ST. PETERS, Mo. (TCD) — A Missouri man has been arrested on suspicion of fatally stabbing a pregnant mother of two he met on a texting app.
St. Peters Police officers responded to a report of a dead woman lying on the ground at about 12 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 27, in Old Towne Park, on the 100 block of North Church Street.
Officers identified the deceased woman as 22-year-old St. Peters resident Amethyst Killian. Her death was determined to be a homicide. Investigators discovered she was pregnant.
Police said Amethyst Killian was reported missing on Thanksgiving the day before at about 8 p.m. by family members after she failed to come home. Personal items belonging to Killian were found in the area, leading to the discovery of her body, according to police.
On Thursday, Dec. 3, St. Peters Police announced collected evidence led to the arrest of a suspect in Killian’s murder, identified as 27-year-old O’Fallon, Mo. resident Damion Delgado.
Delgado was charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder and armed criminal action. Police said the second-degree murder charge is for the death of Killian’s unborn child. Delgado was held on $1 million bond.
KMOV-TV reports Killian was stabbed more than 20 times. Her mother said Killian had two children and was five months pregnant.
According to prosecutors, Delgado and Killian agreed to meet in person after communicating through the TextNow app. KMOV reports when detectives showed up with a search warrant at Delgado’s home on Dec. 1, they learned the suspect had attempted suicide by cutting his arms on the front porch of the home on Nov. 30 and had been hospitalized.
“They had made a connection through an online website, exchanged numbers, and communicated throughout the evening. They agreed to meet up and their intention was to have consensual sex,” St. Charles Prosecuting Attorney Tim Lohmar said in a Dec. 3 news conference.