A pregnant teen sent a final text message before she was brutally murdered and buried in her boyfriend's backyard.
Gregory Groom, 22, has been charged with murder after allegedly stabbing 18-year-old Kylee Monteiro, who was 11 weeks pregnant, and burying her body in his grandparents’ backyard.
Before her tragic death, the victim sent a haunting message to her sister on August 7 after arguing with the suspect, who was Monteiro's boyfriend.
“He threw me on the ground, and pulled my hair and strangled me,” she wrote, according to the New York Post. “My phones at 4 percent if I die, it was Greg.”
The next morning, Groom went to the police himself, reporting Monteiro missing. He told investigators she had just left a residential program and had taken a rideshare to his home on August 6, where she wanted to stay.
Groom claimed they had argued about her living arrangements and that she later left.
Family members grew alarmed when the late teen, described as very active on social media, suddenly stopped posting online.
On her TikTok account, she had previously announced her pregnancy and called Groom a man who treated her like “gold," per CBS News.
“I know there's been a lot of speculation of domestic abuse, but that wasn't the case in their relationship,” her sister Faith Monteiro later told outlets.
Investigators launched an extensive search on August 8, and Groom was initially charged with aggravated assault and battery on a pregnant person, domestic assault and battery, and witness intimidation related to the incident.
As the investigation intensified, police informed the man that they would be searching his grandparents’ County Street property in Rehoboth. At that point, prosecutors said, Groom confessed to the crime.
According to Prosecutor Jason Mohan, he admitted that after their fight behind a shed on the property, he stabbed Monteiro twice in the neck and once in the chest with a kitchen knife, causing the blade to snap. He then dragged her body about 20 yards away and buried her roughly five feet underground.
Mohan said the Groom even drew a “rudimentary map” to show officers where to find the grave. When search teams returned, they noticed brush and cut trees piled near the shed to conceal blood and evidence.
They soon found the disturbed patch of dirt where Monteiro’s body was buried.
Despite the alleged confession, Groom entered a not guilty plea and was ordered to be held without bail. He is due back in court for a probable cause hearing on September 10.
Monteiro had just graduated from Attleboro High School earlier this summer. It remains unclear whether the child she was carrying was Groom’s.
“She was so loving and so caring, and I love her so much. My daughter was her best friend,” family friend Kira Schofield said.
The victim's sister said she was still struggling to comprehend the tragedy. “I lost my sister, and I will never see her again or say anything to her or get the chance to say goodbye or tell her that I love her," Faith shared.
Bristol County District Attorney Tom Quinn expressed condolences, saying: “Certainly, [it's] a very difficult time for them. Extend my sympathies to them and ask them to be patient with the process despite the trauma that they are experiencing now.”
A community event, Vigil of Hope for Kylee Monteiro, is scheduled for Saturday (August 23) at 7PM at Redway Plain & The Veterans Memorial Gazebo in Rehoboth.