About an hour later, Robertsons phone moved away from Egglestons apartment and headed toward downtown Baltimore as he texted the other 22-year-old woman he was dating, records show. "I think it was viewed as she was just another black girl that's missing.". So, he'll be back on the street. When asked about the rash of sexual assaults against children, he suspiciously stated that the person responsible "would know how not to get caught," at least this time. February 3, 2022 / 11:30 PM Investigators had been pursuing clues as far away as California, and trying to tie Kia's disappearance to other stories of missing children in the surrounding states. She didn't want to miss any potential calls from Kia. May 4, 2021 / 10:50 PM Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. December 19 2013. She was last seen around 8:30 p.m. on Aug. 16 near Roosevelt Drive and Teutonia Avenue . This means that, between the time of his plea and now, Charles Wade Hampton has likely served his time and since been released. BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Authorities have arrested Michael Robertson and charged him with murder in the 2017 disappearance of Akia Eggleston, a woman with whom he was having a child who went missing just days before her baby shower, Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby said Thursday. You see, in 1981, he had been arrested and convicted for the rape of a sixteen-year old, telling interrogators that his seminal fluid had been used to convict him. This week her family placed a missing person flier, flower and ribbon outside the home where Akia once lived, on Cherrycrest Road in south Baltimore's Cherry Hill neighborhood. A missing persons report was filed with the county, where Kia is listed as being 4'2" tall, and weighing about 60 to 70 pounds. In the weeks since Kia had gone missing, Bernetta struggled to leave the phone for any prolonged period of time. In May 2021, the Baltimore Police Department again asked for help locating Eggleston. Police first thought this was a clue that she walked off on her own. Ever.". However, by the time the skull was forensically proven as belonging to Kia Logan, they had come across a suspect they believed was not only responsible for Kia's death, but an assortment of various sexual assaults and crimes against children. However, three - which took place in the middle of this crime spree - took place on a Thursday. Within the year, the Malakia Z. Logan Reward Fund had topped $20,000, for any information that would lead to answers for the missing eight-year old. It wasn't until the third or fourth crime that police began to link the crimes together, when the suspect descriptions began to slowly align with one another. / CBS Baltimore. Eggleston, a single mom with a three-year-old . You can find out more and change our default settings with Cookies Settings. However, it wasn't until 2002 that prosecutors began firing off the big guns at Hampton. It's been four years since Akia Eggleston was last seen in Baltimore on May 3, 2017. ", First published on February 3, 2022 / 11:30 PM. In late 2017, Robertson moved to Michigan, where he was apprehended by U.S. This is when police spoke to Hampton's ex-wife and girlfriend, who told them things about Charles that made them think he was a viable suspect. It was only about 14 of us. For almost five years, Akia Eggleston's family has anxiously waited for authorities to figure out what happened to the pregnant 22-year-old Baltimore mother who vanished just days before her baby. But, rather, because he has said some very damning things about himself and committed some criminal acts, none of which would paint him as a flattering neighbor. Then, when her family and former-sheriff Sam Riley got involved, they realized that the initial reward fund - which had been established for information - had remained untouched for around two decades. He openly confessed to committing several of the child abductions, providing explicit details of the subsequent sexual assaults. Browse all missing children from South Carolina Missing: Joshua Cuddy (SC) They're going to search for other skeletal remains in identification.". "He'll get credit for time served and good behavior. At the time of his arrest, he was forty-four years old, and was driving a white 1986 Dodge 600. (232-7463. Eggleston's stepfather, Shawn Wilkinson, welcomed news of the arrest. Newberry County Sheriff Lee Foster told the media: "It was obvious that it was the skull of a child. The case continues to generate national media coverage, but there are still no answers as to what happened to the 22-year-old mom. Check out more on my resume below. When you visit this site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Wilson told WJZ that she wishes law enforcement did more to investigate the case when Eggleston disappeared. Hi, my name is Akia and thanks for visiting my page. Needless to say, Charles Hampton was now on their radar. BALTIMORE . An eight-year-old girl that lived in this community was out playing with her sister and a friend on their apartment complex's basketball court. Riley, a famously tight-lipped officer, stated: "We're treating it strictly as a missing persons report. She was last seen on May 3 when she was captured on . They wanted to keep their options option, should more evidence be found against him, so they didn't want him to go free and then lose any chance at a prosecutor under double jeopardy laws. The crime spree began in July 1995 and carried on until August of 1996. Details released in Kimberly Lindsey's death. An individual charged is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at trial., At Thursdays press conference, Baltimore States Attorney Mosby said, I give a special thanks to the family of Akia Eggleston, for never giving up in their pursuit of justice for Akia and her unborn child., Supervisory Special Agent Shayne Buchwald with FBI-Baltimore also spoke. Is it twisted thinking? Thank you to everyone for their thoughts and their prayers, Akias aunt, Sanobia Wilson, said. The days in which the victims were abducted varied, with three of the crimes happening on a Saturday, a Friday, and a Monday. However, because of its size, they were able to determine that the victim had been thirteen years of age or younger. He had been in police custody, and when questioned, he began confessing to the crimes. He was a former Department of Transportation employee, who lived in Clarke County, Georgia, and worked at the rest stop at Hard Labor Creek State Park as a maintenance man. Calls to . While some descriptions of this suspect varied - such as at least one of the girls calling the suspect "fat in his tummy" and the perpetrator's hair color varying - these details were all universally agreed upon. Egglestons disappearance has been featured by advocacy groups like the Black and Missing Foundation, which seeks to highlight cases involving people of color who often dont get the same media attention as their white counterparts. It is not the answer and there's always an alternative," he said at the news conference. But its been four years since Eggleston went missing, and Wilson wishes law enforcement had done more from the start. Phone records indicate Robertson was in the area near Eggleston's residence from 5:35 p.m. to 6:18 p.m., Mosby said. I criticize us for not raising such an uproar it would be heard across this nation .. Akia Eggleston. If they wanted to try him for any of those crimes, they needed a more definitive smoking gun. "We're looking for a medium blue utility-type van with dark tinted windows. It had been nearly five years since the original indictment was filed, accusing him of the abduction and murder of Kia Logan. Milwaukee police are asking the public to help find a critical missing 15-year-old in Milwaukee. 'Hacksaw - Best Tool to Dismember': Inside Murder Suspect Brian Walshe's Alleged Internet Searches, Authorities Allege Ana Walshe Was Murdered by Her Husband, but Her Mom Has 'Hope That She Is Alive', Boyfriend Charged with Murder of Missing Tenn. College Student After Police Find Blood in His Apartment, Utah Man Who Killed Wife, 5 Kids Was Previously Accused of Choking Daughter, Who Feared He'd 'Kill Her', Pregnant Woman Dead After Being Stabbed and Set on Fire Days After Baby Shower, Brother in Custody. By this point, her family had begun to fear the worst. Both of these generated more leads of possible sightings of Kia Logan and suspects bearing a resemblance of the composite of a man wanted for questioning. As Hampton prepared for his five-year sentence, he was facing investigations and charges from four separate states. While living in a maximum security prison in South Carolina, Smith, a survivor of sexual assault, continues to assert that it was past trauma that led her to murder her own children. His ex-wife and girlfriend agreed on that - they often helped him dye it, during time periods that turned out to correlate with the 1995 and 1996 sexual assaults. He would be sixty-five years old as of this episode's recording, and there's only a brief mention of him on the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division's sex offender registry. No tip is too small. One of the most intriguing and promising leads in this investigation came on that Wednesday night, May 18th, when a composite sketch of a potential suspect was aired on the evening news. Her father, Shawn Wilkinson, told WJZ in 2019 "[t]here were no signs that any of us saw that she would just want to pack up and leave.". "It is not the answer and there's always an alternative. She was eight months pregnant at the time of her disappearance. Her father, Richard Logan, was the mayor of a small South Carolina town named Saluda. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Hampton had been sitting in a Georgia prison at the time, and if South Carolina prosecutors tried the case at that time, they would be forced to bring Hampton to trial within 180 days. SHE HAS A TATTOO ON HER LEFT FOREARM THAT SAYS "LIVE FREE". They had held out hope that someone had abducted her for ransom, or perhaps - just perhaps - she actually had run away. Egglestons stepfather, Shawn Wilkinson, who went on The View in 2019 to plead for help in solving his daughters disappearance, thanked investigators Thursday for never giving up on the case. Investigators said they believe Robertson killed Eggleston, whose phone has never been recovered. South Carolina's Law Enforcement Division spokesman Hugh Munn stated about the composite drawing which the authorities had debuted the evening before: "We've done all the groundwork we can. Four and a half years after a 22-year-old pregnant mother from Baltimore vanished before her baby shower, authorities say they know who's responsible for Akia Eggleston's sudden disappearance. And in that time, more terrifying and intriguing mysteries would present themselves. Marshals, officials said at a press conference. It bothers me that we seem willing to accept this obvious crime against a child without a public uproar. The exact date of Akia's disappearance is unknown, but it is believed to be May 3 rd , 2017. DNA testing didn't match him in one of the Georgia cases. A follow-up news article stated how employees of the local K-Mart, so moved by Wiggins' battle cry, raised $650 within an hour. Robertson was the father of Akias unborn child. LAW ENFORCEMENT HAS BEEN SEARCHING FOR HER FOR OVER A YEAR. I don't know where my child is and I don't know where my grandson is.". The indictment against Charles Wade Hampton included crimes such as murder, kidnapping, criminal sexual conduct with a minor, and assault with intent to commit criminal sexual conduct. I am not criticizing the authorities, who are working hard to solve the case. florida. It began to seem to police like he was making things up as he went along, but they were constantly reminded by the facts that something was amiss. Robertsons phone, meanwhile, was at his job when he received a phone call from Eggleston at 3:44 p.m. their last contact between them, according to a statement of probable cause. Remember, this is before the trial of OJ Simpson, so DNA testing was very much in its infancy. THE LAST TIME SHE MADE PHONE CONTACT WITH ANYONE SHE SAID SHE WAS IN GLENDALE, GEORGIA, THIS HAS NOT BEEN CONFIRMED. She, also, went missing while riding her bike very close to her home, in a public setting. ON OR ABOUT MAY 16, 2020 STEPHANIE HOPE VON CANNON WAS LAST SEEN BY A FAMILY MEMBER AT A RESIDENCE IN GREENVILLE COUNTY SOUTH CAROLINA. Robertson falsely led Eggleston to believe they were going to move in together.. Michael Robertson has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder. KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Josiah-Jordan James came back from missing four games with an injury to score 18 points to lead No. But in the years since the soon-to-be mother of two disappeared, no one has been able to find out what happened to her. Sam Riley, who had been a Major in the Greenwood County Sheriff's Office, had recently been elected Sheriff. In October, investigators tried to speak with Robertson at his Muskegon home, but he declined to be interviewed and then left his residence, investigators said. The FBI is also involved and is offering a $25,000 reward for information about the case. They had already been waiting two hours for her to come there, so when I got the call stating that she wasn't there and nobody could reach her. For keeping hope for our family that we would find her alive. Shawn Wilkinson, Eggleston's stepdad, says the money could have been for a down payment for a new apartment with her babys father. We just want to say thank you and just to please continue to keep us in your prayers., Akias stepfather, Shawn Wilkinson, took to the podium to thank the investigating agencies who worked on Akias case. Akia was reported missing by family members on May 7, 2017, after she failed to show up to her own baby shower. It was her last known communication. While police began a search of his home and his vehicle, he openly admitted to several things. "There were no signs that any of us saw that she would just want to pack up and leave," Wilkinson told WJZ back in 2019. Eggleston, who was eight months pregnant with her son, disappeared just days before her baby shower. When they continued their rounds of questioning, Hampton was eager to talk. "Maybe he did it, maybe he didn't. "When it happens, we need to address it," he said. On May 30th, over two weeks after Kia had disappeared, investigators were still optimistic. According to Mosby, phone records show a telemarketer tried to call Eggleston at 6:57 p.m. At that time, both her phone and Robertson's were located downtown, she said. Carolyn Kelley, the apartment/property manager that lived in the apartments with her daughter and granddaughter, had noticed a complete overhaul of the environment. The then 22-year-old from Cherry Hill was getting ready for her second child but her dad, Shawn Wilkinson, said that she did not show up for her baby shower in May of 2017. It was occupied by an older white male with graying hair. Two months into the investigation, at least one thing was crystal clear: Kia Logan may have been missing, but she most certainly wasn't going to be forgotten. They had reason to believe that Hampton had been responsible for some truly terrible crimes, but they had no prove any of them. When it was finally time for Hampton to be released, he was immediately re-arrested for a warrant investigators had planned. Published: Feb. 26, 2023 at 12:26 PM PST | Updated: 20 hours ago. The family, to their credit, was steadfast in their conviction, wanting to to see Hampton in a court to face the charges levied against him. BALTIMORE Since the very beginning, finding 22-year-old Akia Eggleston has been considered 'critical.'. ", The statement added: "Investigation revealed the only person with the motive, means, and opportunity to murder Eggleston was the purported father of her unborn child, Michael Robertson.". This would come up later in the story, so please keep that in-mind. In the afternoons you see small children running and playing, riding skateboards, that kind of thing. UPDATE: Arrest Made In Disappearance Of Pregnant Mom Akia Eggleston; Missing Since 2017. I knew something was wrong then.. Friends were celebrating the warm weather by swimming in the apartment pools, kids were playing outside among others their age, and families were barbecuing and picnicking in the community areas. Police took Hampton out of jail, and drove him to many of the landmarks and locations from the child abductions. May 3, 2020 will mark the third year anniversary of Akia Eggleston's disappearance. 8th Circuit Solicitor Jerry Peace, who had replaced William Townes Jones in the preceding half-decade, had plenty to say about this decision. It has affected so many relationships and we will continue to stand united as a family until the final judgment in this case has been rendered., 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Ex-pol charged with murdering Vegas reporter Jeff German will rep himself at trial, Murdaugh family still buried in temporary graves almost 2 years after slayings, Cops seized accused Idaho murderer Bryan Kohbergers underwear, medical gloves from parents home, Video shows gunman nonchalantly shoot homeless man execution-style in broad daylight, according to a statement of probable cause, dont get the same media attention as their white counterparts. 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