Ex-boyfriend accused of causing miscarriage

4/14/2005

A pregnant Springfield Township woman told authorities she received a text message on her cell phone last week from her former boyfriend.

"Have a miscarriage," it read.

Less than a week later, Lucas County sheriff's detectives said, the former boyfriend made it happen.

Gregorio M. Garcia, 23, of Green Springs, Ohio, is accused of forcing his way into the 25-year-old woman's Bancroft Street apartment on Monday, punching her several times in the stomach, and sexually assaulting her.

As a result of the attack, detectives said, the woman suffered a miscarriage of her 10-week-old fetus.

Authorities arrested Mr. Garcia without incident Tuesday - his birthday - in Fremont. The 6-foot-4, 290-pound suspect was booked into the Lucas County jail later that day.

He was arraigned on charges of murder, rape, and aggravated burglary yesterday in Sylvania Municipal Court . He was also charged with an unrelated aggravated burglary at the woman's home April 5 in which he allegedly carried a handgun.

Mr. Garcia was being held in the Lucas County jail last night in lieu of $600,000 bond. He declined a request for an interview.

Investigators said the victim was waiting for a friend Monday when she heard a knock at her apartment.

She started to open the door, then realized it was Mr. Garcia and tried to close the door. He pushed it open and pushed her back into the center of the living room, according to an incident report.

An argument ensued and Mr. Garcia allegedly punched her several times in the stomach, the report states. He told her she didn't deserve to have his baby, threatened to kill her, and warned that he could kill her other two children who were in the home - ages 1 and 5 - "very easily." He told her not to call police or he or someone else would find her, the report indicates.

He then sexually assaulted her, the report states. He later allowed her to go to the bathroom to try to stop vaginal bleeding she was experiencing. While in the bathroom, she used her cell phone several times to try to call the friend who was supposed to come to her home. She couldn't reach her but contacted the friend's mother, who contacted her daughter, the report states.

The victim's friend pulled in as Mr. Garcia left the apartment building. She found the victim curled up on the living room floor and took her to Flower Hospital, where she miscarried in the emergency room, said Detective Cathy Stooksbury.

"A child not born yet - that's absolutely so innocent. A woman that wanted another baby. Somebody does this. It's tough. It's really tough," the detective said.

The victim, in a telephone interview last night with The Blade, said she is angry and sad. "I'm sad for losing the baby, and I'm sad he could be so inconsiderate. No compassion, like he has no feelings about life," she said.

The Blade does not identify victims of sexual assaults.

The victim said she has known Mr. Garcia a little more than a year, and that they broke up after an alleged domestic violence incident in January. The two later started talking again and she told him she was pregnant.

"I wanted him to be there and around to be a father," the victim said.

When that didn't happen and the two began arguing again, the woman said she told him she didn't want to see him anymore. The woman said she hopes Mr. Garcia receives a "harsh sentence" for the death of her fetus.

"I want him to sit and think about what he has done and how much pain he's caused," she said.

Detective Stooksbury said there is a history of verbal and physical abuse by Mr. Garcia against the victim. She said the victim had a temporary protection order against him.

The incident report indicates Mr. Garcia was scheduled to appear yesterday in Sylvania Municipal Court for sentencing on a prior domestic violence charge involving the victim.

The woman urged abuse victims to leave their abuser the first time they are assaulted and to notify authorities.

"It never stops," she said. "They'll turn around and do it again."

Contact Christina Hall at

chall@theblade.com

or 419-724-6007.