Wisconsin man accused of killing woman 10 days before she was due to give birth to his child

RACINE, Wis. (TCD) -- A 43-year-old man was taken into custody about eight months after a pregnant woman was found dead in her apartment just days before she was scheduled to give birth.

On Friday, June 24, the Racine Police Department announced William Bunch was arrested on charges of first-degree intentional homicide with use of a dangerous weapon and first-degree intentional homicide of an unborn child with a dangerous weapon.

According to the statement, on Oct. 8, 2021, at 5:12 p.m., Racine Police received a call about a deceased woman inside an apartment on the 1600 block of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and began investigating her death as a homicide.

The Journal Times, citing a criminal complaint, reports the victim, 31-year-old Vanessa Anderson, died from blunt force trauma and "the unborn child expired due to a lack of blood flow resulting from the mother’s death."

Bunch was reportedly the father of the child.

According to the criminal complaint, Bunch and Anderson had a "toxic" relationship. Bunch reportedly did not want Anderson to have their child.

Anderson’s landlord reportedly found her body inside the apartment. Investigators noted in the criminal complaint that there were "significant amounts of blood, signs of a struggle across the apartment and indications that a cleanup had been attempted."

The victim reportedly suffered punctures to parts of her body, including her stomach, arms, and legs, and police located scissors and a broom handle at the scene. Investigators reportedly believe the broom handle was used as the weapon to kill her.

In the bathroom, investigators saw a mop bucket, a "baby wipes container in the sink that appeared to be saturated with blood," as well as other evidence that seemed to point to trying to wipe down the scene.

At first, Bunch allegedly told investigators he "didn’t have anything to do" with Anderson’s death, and cellphone data did not show him in the area when she was killed. Someone came forward to police, however, to report that Bunch allegedly asked to borrow a crowbar to break into Anderson’s home "in order to kill her and take care of the situation" because she was "threatening to ruin his life."

According to WDJT-TV, Anderson has two other children. She was reportedly scheduled to have a C-section Oct. 18.

Racine County Jail records show Bunch is being held on $1 million bail.

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