Grisly Details Emerge In Case Of Missing Austin Woman Found Dead

AUSTIN, TX — More details have emerged related to the death of an Austin woman who disappeared with her infant in December before being found dead in the Houston area.

Heidi Broussard disappeared with her child in mid-December, sparking a massive search. Ultimately, the child was found safe but the mother's body was found in the trunk of a car just outside Houston. Magen Rose Fieramusca — who had been a friend to the dead woman — has since been charged in connection to the incident.

By virtue of a court affidavit, grisly details about the case are coming to light. Local media outlets, including KXAN, have reported on some of more macabre details related to the case. The disappearance of Broussard and her newborn galvanized the community in a massive search suffused with hope in finding the woman and her baby safe, only to see the culmination of the search end in heartbreak.

Related stories:

Police previously discussed how Fieramusca had long plotted to take Broussard's child, who was a mere two weeks old at the time of her and her mom's disappearance. Now, more findings outlined in a court affidavit have emerged, as reported by KXAN and other local media outlets. Among the newly revealed findings:

• An eyewitness reported seeing Broussard getting into a car with Fieramusca the day the former was reported missing.
• Fieramusca faked a pregnancy to ingratiate herself with a former boyfriend.
• When Broussard gave birth to her infant daughter, Fieramusca was in the delivery room along with the baby's father and another woman. KXAN reported Fieramusca (who claimed to be 37 weeks pregnant herself) drove from her Houston home to be there for the Nov. 26 birth.
• Surveillance camera footage showed a car resembling Fieramusca's at Broussard's apartment complex on the morning of Dec. 12, with cell phone records confirming the sighting.
• Shortly after, a witness reported seeing a woman carrying an infant with a knit cap entering a car so hurriedly that the child was not properly restrained in a car seat.
• After a week-long search for Broussard and her child, law enforcement officials zeroed in on Fieramusca's home. They would later find Broussard's body inside a duffel bag in the trunk of a car registered to Fieramusca. The baby was found safe inside the home.

Fieramusca has since been charged with third-degree kidnapping and tampering with a body.

Heidi Broussard, 33, was found dead after having gone missing with her newborn on Dec. 12, 2019. Photo courtesy of Austin Police Department.

A handful of GoFundMe fundraising campaigns were launched in the aftermath of the case, designed to collect money benefiting Broussard's children. The most successful among them had raised, at last check, $5,911 of a $10,000 goal. To donate, click here.

>>> Read the full story at KXAN