Man charged after shooting estranged wife, killing unborn baby

Kaya Netherland was five months pregnant when she was shot five times by her estranged husband. While she survived, her baby tragically did not. Now, the man is charged with attempted murder and feticide.

Police say Jeremy McBride plotted Netherland’s death, planning to kill her and her preborn baby, and then kill himself. McBride allegedly confessed to the crime after he was apprehended by police less than one hour after the shooting. He was not at the residence when police arrived, and law enforcement located him through the use of license plate readers.

Netherland’s neighbor found McBride standing over Netherland as she was bleeding on the ground. She had been shot five times in the back and was rushed to the hospital, where it was discovered she was 20 weeks pregnant. She survived, but her baby did not. It is unclear, based on news reports, as to whether it was McBride or the neighbor who called 911.

The Root noted that “In several handwritten notes recovered by police, McBride is said to have expressed his frustrations with his wife’s alleged infidelity and suspicions of her unborn child not belonging to him.”

Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said that though the couple was estranged, they had not yet officially divorced. “Certainly what is alleged is this person went to great lengths to carry out what he intended to do,” Mears said.

Indiana allows the crime of feticide to be prosecuted if the person knew their actions would intentionally kill the preborn baby; Mears said McBride repeatedly admitted to wanting the baby to die.

“The person [in] this case made admissions about what his exact intentions were going to be and he was aware about her pregnancy and that was [a] motivating factor to take the steps he decided to take,” he said. “You don’t usually have an individual who is that honest with law enforcement about how did all of this occur.”

Netherland’s family said she viewed her preborn child as a miracle, after having experienced multiple miscarriages.

“She was 5 months pregnant with her miracle baby, after several failed pregnancies in the past, and she has lost her baby due to this outrageous crime committed against her. She is alive, and not paralyzed, thank God, but she has already undergone several surgeries including the removal of her left ovary, left fallopian tube, part of her small intestine, and part of her colon, and some repairs have been made to her uterus,” her family said on her GoFundMe page.

McBride reportedly also wrote in a note found by police, “Maybe she will come back one day, but not for me. But in many ways, I killed her.”

Netherland is currently in stable condition.

[Editor’s note: This story originally was published by Live Action News.]