If that's the allegation here and they consider it that she's confined, if she can't move, there's conspiracy to torture. I'm guessing that one's from all the googling saying how do we cut a baby out of a womb, right? There's assault on a pregnant woman with the intent to cause a miscarriage or stillbirth. There's conspiracy to commit that assault. There's unlawful imprisonment. And as if that list isn't already staggeringly long enough, there's another charge for moving a dead body. Now, I don't know if that charge pertains to Rebecca. Did they kill her, you know, and move her body eventually somewhere because the affidavit suggests they walked away from her while she was probably still alive and just left her there? Or is it for the baby? Is it the conveyance of the dead baby from the crime scene where the baby was cut from the womb into the house where this CPR thing was done? Right? I don't know. But like I said, 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, or maybe police will throw up their hands and say this whole like, you know, lying to authorities, obstruction of justice, all that. Maybe they'll say, who? Why even bother? We got a dead to rights on premeditated murder. Why bother with all the little stuff, right? For the rest of us, that'd be pretty big stuff. But when you look at a list like that, that's going to be, that's going to be small potatoes. But then there is also the issue of the baby. So there's a premeditated murder charge, right? But there should be two. Because if that baby was alive and that baby died, that's the murder of a child. They may not be able to prove that, right? If they cannot prove that the baby was alive, then they may not be able to charge for the death of the baby. Some states allow the death of a fetus, like you probably remember Scott Peterson, right? And the death of Lacey, his wife, and Connor, the unborn son. They charged for that. That was California. Not every state has a statute that can cover that. But every state in the Union has code and statute for killing a baby that's viable after it's born, no matter how the baby's born. C section, natural birth. Otherwise, if that baby's alive and then that baby dies because of what you did, their statute for that is called murder. Typically. So we'll wait to see what Michigan has up their sleeve for this couple. And I am 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. I'm Ashley Banfield. Thank you so much for watching. Thank you so much for listening. And please remember the truth isn't just serious, it's drop dead serious.

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