Five years later, authorities arrested a suspect in the disappearance of a pregnant Baltimore, Maryland woman.
41-year-old Michael Robertson was arrested in Michigan around 4 p.m. Tuesday in connection with the killing of the mother of his unborn child, Akia Eggleston, Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced Thursday.
“At this stage in the investigation, we believe that he’s the person of interest,” Mosby said.
During a news conference Thursday morning, Mosby cited cellphone data, text messages, photos and internet search history and bank records as supporting the charges. Investigators pieced together a timeline of Eggleston’s movements on her last days, Mosby said.
“We used additional investigative techniques, and we had a new fresh set of eyes that looked at the evidence and worked with our federal partners to overturn every stone,” Mosby said.
Officials said Robertson moved to Michigan in late 2017 with another 22-year-old woman. That woman, Hali Pomeroy, has two children with Robertson, and they moved to Michigan to be closer to her relatives, court records show.
“This has been a long and painful journey for the family of Akia Eggleston,” FBI-Baltimore supervisory special agent Shayne Buchwald said. “For nearly five years, the people of Baltimore have searched, hoped and mourned with Akia’s family and friends, but they never gave up and neither did we.”
According to prosecutors, Robertson misled Eggleston into believing they were moving in together with plans to start a life together. “He allegedly concocted an intricate ruse involving a false move-in location that ultimately led to Eggleston withdrawing cash for a down payment for the home,” a statement read.
Eggleston never showed up to her baby shower in 2017 and hasn’t been seen since. She was 22, eight months pregnant and mother to a 2-year-old daughter when she disappeared in May 2017.
She was last seen on May 3, 2017, when she was captured on surveillance camera at a bank in the Inner Harbor, depositing money orders and a paycheck totaling $572.42. She then made a $450 cash withdrawal, Mosby said.
Eggleston then took a Lyft near to her home in Cherry Hill. Call records and cellphone data analysis indicate Eggleston’s phone was at or near the house between 3-4 p.m. on May 3, 2017, Mosby said.
By 5:34 p.m., Robertson’s cellphone was tracked near Eggleston’s home during a phone call, Mosby said. Investigators believe Eggleston and Robertson were together at her home during the late afternoon hours of May 3, 2017.
Robertson’s phone began to move away from Eggleston’s house in the next hour, Mosby said. The last activity on Eggleston’s phone was an incoming call, Mosby said. Then, all activity on that phone ceased, indicating it was disabled or turned off, Mosby said.
The family reported Eggleston missing when she didn’t show up for her baby shower four days later on May 7.
“In my mind, he has always been a suspect. The eyes were definitely on him,” said Eggleston’s aunt, Sanobia Wilson. “We do believe that he did it, he made her disappear.”
Mosby could not elaborate on a motive but said, “There was some sort of contention among the two with reference with Akia having the child.” Mosby also said investigators confirmed Robertson had a volatile argument with the other 22-year-old woman the night before Eggleston disappeared.
“He definitely had a motive to not seeing this child be born. He has multiple children,” Wilson said.
Eggleston’s family was with officials at Tuesday’s news conference and shared their thanks with the community.
“Thank you to everyone for their thoughts and their prayers and hope for our family that we would find her alive. Even though the evidence says something different, that she’s not, we just want to say thank you and to please continue to keep us in your prayers,” Wilson said.
“We’d like to say, domestic violence is real and when it happens, we need to address it. It is not the answer and there’s always an alternative,” said Eggleston’s stepfather, Shawn Wilkinson. “The family seeks justice in Akia’s case. It has affected so many relationships and we will continue to stand united as a family until the final judgment in this case has been rendered.”
Robertson remains held in Michigan on $200,000 bond.
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