Lawyer, prosecutor argue over whether Lexington man should face fetal homicide charge
The attorney for a man accused of fetal homicide after allegedly assaulting a pregnant woman argued during a court hearing Friday that the suspect shouldn’t face the charge because he didn’t know the woman was pregnant.
Rigoberto Vasquez-Barradas, 24, is facing charges of first-degree fetal homicide, first-degree strangulation and second-degree assault — domestic violence, Lexington police previously said. He’s accused of beating a pregnant woman last month. Barradas-Vasquez was booked into the Fayette County Detention Center on Jan. 20, one day after the alleged assault.
Vasquez-Barradas shoved the woman to the ground four times and kicked her in the stomach three times, court documents say. Vasquez-Barradas also strangled the woman while she was on the ground, according to court documents.
Police said they were called to a local hospital that was treating the domestic violence victim the morning after the assault. Medical staff told investigators the assault caused the placenta from the fetus to separate from the woman’s uterine wall, according to court documents. That caused the fetus to die.
The woman also sustained serious physical injuries.
“Due to the placenta separating from the uterine wall, it creates serious physical injury within the mother, and without proper medical attention within very minimal amount of time, it can lead to death due to the risks inside her body,” said Detective Zachary Flowers with the Lexington Police Department during a preliminary hearing Friday.
While speaking with investigators, Vasquez-Barradas admitted to shoving the woman but denied kicking her in the stomach, according to court documents.
Flowers delivered testimony in court Friday which was consistent with what police had written in court documents previously.
Vasquez-Barradas’ lawyer, Valerie Church, argued against the fetal homicide charge after hearing Flowers’ testimony. She argued that her client did not know the woman was pregnant.
Prosecutors wanted the fetal homicide charge to remain in place, saying the direct kicks to the stomach suggested that Vasquez-Barradas knew about the woman’s pregnancy.
Fayette District Judge Melissa Murphy agreed with prosecutors and found probable cause for all of the charges against Vasquez-Barradas, including the fetal homicide charge. The case was sent to a grand jury. A grand jury will determine whether there is enough evidence to indict Vasquez-Barradas. An indictment would send his case to circuit court, where a trial could take place.
Vasquez-Barradas is being lodged at the Fayette County Detention Center on a $300,000 bond, according to jail records.
This story was originally published February 3, 2023 at 10:23 AM.
