A woman has been accused of cutting open her own daughter’s stomach to steal her unborn grandson, before attaching her body to a pick-up truck and driving off. Rebecca Park, 22, was found dead in Michigan, USA, on November 25, and her mother, Cortney Bartholomew, 40, is alleged to have been involved.

An arrest affidavit revealed that Cortney and her husband Bradly Bartholomew, 47, are suspected of conspiring to kill Rebecca and remove her unborn son from her womb. According to arrest documents, Cortney told her daughter: “Your baby is gonna die.” Registered sex offender Bradly then allegedly stabbed her over a dozen times either inside or just outside the pick-up truck along a hiking trail.

The arrest documents suggest that the couple had planned a revenge attack after Cortney became involved in a relationship with Rebecca’s fiancé Richard Falor.

When confronted by Wexford County Sheriff’s officers, Cortney allegedly confessed to cutting out the baby “in an attempt to save him so she could take him to Rich”.

When she cut the baby out, Cortney said that Rebecca was still conscious and Bradly was holding the knife to her throat, the document said. It states: “She told Rebecca to lay back, ‘Your baby is gonna die’.”

Once the baby had been removed, Bradly allegedly slashed Rebecca’s throat with a knife in Mainstee National Forest in Boon Township.

Bradly then reportedly used a cord from a snowplough attached to the pick-up truck to “hook her body to the truck and he pulled Rebecca down the bank” before covering her body with leaves.

Cortney allegedly admitted to police that Bradly placed the baby in a rubbish bag and into a cooler. He then disposed of the cooler in a dumpster, the document added.

Deputy Jacob Koponen said Rebecca’s abdomen “appears to have been cut open” and that a tattoo and Michigan driver’s licence found on the body matched the young mum.

A post-mortem exam revealed Rebecca had sustained six sharp wounds to her back as well as multiple lacerations across the rest of her body – her abdomen also had a large wound, and it was noted the baby was not there.

Rebecca’s sister was also arrested the following morning and was charged with lying to a peace officer in violation of a crime investigation, tampering with evidence in a criminal case, and false report of a felony.

Cortney and Bradly were apprehended and charged with murder, torture, conspiracy to commit torture, and assault on a pregnant individual.