CADILLAC, MI – A Wexford County woman accused of helping her husband cut an unborn baby out of her own daughter’s womb pleaded to be released from jail pending a trial.
Cortney Bartholomew, 40, of Boon Township, and her public defender, Robert Haertel, appeared during a hearing in Wexford County Wednesday, Dec. 3, and asked 84th District Judge Corey J. Wiggins to issue a bond.
Wiggins on Tuesday, Dec. 2, ordered Cortney Bartholomew and her codefendant, husband Bradly Alan Bartholomew, 47, be jailed without the possibility of bond.
Cortney Bartholomew and her attorney cited the woman’s unidentified medical ailments and her need to care for her 14-year-old son as reasons she should be offered bond or released pending resolution of the case.
“I just need to be able to take care of him,” said Bartholomew, who wore an orange jail suit and was seated in a wheelchair. “I’m the only one that has custody of him.”
Bartholomew also offered to assist in the prosecution of her husband.
Wexford County Prosecutor Johanna Carey asked the judge to continue the no-bond conditions.
This case is “as serious as it can be and I believe the risk of flight given these allegations is just too high,” the prosecutor said.
The judge agreed.
“While I understand there are some health conditions and the concern for a minor child, the fact remains that Miss Bartholomew is, I find, a flight risk and a danger to the community so I will continue to hold her without bond,” Wiggins said.
Prosecutors alleged that on or about Nov. 3 Cortney and Bradly Bartholomew held 22-year-old Rebecca Park against her will and ultimately killed her and her child while carrying out a preconceived plan.
“This is frankly evil personified,” Carey said at the Dec. 2 arraignment. “These two individuals created a plan, conducted research. Mr. Bartholomew brought Rebecca to their home, forced her into another vehicle and took her into the woods where they stabbed her, forced her to lie on the ground while they cut her baby out, ultimately caused her death and the death of the baby.”
The Bartholomews are each charged with eight crimes, including first-degree premeditated murder, torture, unlawful imprisonment, assault with intent to cause miscarriage or stillbirth and removing a dead body without a medical examiner’s permission.
They face mandatory life in prison, if convicted. Court records identify Bradly Bartholomew as a habitual offender, meaning he could face increased penalties.
“Justice for Rebecca” was painted in the snow across from the home where Rebecca Park’s biological mother lives.Photo by Gus Burns | MLive
Cortney Bartholomew is the biological mother of Park, who was placed into the custody of an adoptive family along with her two siblings as a child.
Park’s adoptive mother, Stephanie Park, told 9 and 10 News that she’s had custody of Park since she was one.
Friends, an ex-boyfriend and acquaintances of Park who spoke to MLive said Park did not seem to have a close relationship with her biological mother leading up to her disappearance and death.
At the time Park vanished, she was near-term with the pregnancy of a son and lived with her fiancé, Richard Lee Falor, in a home owned by Falor’s father.
Falor was arrested Nov. 26 and arraigned on two counts of delivery/manufacture of a controlled substance, and for being a habitual offender fourth offense notice. His bond was set at $1 million.
The home where Richard Lee Falor and Rebecca Park lived prior to Park’s Disappearance. Police served a search warrant at the property and seized multiple knives, notebooks and electronics.Gus Burns
While the charges against Richard Falor are not directly related to Park’s death, a search warrant reviewed by MLive shows state police suspected his involvement.
The warrant granted state troopers access to search the residence for “human remains to include a fetus” “any suspected burial sites” and “tools that could be used to dispose of human remains.”
Police also arrested Park’s 21-year-old sister, Kimberly Park on Nov. 26, and arraigned on charges of tampering with evidence, lying to a peace officer, and a false report of a felony. It’s unclear if the charges are related to Park’s death or disappearance. Kimberly Park’s bond was set at $750,000.
The court significantly reduced the bonds for Park and Falor on Nov. 3.
Falor was released from jail after his bond was lowered to $5,000, requiring 10% payment, according to Wexford County corrections staff.
Kimberly Park was also released Wednesday after her bond was lowered to $5,000, with 10% payment required.
Searchers discovered Park’s body on Nov. 25 in a wooded area of the Manistee National Forest, which surrounds the home where the Bartholomews lived.
Court records indicate the crimes occurred in Boon or Antioch townships. The Bartholomews’ home is located along the southern border of Antioch Township.
Officials have not revealed if the remains of Park’s baby have been recovered.
Bartholomew made her appearance on Wednesday via a live stream video feed from the Wexford County Jail for arraignment on an amended complaint. The court misspelled her name in in the original complaint and called her back to clarify the record.
Falor’s preliminary examination is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Dec. 9. and the Bartholomews have preliminary examinations scheduled for 2 p.m. on Dec. 16.