Content warning: This article describes birth trauma. Please take care while reading.
A Missouri woman faces felony charges after allegedly giving her former partner a small red-and-white cooler containing a deceased fetus, telling him, “Here’s your kid.”
Police the woman, identified by Pulaski County authorities as Makayla Annette Haedt, 29, with first-degree harassment in a case that raises disturbing questions about motive, mental state, and grief.
The lying allegations
According to court records obtained by local outlets, dispatch sent deputies in Waynesville, Missouri, to a residence on September 18 after a man reported finding a human fetus inside a cooler left at his home.
According to local news outlet KRCG, the man told investigators that he had known Haedt for years and that their relationship had been on and off. In recent months, she had told him she was pregnant, but he admitted to police that he did not believe her, describing her as a “habitual liar.”
When she later texted him to say she had suffered a miscarriage, he assumed it wasn’t true and did not respond.
The following evening, Haedt allegedly drove up to his property, stepped out of her vehicle, and handed him a cooler sealed with green tape. “Here’s your kid,” she reportedly said before leaving.
The man said he initially thought it was a cruel joke or some kind of prank. Only after a friend arrived did he decide to open the container, and that is when he discovered what appeared to be a fetus inside. He closed the lid and immediately called law enforcement.
Deputies confirmed the discovery and contacted the county coroner. The remains were taken for examination, though authorities have not released details about the gestational age, condition, or cause of death.
Haedt showed no signs of remorse
Authorities arrested Haedt the following day and booked her into the Pulaski County Jail, where she remains held on a $50,000 bond. She is scheduled to appear in court later this month.
In the probable cause statement, investigators allege that Haedt showed no visible signs of remorse and appeared “matter-of-fact” when questioned about her actions. The man, meanwhile, told police that he was “in shock” and could not comprehend what had just happened. “It’s the kind of thing you see on the internet,” he said in his affidavit, “but you never think it’ll happen to you.”
While the charge against Haedt centers on harassment rather than homicide, the case remains under investigation, and authorities have not ruled out additional charges depending on the results of the coroner’s report. Police have also not said whether DNA testing will be used to confirm paternity.
