The tangled web of deceit, betrayal, and violence surrounding the murder of pregnant Michigan mother Rebecca Park took a dramatic turn on Thursday when prosecutors abruptly dropped all charges against her sister, Kimberly Park, the woman who first reported her missing but was later accused of lying to police to cover for a registered 𝒔𝒆𝒙 offender. The stunning reversal in Wexford County Court leaves Kimberly free for now, though the prosecutor’s office made clear the door remains open to refile charges as the investigation into Rebecca’s brutal killing continues to unfold.
Kimberly Park had been arrested in December 2025 on charges of tampering with evidence, lying to a police officer during a criminal investigation, and falsely reporting a felony. Those charges stemmed from a series of conflicting statements she made to Michigan State Police detectives in the days following Rebecca’s disappearance on November 4, 2025. At a preliminary hearing on May 22, both the prosecution and defense jointly requested the case be dismissed without prejudice, a move the judge granted, according to local media outlet UPN North Live.
The Wexford County Prosecutor’s Office issued a statement explaining the decision, saying, “The prosecutions of Courtney and Brad Barthamu will continue before the court and a decision whether to recharge Kimberly Park will be made in accordance with the pursuit of justice.” The phrasing suggests that Kimberly’s cooperation or lack thereof may have been a factor, but officials offered no further details on what changed behind the scenes. For now, Kimberly walks free, but the shadow of suspicion remains.
Rebecca Park, 22, was nine months pregnant with her third child when she vanished from Boone Township in northern Michigan. Her sister Kimberly was the one who called police after family and friends could not reach her. Search parties scoured the rural area for weeks, but it was Rebecca’s birth father who made the grim discovery on November 25, finding her mutilated body beneath a pile of leaves in the woods near the home of her birth mother, Courtney Barthamu, and stepfather, Brad Barthamu. Rebecca’s unborn son was never found.
The case quickly unraveled into a nightmare of family dysfunction and alleged conspiracy. Court documents reveal that Rebecca had recently reconnected with her birth mother, Courtney, who had given her up for adoption years earlier. But that reunion may have been a deadly trap. According to charging documents, Courtney allegedly wanted to take Rebecca’s baby for herself, unable to adopt due to Brad’s status as a registered 𝒔𝒆𝒙 offender. The plan, prosecutors say, ended in a savage attack.
Body camera footage obtained by Law and Crime shows the moment a Michigan State Police detective confronted Kimberly Park outside her home on the night of November 25. In the video, Kimberly initially claimed that Courtney and Brad had confessed to killing Rebecca, saying they “hit her over the head” and that Brad “contacted a friend who came and picked up Rebecca Park’s body and took it away.” But when the detective pressed her, her story shifted dramatically.
“I know you were involved. You need to tell me to what degree,” the detective says in the footage, his tone firm. Kimberly then admitted to a sexual relationship with Richard Fowler, a registered 𝒔𝒆𝒙 offender who was engaged to Rebecca and had also been involved with Courtney. She alleged that Fowler told her he killed Rebecca and the baby so they could be together. “All he said was I took care of it. Don’t worry about it,” Kimberly told the detective, later adding, “Now he killed her. He wouldn’t tell me what happened.”
Fowler was arrested the same day as Kimberly, but not for murder. Instead, he was charged with two counts of delivery of methamphetamine after police allegedly uncovered a 𝒹𝓇𝓊𝑔 operation during the investigation. He was later released on bond. He has not been charged in connection with Rebecca’s death, though he failed a polygraph test, according to police reports. The tangled relationships among the three women and Fowler have left investigators piecing together a motive rooted in jealousy, obsession, and a desperate desire for a child.
Courtney and Brad Barthamu remain behind bars, facing a litany of charges including first-degree murder, felony murder, torture, unlawful imprisonment, assault with intent to cause a miscarriage or stillbirth, and removing a dead body without permission. Prosecutors have described the crime as “as heinous and awful as a case could be.” At a bond hearing, they argued the couple is too dangerous to release, detailing how they allegedly lured Rebecca to their home, forced her into a vehicle, drove her to a remote wooded area, and stabbed her before cutting the baby from her womb.
The couple has spent months pointing fingers at each other. Brad told detectives that Courtney was the one who grabbed a knife and started stabbing, claiming he jumped out of the truck when the violence began. He said Courtney was “obsessed with wanting another baby” and believed she was capable of slicing open her own daughter. Courtney, in turn, claimed Brad was the aggressor, alleging he slit Rebecca’s throat in a revenge plot against Fowler. She said she only cut the baby out in a desperate attempt to save her grandson, who did not survive.
In a chilling moment captured on video, Brad led detectives to the wooded crime scene and pointed out dumpsters where he said he disposed of the murder weapon, a hunting knife belonging to Courtney. “I just wanted it out of my hand,” he told them. The baby’s body has never been found. Brad allegedly told investigators the infant was placed in a soft-sided cooler bag and thrown into a dumpster.
Rebecca’s adoptive mother, Stephanie Park, has been left to grieve and care for Rebecca’s two surviving children. At a memorial service earlier this month, she expressed gratitude for the community’s support. “I can’t even put into words how much that’s been with all the support,” she told UPN North Live. A GoFundMe has been set up to help provide for the children’s future.
As the legal maneuvering continues, the question of Kimberly Park’s true role in her sister’s death remains unanswered. Her charges may be dropped for now, but the investigation is far from over. The Wexford County Prosecutor’s Office has made clear that justice for Rebecca Park and her unborn son is the only priority. For a family torn apart by secrets, lies, and unspeakable violence, the search for the full truth has only just begun.
