Cops: Murdered Pregnant Woman Had Chilling Search on Phone

Police in St. Louis County, Mo., had several reasons to be suspicious of Beau Rothwell after his 28-year-old wife went missing in mid-November—chief among them that he refused to give a DNA sample or let cops search his car, home, or cellphone, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Another disturbing detail, per search warrants cited by the newspaper: Jennifer Rothwell was six weeks pregnant and had carried out a search on her cellphone for "what to do if your husband is upset you are pregnant." Rothwell, also 28, reported his wife missing on Nov. 12; on Nov. 13, police searched the Rothwell home, finding an "overwhelming" smell of bleach inside, splatters of blood someone tried to clean with detergent (and later found to be Jennifer Rothwell's), and windows open in the home and garage and a fan blowing, despite frigid temps.

Police also say surveillance footage shows Beau Rothwell buying paper towels and rubber gloves at a store on Nov. 11; cops say they found those items in a trash can outside the home on Nov. 13, as well as a store receipt. "This purchase was oddly at a time during a major snow event involving dangerous driving conditions, and was also contradictory to Beau Rothwell's statement that he was home with his wife all night" on Nov. 11, the warrants say. Beau Rothwell was charged on Nov. 14, and authorities say he told them where to find his wife's body, which they discovered on Nov. 18 in a wooded area near Troy. A final cause of death is still not in, though an autopsy shows Jennifer Rothwell suffered blunt force injuries to her head. Beau Rothwell, charged with second-degree murder and tampering with evidence, is being held without bond, per KTVI. (More murder stories.)