Makala Pendley, a 30-year-old pregnant woman from Indianapolis, was found dead in a ditch in a village in Mexico's Chiapas state after being raped and beaten. Her partner has been detained by authorities in connection with the killing.
Pendley, who was six months pregnant, fled Indiana with her seven children and Joseph Jude Butler Jr. earlier this year. She had expressed fears that the children would be taken from the family.
Chiapas State Prosecutor Jorge Luis Llaven Abarca announced the discovery during a Facebook Live briefing on Monday. Pendley was found nude with her head bashed in, and authorities determined the cause of death as traumatic brain injury from blunt force trauma. She had been in the ditch for eight to 12 hours.
Mexican officials took Butler into custody last weekend. Llaven Abarca said his criminal responsibility will be assessed soon and that prosecutors will seek a maximum sentence of 100 years for femicide. The children are being returned to Indianapolis along with Pendley's body.
Her sister, Maurica Lambert, told WXIN that the family is devastated. "It just still does not feel freaking real," she said. "She was a good mom. She put her kids before she put anything."