Man found guilty of murder in disappearance of pregnant Baltimore woman Akia Eggleston
BALTIMORE -- A man was convicted Thursday in the death of Akia Eggleston, a Baltimore woman who was pregnant when she disappeared six years ago.
Michael Robertson, Eggleston's former boyfriend and the father of her unborn child, was found guilty of two counts of murder.
The jury delivered the guilty verdict on the thirteenth day of the trial. Akia Eggleston's family says they've been waiting six years for this justice.
The 42-year-old faces a maximum penalty of two life sentences in prison.
"We thank God for this verdict today," Eggleston's great-uncle Anthony Wilson said. "That the law works. The law works."
Akia Egggleston's family was in tears of joy after Michael Robertson was convicted of two counts of first degree murder: One count for Eggleston and the other for her and Robertson's unborn child, Anubis.
"To know that we know who her killer is and he will be behind bars for the rest of his life -- it's a great thing," Eggleston's aunt Sanobia Wilson said.
Akia Eggleston went missing in May of 2017 right before her baby shower. The 22-year-old was eight months pregnant at the time.
She was last seen withdrawing money from a BB&T Bank in downtown Baltimore to put a down payment on a new home she planned to share with Robertson.
Her remains were never found, and because of that, prosecutors built their case against Robertson with circumstantial evidence.
They said he was the last person to see her alive and searched dumpsters and trash collection schedules after she went missing.
"You can prove a case in many different ways," Assistant State's Attorney Kurt Bjorklund said. "This case was highly circumstantial but when you have enough circumstances, you have enough puzzle pieces, it makes the case extremely strong and tight and that's what this was."
Related:
- $25K Reward Offered For Info On Woman Missing Since Her Baby Shower In May
- Murder trial for pregnant Baltimore woman focuses on day she went missing
- Emotions high as murder trial of Akia Eggleston's former boyfriend continues
Authorities arrested Robertson and charged him with murder in the 2017 disappearance last year. He is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the killing of Eggleston and her unborn child.
Robertson moved to Michigan in 2017, where he was arrested by U.S. Marshals in February 2022, officials said.
Prosecutors said investigators used interviews, financial records, telephone records and social media messages to construct a timeline of the case.
Eggleston, 22, was excited to move in with the father of her child, Robertson, who was in a relationship with another 22-year-old woman. That woman had recently given birth to the couple's second child, prosecutors said last year.
According to a statement of probable cause, Eggleston and Robertson first met in the 1990s when his grandmother babysat her as a child. They reconnected in 2016 and began dating.
As grateful as Eggleston's family is to get this verdict, they said their family is still shattered.
"We continue to grieve because we do not have Akia to properly bury," Eggleston's step-father Shawn Wilkinson said. "Her son either. But, at this time, we are so grateful and thankful again that the verdict was as such."
Michael Robertson's attorney declined to talk on camera but he did tell WJZ that they were hoping for a better outcome.
Robertson will be back in court on Oct. 25.
