Rehoboth man charged with killing his pregnant girlfriend held without bail

REHOBOTH, Mass. (WPRI) — A 22-year-old man accused of killing his pregnant girlfriend faced a judge Wednesday morning.

Gregory Groom was arraigned on charges of murder, assault and battery on a pregnant victim, aggravated intimidation of a witness, and domestic assault and battery.

ORIGINAL NOTE: https://www.wpri.com/news/local-news/se-mass/rehoboth-man-accused-of-killing-his-pregnant-girlfriend-appears-in-court/

by: Melanie DaSilva

The charges come after human remains “consistent” with 18-year-old Kylee Monteiro were found Tuesday on his property.

Groom reported Monteiro missing on Aug. 7 and confirmed she was 11 weeks pregnant at the time.

In court, officials said on Aug. 6, Monteiro took a rideshare to Groom’s home and they got into an argument about whether he would allow her to stay there.

When police later interviewed Groom and other family members, Monteiro’s sister said that she texted her that day, saying, “He threw me on the ground, he pulled my hair, and strangled me. My phone is at 4% and if I die, it was Greg.”

Ultimately, Monteiro said she was going to try to stay with Groom, according to police.

On Aug. 14, investigators, including a K-9 unit, searched Groom’s property on County Street, which is about 25 acres, but nothing significant was found.

Since Monteiro’s family and friends still hadn’t heard from her, police continued their search.

This past Tuesday, Groom went to the police station for an interview. There, police said he admitted that during the argument with Monteiro, he pushed her, causing her to fall back and hit her head, and kicked her phone out of her hand when she tried to contact someone.

Police continued to press Groom about where Monteiro was, and told him that they had obtained a search warrant and would “dig if necessary.”

Groom paused, according to officials, and then voluntarily drew a map showing that their argument took place behind a shed on his property. He then told police that he stabbed Monteiro twice in the neck and once in the chest before she died.

Police said Groom them went 20 yards into the woods and dug a five-foot-deep hole, where he put her body and covered it with brush. He also covered the site of the murder with brush.

An autopsy is now being conducted on the remains, investigators said.

Based on Groom’s confession, he was ordered held without bail and is due back in court in September.

Monteiro’s family had created a GoFundMe to spread awareness of her disappearance, but is now using it to raise money for her funeral costs.

“Thank you for all your help in spreading awareness and for all the support our family has received so far,” the GoFundMe read. “This is closure and we are so thankful for everyone’s help in getting here. Obviously there will be court proceedings but we are taking this one step at a time.”

A candlelight vigil will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday near the Gazebo at Redway Plain. The address is 401 Winthrop St., which is off Route 44.