Pregnant Mother Found Dead as Unborn Child Is Missing — Suspect Arrested More Than 250 Miles Away

A quiet Kentucky community is grappling with a horrifying case after a 41-year-old mother was found dead inside her home — only for investigators to make another devastating discovery during her autopsy.
April Barlow Celio, a married mother of three from Pineville, Kentucky, was found dead at her home on September 23. Police and the Bell County Coroner’s Office quickly determined that her death was a homicide.

But the investigation took an even more disturbing turn when the State Medical Examiner’s Office determined that Celio had been pregnant when she died — and that her unborn child was no longer inside her womb.

Investigators returned to the home with additional law enforcement personnel and recovered what officials believe were fetal remains. The discovery immediately intensified the investigation and led authorities to search for a suspect believed to have fled the area.

That search eventually crossed state lines.

Authorities obtained warrants for DeMarcus Kenneth Johnson-Wright on suspicion of first-degree robbery and kidnapping. Additional warrants were later issued accusing him of murder and tampering with physical evidence.

Investigators believed Johnson-Wright had traveled to Tennessee, more than 250 miles from the Kentucky crime scene. The U.S. Marshals Service was called in to help locate him.
On September 30, members of the U.S. Marshals Service, Clarksville Police Department and Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office located Johnson-Wright at a residence in Clarksville, Tennessee. He was arrested around 11 p.m. and taken into custody.

A subsequent search of the residence reportedly uncovered materials investigators believe are connected to the case.

Johnson-Wright is currently being held in Tennessee while authorities work toward his extradition to Kentucky, where he is expected to face the charges filed against him. PEOPLE reported that he also had outstanding warrants connected to previous allegations, including aggravated robbery, kidnapping, unlawful firearm possession and domestic violence.

Yet one major question remains unanswered: What was the relationship between Celio and Johnson-Wright?

Authorities have not publicly explained how the two knew each other, if they knew each other at all, or what investigators believe happened inside Celio’s home before her death. Those unanswered questions could become central to the prosecution as the case moves forward.

For Celio’s family, however, the investigation is only one part of an unimaginable loss. She leaves behind three children, who are now facing life without their mother.

Her sister, Amanda de Paz, has launched a fundraiser to help support the children and described Celio as deeply loved by her family.

What began as a homicide investigation has now become a case spanning two states, involving a missing unborn child, multiple criminal allegations and a suspect captured hundreds of miles from the scene.

And as investigators work to reconstruct Celio’s final hours, the question haunting her loved ones remains painfully simple:

What happened to April Barlow Celio — and why?

The suspect remains accused, not convicted, and the investigation is ongoing.

Source: PEOPLE; Pineville Police Department; U.S. Marshals Service.