Federal employee charged with capital homicide in girlfriend’s pressured abortion case | EUROtoday

A Justice Department worker in north Texas has been charged with homicide for allegedly spiking his pregnant girlfriend’s drink with an abortion drug.

Justin Anthony Banta, a 38-year-old I.T. employee on the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, was arrested on Friday after a months-long investigation by sheriffs in Parker County, a part of the Fort Worth metro space.

Authorities stated Banta’s then-girlfriend had accused him of placing crushed-up abortion capsules in her drink final October after she refused to terminate her being pregnant, resulting in the demise of her six-week-old fetus two days later.

When questioned by police, Banta allegedly surrendered his telephone to investigators solely to later log in remotely and wipe it of all proof.

Prosecutors have charged Banta with tampering with proof and capital homicide, that means he may face the demise penalty if convicted. He was launched on Friday on a complete bond of $520,000.

“I will use every authority, every tool and every ounce of influence I have to ensure those individuals are held accountable, and will do so publicly to send a clear message: if you dishonor the uniform, you will be held accountable. Full stop,” Bureau of Prisons Director William Marshall III advised the The Dallas Morning News.

But Banta’s lawyer Michael Heiskell disputed the fees, describing them as the results of a romantic relationship that “went awry”.

“He is innocent of these accusations,” Heiskell advised the Morning News. “We intend to litigate this in court, and at the end of the day we expect him to be exonerated of these charges and lies against him.”

According to a information launch by the Parker County Sheriff’s Office, and arrest paperwork reported by native media, the unnamed lady had been courting Banta for a few month when she found she was pregnant in September 2024.

Banta “encouraged” her to get an abortion, authorities stated, and purchased abortion capsules on-line to offer to her, however the lady stated she wished to maintain the being pregnant.

The two then organized to satisfy at a espresso store in Burleson, a southern suburb of Fort Worth, to debate the difficulty additional. Authorities allege that Banta had already purchased her a drink when she arrived.

“The next day, the victim stated she began to suffer from extreme fatigue and heavy bleeding, prompting her to visit the emergency room,” the Parker County Sheriff’s Office stated.

“The victim reported she lost her baby on October 19, which she believed was a result of the drugs Banta had previously placed in her drink at the coffee shop without her permission.”

Investigators then interviewed Banta and confiscated his telephone. His lawyer stated he had “fully cooperated” with the officers.

But authorities declare a forensic pc evaluation discovered “irregularities” within the telephone’s exercise that steered its knowledge had been tampered with, though they didn’t discover proof of a distant wipe command.

A spokesperson for the Bureau of Prisons declined to touch upon the case, however advised The Fort Worth Star-Telegram that it all the time “thoroughly investigates” any incidents of prison exercise inside Bureau services.