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Authorities in Wisconsin have apprehended a 38-year-old woman in connection with the brutal attack on a pregnant woman outside her workplace earlier this month.
Marielle Barrios faces charges of armed robbery with the use of force, substantial battery, and attempted aggravated battery to an unborn child, according to a report by WISN.
The attack on Gheonna Lacy was caught on a doorbell camera, as CrimeOnline previously highlighted. Lacy had just completed her overnight shift at a group home and was heading out to warm up her vehicle at approximately 7 a.m. on January 15 when the incident occurred. The footage reveals two individuals, both hooded, with one wielding a baseball bat, sprinting across the yard towards her. This was followed by the chilling sounds of her screams and the bat striking her.
Lacy recounted the harrowing experience, stating that the attackers “just immediately knocked me to the ground, started swinging the bat, and stomping me with their feet.”
She identified one of her attackers as Barrios, claiming to know her as someone who had been stalking her due to a personal relationship dispute.
A criminal complaint against Barrios goes further, WISN said. The complaint says that the father of Lacy’s baby is Barrios’s boyfriend and that she heard Barrios say, “Beat the baby out” and “kill the baby” while the beating was taking place.
Barrios went through Lacy’s pockets and took two cell phones, one of which belonged to her boss, during the attack, the complaint says.
Lacy said she recognized Barrios because a face mask she was wearing fell down during the attack, WDJT reported.
Prosecutors said that police officers saw a visible bruise on Lacy’s stomach “consistent with a shoe impression.”
The day after the beating, Barrios dropped off a statement at the police department calling Lacy’s statement false. She was arrested on January 23, and another woman, Melvina Lewis, was also arrested on a single count of harboring a fugitive.
Both Barrios and Lewis were arrested by Arkansas State Police and returned to Wisconsin, jail records show.
Racine police are still looking for the second attacker. Lacy said she believes it was a man because of body shape. The second attacker said nothing during the attack.