Pregnant woman searched 'what to do if your husband is upset' before her murder, police say

Court documents say Beau Rothwell bought cleaning supplies to cover up murder of wife Jennifer Rothwell​

A woman found dead a week after her husband reported her missing had searched “what to do if your husband is upset you are pregnant” on her mobile phone, police say.

Missouri man Beau Rothwell is accused of killing his wife Jennifer Rothwell, who was six weeks pregnant at the time of her death, according to court records containing police documents that led to his arrest.

St Louis police say surveillance footage captured Mr Rothwell buying bleach, carpet cleaner and rubber gloves on 11 November.

According to police, the purchase “was oddly at a time during a major snow event involving dangerous driving conditions and was also contradictory to Beau Rothwell’s statement that he was home with his wife all night”.

Mr Rothwell called 911 at 9.44pm on 12 November to report his wife missing. According to a search warrant, Mr Rothwell told officers he had last seen his wife at 6.20am that morning, then, minutes later, he had missed four phone calls from her.


 Beau Rothwell 
 (St Louis Police)

He also made a plea on Facebook for help to find his wife.

But police found Ms Rothwell’s car a mile away from home — roughly 12 hours before Mr Rothwell had reported her missing.

According to court documents, Mr Rothwell would not allow police to search his home, car or mobile phone and had requested an attorney.

Detectives found a curbside trash can containing cleaning supplies and used paper towels, along with a receipt from the store where he purchased them.

On 13 November, police obtained a warrant to search the Rothwell home, where they discovered the overwhelming scent of bleach, along with empty cleaning bottles, wet carpet soaked with bleach, and large blood stains under the carpet. The windows were open, despite the freezing conditions outside.

Mr Rothwell’s truck also contained a “strong odour of bleach”. He was arrested that day.

DNA evidence recovered from the scene matched genetic material with the victim’s parents.

Police says Mr Rothwell led authorities to the location of her remains, discovered in a wooded area next to a highway shoulder a week after she had been reported missing.

A preliminary autopsy revealed she had suffered blunt force trauma to the head.

Mr Rothwell was charged with second-degree murder and evidence tampering and was held without bond. He has not yet appeared in court to enter a plea.