Police charge ex-boyfriend of pregnant teen with her murder

Posted at 7:34 PM, July 23, 2024

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. (Court TV) — Police charged the ex-boyfriend of a pregnant teen whose body was found by her parents in a wooded area near their home.

Jesus Monroy, 20, is facing charges of malice murder, felony murder, feticide, and aggravated assault in the death of Mia Campos, 16, who was 7.5 months pregnant with her unborn son, Sebastian.

Jesus Monroy

This is a booking photo of Jesus Monroy, 20, who was arrested on July 17, for providing false information to police in the homicide investigation of Mia Campos, then later charged with her murder on July 23, 2024. (Gwinnett County Police via Court TV)

Monroy went searching for Mia with her father, Edward Campos and located her lifeless body about 20-30 feet into the woodline off a road located less than a half of a mile from the Campos’ Loganville home.

MORE | Family of pregnant teen allegedly killed by baby’s father speaks out

It was not immediately clear how Mia died. Investigators arrived around 1:00 a.m. and began processing the scene and speaking to witnesses. Gwinnett fire personnel did not report any trauma on the victim’s body; however, they did locate blood on the ground where Mia’s head was lying. An autopsy completed the following day determined the manner of Mia’s death was homicide.

Monroy was arrested on July 17 for providing false statements to officers, but murder charges were not made until July 23. According to the incident report, when police first approached Monroy, “He was hesitant to tell (the officer) who he was and how he knew Mia.” He told the officer he was a “close friend of the family.”

Mia’s sister, Marisol Salizar, who reported Mia missing while her father and Monroy went looking for Mia, said that Monroy was the “one who impregnated Mia.” She was present when police first approached Monroy. Salizar told him in Spanish to “tell the truth and not to lie.” After that, Monroy refused to answer any further questions and “stood quiet.”

White cross says Mia + Sebastian

Friends and family set up a makeshift memorial for 16-year-old Mia Campos and her unborn child, Sebastian, in the woods where her body was found in Loganville, Georgia, on July 14, 2024. (Court TV)

Mia’s brother, Alexis Campos, told Court TV that he was the one who first introduced Mia to Monroy, and the family was unaware they had been dating until Mia got pregnant. Alexis said the baby was not welcomed news to Monroy, who at first claimed he would not take responsibility as the father. According to Alexis, after Mia’s parents informed Monroy’s parents, Monroy then began showing interest by taking Mia out to eat and even attending doctor’s appointments.

Alexis said he was home with Mia on July 14 when she left with Monroy around 10:30 p.m. He didn’t think anything of it until Mia didn’t return home.

According to police, Monroy mentioned Mia was taking pre-natal vitamins that she had allegedly told Monroy she was allergic to, but that the last time he received a text message from her was 8 p.m. on the night she was killed.

 

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