Rebecca Park was pregnant with her stepfather’s baby, mother claims, as she allegedly confessed to cutting the child out of her womb

HE NEEDS TO KNOW

• Cortney Bartholomew, 40, allegedly confessed to pulling out the unborn child of her daughter Rebecca Park, 22, on the night of her murder.

• She claimed she wanted to give the baby to Rebecca’s fiancé, Richard Falor, with whom Cortney had previously had an affair, she told investigators.

• Cortney also claimed in an affidavit that her husband Bradley Bartholomew, 47, was the father of her stepdaughter’s unborn child.

Rebecca Park’s mother allegedly confessed to cutting the unborn child out of her daughter’s womb and then witnessed her murder, according to an affidavit by PEOPLE.

Cortney Bartholomew, 40, initially denied any involvement in the killing of the biological daughter she gave up for adoption as a child, but changed her story after police informed her that cellphone evidence placed her at the location where Rebecca’s body was found on the night of her murder.

Rebecca disappeared just before midnight on the night of November 3 from Cortney’s home in Michigan and was found dead several miles away on November 25, three days after she was due to give birth.

In a second interview with the Wexford County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO), Cortney allegedly admitted to using a scalpel and cutting the fetus out of Rebecca’s womb, according to a copy of the probable cause affidavit obtained by PEOPLE.

The affidavit goes on to say that Cortney claimed her motivation in doing so was to save the baby’s life and give it to Rebecca’s fiance, 43-year-old Richard Falor.

She also allegedly told police that the child’s father was her husband and Rebecca’s stepfather, Bradly Bartholomew, according to the affidavit.

“Brad said it was his,” Cortney reportedly told officials.

The allegation came after both Cortney and Rebecca’s sister Kimberly, 21, allegedly told investigators they had previously had affairs with Falor.

Cortney also claimed, according to the affidavit, that Bradly, 47, killed Rebecca, claiming he forced his pregnant daughter into a car and stabbed her repeatedly before she could cut Rebecca’s unborn baby boy from her womb.

“When she cut the child, Cortney said Rebecca was still conscious and Bradly was holding the knife to her throat,” the affidavit said.

Cortney reportedly told police the baby wasn’t breathing when she cut it off.

Rebecca’s body was then pushed onto an embankment and covered with leaves, Cortney said. She was found there three weeks later.

Cortney claimed that Bradly killed Rebecca as a form of revenge against Falor, who allegedly reported Bradly for violating the condition of his release as a convicted sex offender.

Court records obtained by PEOPLE show that Bradly received a 180-day sentence for an unspecified violation related to his being on the sex offender registry.

As for the baby, Cortney allegedly told investigators the fetus was placed in a refrigerator and then in a garbage bag before being thrown in a dumpster, according to the affidavit.

Cortney said she never stabbed Rebecca, but would have admitted that the injuries she sustained from cutting her would have been difficult to survive.

She also claimed to investigators that Bradly said he planned to take Rebecca’s baby out of her womb in front of Rich months before the murder.

Bradly allegedly told authorities that his wife ran the operation and was motivated by her desire for more children, according to the affidavit.

He said the couple could not adopt because he was a sex offender.

Investigators found text messages Cortney sent to her sister before Rebecca was killed, in which she claimed she had given birth to a child who was being treated in the neonatal intensive care unit of a local hospital.

She texted her sister to report that the baby had died shortly after Rebecca’s baby died.

It is still unclear when Rebecca died, and investigators believe she may have been alive after the person or persons responsible left the scene that night.

Wexford County Prosecutor Johanna Carey described the crime as “evil personified” at a court hearing where she argued that Cortney and Bradly should be granted bail.

She called it a “case of torture and premeditated murder”, claiming the Bartholomews “created a plan” and “conducted research”.

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Cortney allegedly lured Rebecca home by showing her a photo of an $18,000 check she said was part of her inheritance from her grandmother, investigators believe.

Cortney and Bradly now face one count each of first degree murder, felony murder, torture, conspiracy to commit torture, assault on a pregnant person causing miscarriage/stillbirth and conspiracy to commit assault on a pregnant person causing miscarriage/stillbirth.

Each of those six charges carries a possible sentence of life in prison.

They are also charged with one count each of unlawful imprisonment and removal of a corpse.

Kimberly is charged with tampering with evidence, lying to a police officer and filing a false report. She is currently under house arrest after her bail was reduced from $750,000 to $5,000.

Public defenders representing Cortney, Bradly and Kimberly did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

Cortney and Bradly continue to be held without bail at the Wexford County Jail.

Read the original article on People