A little over a week after a pregnant Gwinnett County teenager was found dead in a wooded area by family members, officials have charged her ex-boyfriend with murder.
Jesus Monroy, 20, is accused of killing 16-year-old Mia Campos, who was seven months pregnant and eagerly preparing for her baby shower when she was found July 15, her family told Univision Atlanta. The baby would have been named Sebastian.
“She was just lying there ... already cold,” her mother, Miriam Zarate, said of how they found Mia’s body in a wooded area near the 3600 block of Stephens Road near Loganville. “I touched her belly, trying to, hoping that maybe her baby would still be alive, but too much time had passed.”
Police officers could not determine the teen’s manner of death at the scene, but the following day, the Gwinnett Medical Examiner’s Office conducted an autopsy and ruled her death a homicide.
On July 17, Monroy was arrested and accused of making false statements to an officer, police said. On Tuesday afternoon, he was additionally charged with malice murder, felony murder, feticide and aggravated assault. He remains in the Gwinnett jail without bond, online records show.
A day before she was found, Mia’s family members told police she left the house with an unknown person. After she didn’t come home, they used a cellphone app to track her location to Stephens Road.
Detectives and investigators from the medical examiner’s office gathered evidence and spoke to witnesses at the scene, according to police. Authorities have not shared her cause of death.
Zarate described Mia as a sweet, innocent girl who was excited to see her baby’s smile, according to Univision. At the time, Zarate was shocked Monroy had been arrested.
“I don’t understand because he was here that night. He helped us look for her. He found her. He came here on (July 15), and he was here (July 16),” she said. “I don’t know what happened.”
A GoFundMe page that was created by Zarate had raised more than $20,000 as of Tuesday afternoon to cover funeral expenses.
“With all my heart, I ask you for help to give her and her baby a dignified burial,” she wrote on the fundraising page.
The investigation remains active and police are asking for assistance from the public. Anyone with information is asked to contact Gwinnett police detectives at 770-513-5300. To remain anonymous, tipsters may contact Crime Stoppers at 404-577-TIPS (8477) or visit stopcrimeATL.com. Crime Stoppers tipsters can receive a cash reward for information leading to an arrest and indictment in this case.
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