RACINE, Wis. — A Racine man was charged with homicide after prosecutors say he beat and stabbed a woman nine-months pregnant with his unborn child.
William C. Bunch, 43, has been charged with first degree intentional homicide and first degree intentional homicide of an unborn child. According to a criminal complaint, a DNA test showed Bunch was the father of the unborn child.
A 31-year-old pregnant woman was found dead in a Racine apartment on Oct. 8 by the landlord, according to the Racine Police Department. Police responded to a call about a deceased woman around 5:12 p.m in the 1600 block of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
According to a criminal complaint, an autopsy of the victim determined her death to be the result of blunt force trauma. At the time of her death, she was nine months pregnant. The unborn baby died due to a lack of blood flow from the mother's death, the complaint says.
Family members told police that the victim was having trouble with her baby's father, identified as Bunch. Family described the victim's relationship with Bunch as toxic, the complaint says. They also said Bunch did not want the victim to have the baby.
According to the complaint, inside the residence, there was significant amount of blood and signs of a struggle across the apartment, as well as indications that a clean-up was attempted. The victim had numerous wounds to her stomach, legs and arms. The blade part of a pair of broken scissors was found near the victim. There was also a broken screen, which investigators believed may have been removed for someone to gain entry to the apartment, the complaint says.
Investigators interviewed and vetted numerous suspects, including Bunch. The complaint says upon initial contact with Bunch, he was evasive, avoiding contact, and nervous. Bunch immediately said, "Man, I didn't have anything to do with that." and was sweating profusely and breathing heavy, the complaint says.
During the interview, Bunch denied involvement, denied the baby was his, admitted to a sexual relationship with the victim, and consented to a search of his phone and car. He also said his DNA would be at the victim's apartment because he was there three weeks prior. He also said his phone GPS would show he was not at the apartment at the time of the homicide.
The complaint also says Bunch's wife told investigators she would leave him if he was the father of the victim's baby.
A "concerned citizen" told police that prior to the victim being killed, Bunch asked to borrow a crowbar because he needed it to break into the victim's home in order to kill her and take care of the situation because the victim was threatening to ruin his (Bunch) life, the complaint says. Bunch allegedly told the concerned citizen that if the child was born, his wife would leave him. The concerned citizen did not provide a crowbar.
This person also told investigators that Bunch contacted him to meet and "smoke" because he was paranoid about cleaning everything up and getting caught. The concerned citizen provided specific details regarding the crime that only someone present at the scene would know, the complaint says. This included that Bunch left his cell phone at home so he couldn't be tracked, Bunch stating he made entry through a window, Bunch stating he beat the victim with a bat, and that the victim fought a lot during the struggle, the complaint says.
Bunch also allegedly told this person that the victim tried to run out of the door and Bunch had to pull her back in and stab her multiple times.
A cash bond of $1 million was set for Bunch. He will appear in court for a preliminary hearing on June 29. If convicted, Bunch faces a maximum of life in prison.
