The last text message sent by an 18-year-old pregnant woman to her sister before her tragic death has been disclosed in court.
Kylee Monteiro, hailing from Rehoboth, Massachusetts, was declared missing by the Rehoboth Police on August 7.
At the time of her disappearance, Monteiro was three months pregnant, and after an intensive two-week search, her 22-year-old boyfriend, Gregory Groom, was taken into custody on Tuesday, August 19.
Following his arrest, human remains believed to belong to Monteiro were found on Groom’s property, buried in his backyard.
Groom is facing several charges, including murder, assault, and battery on a pregnant victim, aggravated intimidation of a witness, juror, police, or court official, and assault and battery on a family or household member in connection with Monteiro’s death. He has pleaded not guilty to these charges at his arraignment in Taunton District Court on Wednesday, August 20.
Prosecutor Jason Mohan stated that the events started on August 8 when Groom reported Kylee missing to the police.
Mohan recounted that Groom told investigators Kylee had recently left a residential program, took a rideshare to his home on August 6, and intended to stay with him. During this visit, she reportedly informed him of her pregnancy.
Subsequently, Mohan claims, a dispute arose over where Kylee could stay, leading her to send a concerning text to her sister, which was read aloud in court (via CBS News).
The message read: “He threw me on the ground and pulled my hair and strangled me. My phone’s at 4 percent, if I die it was Greg.”
After his arrest, Groom was questioned again, where Mohan alleges he confessed to arguing with Kylee, pushing her, and claiming she fell back and hit her head.
He was allegedly asked about the location of her body and provided a ‘rudimentary map’ indicating where she was buried on his property.
Mohan further claimed that Groom confessed to fatally stabbing Kylee three times with a kitchen knife, once in the chest and twice in the neck, following an argument.
During the inspection of Groom’s property, authorities discovered a recently disturbed patch of dirt, where her body was located.
An autopsy is scheduled to confirm the cause of death. Groom is being held without bail and is expected to return to court for a probable cause hearing on September 10.
If you are facing domestic violence, remember that help is available. You can reach out to the national domestic violence helpline Refuge at 0808 2000 247, which operates 24 hours a day.