'Close Friend' of Missing New Mom in Custody

Body said to be Heidi Broussard's found; cops say Magen Fieramusca plotted to take her baby
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 20, 2019 12:43 PM CST
'Close Friend' of Missing New Mom in Custody
Heidi Broussard and daughter Margot Carey.   (Austin Police Department)

An arrest has been made in the case of missing Texas mom Heidi Broussard after a body believed to be hers was found Thursday evening at a home near Houston. An infant girl was also found at the Jersey Village residence, thought to be Broussard's daughter, Margot Carey. The Austin Police Department, which says the healthy baby is in the care of Child Protective Services, notes her DNA is being tested to see if she is little Margot, per KXAN. Broussard's mother says cops told her the body found in the trunk of a car at the home was likely her daughter, reports NBC News. An autopsy is being conducted for confirmation. The suspect now in custody and being held on $600,000 bond is 33-year-old Magen Rose Fieramusca, and police say she was a "close friend" with Broussard, who was from Austin. More on this developing case:

  • A gruesome scheme? Law enforcement officials say Fieramusca, who's so far been charged with kidnapping and tampering with evidence (a corpse), had faked being pregnant over the past several months and plotted to take Broussard's baby, per the Austin American-Statesman. Investigators are also exploring the possibility that others may have been involved in Broussard's killing.

  • The vehicle link: The car found at the property was registered to Fieramusca. Law enforcement sources say the vehicle was in the Austin area around the time Broussard went missing on Dec. 12, after dropping her 6-year-old son off at school.
  • More on the suspect: Magen Fieramusca also went by Magen Humphrey and Maygen Humphrey, per Heavy.com, which notes Fieramusca may have been a former married name. In 2013, Broussard referred to Fieramusca as her "best friend" in a social media post. A LinkedIn page for a Maygen Humphrey says she's a wedding planner in the Houston area, while a baby registry on The Bump says she was due to give birth on Dec. 1.
  • Boyfriend not implicated: Officials don't think Broussard's fiance, Shane Carey, who has been engaged to her since 2012, was involved in Fieramusca's alleged scheme, per KVUE. CBS Austin lays out the timeline provided last week by Carey, who says he went to work on Dec. 12, talked to Broussard around 8am, then never heard from her again. He says Broussard and the baby were gone when he got home to their apartment around 2pm; shortly after that, he got a call from their son's school that he'd never been picked up. He called the cops after he says he got home from getting his son and found that Broussard and Margot still hadn't returned.
  • Not a likely runaway: Clues left behind in the wake of Broussard's disappearance suggested she didn't vanish of her own accord. NBC notes that, per Carey, when he got home to their apartment the day she went missing, Broussard's car and belongings, including her ID and the baby's diaper bag, were still there. Friends also say Broussard never would've abandoned her young son.
(More missing person stories.)

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