She Told Him of the Pregnancy, Then Vanished. Now, an Arrest

Nearly 5 years later, Donthe Lucas charged with first-degree murder
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 6, 2017 10:35 AM CST
Boyfriend Charged in Pregnant Woman's 2013 Disappearance
Kelsie Schelling.   (HelpFindKelsie.com)

An arrest has been made in the February 2013 case of a Colorado woman who texted a photo of her eight-week ultrasound to her boyfriend, drove two hours to Pueblo to see him, and then disappeared. That boyfriend, Donthe Lucas, was charged Friday with first-degree murder in connection with the death of Kelsie Schelling, whose body has not been found. The Denver Channel notes Friday marks the first time that the long-running investigation has been described by authorities as a "homicide investigation." Details on what triggered his arrest are scarce. His home was searched in April, but police didn't comment on what they did or didn't find. All that has been found is Schelling's car, discovered in a hospital parking lot in Pueblo more than a week after she vanished.

People quotes a police statement that notes Lucas' arrest came as he was already in custody on unrelated armed-robbery charges. He's not the only Lucas in jail over the September robbery, per KKTV: The 25-year-old's brother Duschon and mother Sara have also been arrested, and his sister Desiree was on Monday rearrested for bond revocation. Dan Corsentino, a former county sheriff hired by Schelling's family to investigate, said investigators suspect Lucas' family members could know something. "It was difficult for law enforcement to penetrate the shroud of secrecy that existed within the Donthe Lucas family," he says. "I think it's highly possible a family member or someone close to Donthe could have turned." Read more details on Schelling's last known night here.
(More missing woman stories.)

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