A Massachusetts man has been arrested for tricking his ex-girlfriend into taking abortion pills and claiming the pills were iron supplements and vitamins that killed their child.
Robert Kawada, 43, of Brookline, was charged with poisoning, assault and battery on a pregnant woman with a dangerous weapon, and assault and battery on a family member.
According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Law & Crime, Kawada and the victim, whose identity has not been released, met on a dating app in January and began dating.
Law & Crime Report:
In March, Kawada ended the relationship. But soon after, she learned she was pregnant. She told him she was pregnant with his child, and the two began meeting to discuss plans. Kawada claims to know about pregnancy because his ex-wife has a child and his father is an obstetrician-gynecologist. On one occasion, police wrote, Kawada gave her homemade raspberry leaf cookies, which are believed to induce labor and are dangerous to eat during the first trimester because they may cause miscarriage.
The suspect will comment that she looks pale and ask about her iron levels. Kawada repeatedly gave her what he described as iron pills, the affidavit said. He would allegedly place the pill between her cheeks and instruct her to let it dissolve rather than swallow it. He also reportedly told her how often to take her medication. The woman told detectives with the Watertown Police Department that Kawada would tug on her cheeks to make sure she swallowed the pills.
At one point, she went to the bathroom, spit out the pills, and used a plastic bag to save others. Kawada reportedly became angry when she told him she had swallowed the pills. When she was taking the medication for a few weeks, she had several painful cramps and bleeding. Kawada reportedly assured her that everything was normal. She went to the obstetrics and gynecology department, and the doctor said the baby’s heartbeat was strong and everything looked normal.
Just before their final meeting, the woman received a call from someone claiming to be a nurse, telling her her iron levels were low. Soon after, Kawada showed up with pills.
Later that day, the “nurse” called again and told her to take more, which she did.
Kawada repeatedly urged her to have an abortion, but she refused, telling him she wanted to keep the child. She even offered to raise it herself.
“That night, she woke up with severe cramps and a discharge,” Law & Crime reported. “She told detectives she felt like she was having a miscarriage. After discovering that the nurse who called her was not a nurse and was calling from an Internet number, she contacted her family to find out. On May 2, they asked her Call Watertown police.
The victim provided police with a pill given to her by Kawada, which police confirmed was the abortion pill misoprostol.
Police found on Kawada’s cell phone that he had been searching for phrases such as “photos of 9-week-old aborted fetuses” and “phone voice changer.”
Kawada is being held on a $100,000 bond.
