A Kentucky mother of three was found murdered in her home with her unborn baby cut from her womb, and a convicted felon with multiple outstanding warrants is now in custody.
April Barlow Celio, 41, was discovered slain inside her Pineville residence on Sept. 23, according to police. Medical examiners made the additional discovery the following day that she had been pregnant, but her fetus was gone.
Investigators returned to Celio’s home and recovered what appear to be fetal remains, police said. Officials have not disclosed how the mother or her unborn child were killed.
DeMarcus Kenneth Johnson-Wright, a felon described by police as having “an extensive violent criminal history and several outstanding violent felony warrants out of Tennessee,” was identified as the suspect. Police did not elaborate on how he was connected to Celio.
Johnson-Wright was tracked down to a home in Clarksville, Tenn., roughly 250 miles from the murder scene, where he was arrested. A search of that residence turned up “materials relating to the case,” police said, without providing details.
Police initially issued a warrant for Johnson-Wright on kidnapping and robbery charges on Sept. 25. Five days later, on Sept. 30, authorities added murder and tampering with physical evidence to the warrant.
His charges include murder related to domestic violence, though officials have not revealed the nature of his link to Celio. Court records show he already had multiple outstanding warrants for suspected aggravated robbery, kidnapping, felony possession of a firearm and domestic violence from previous incidents.
Celio’s sister, Amanda de Paz, launched a GoFundMe to support the three children her sister left behind.
“She deserved so much more life. She was an incredibly loving person who would do anything for the people she cared about. She gave so much of herself to others and was deeply loved by her family and everyone fortunate enough to know her,” de Paz wrote on the fundraising page.
She added that the children “are left with questions, memories, and the heartbreaking reality that their mother’s life ended in violence.”
Johnson-Wright was booked into the Montgomery County Detention Center in Tennessee, where he remains awaiting extradition back to Kentucky.