Charli, as she was known by her family and friends, met Steven in 2009. They lived together for two years in Makawao, on the beautiful Hawaiian island of Maui. But while red-haired Charli was smitten with her boyfriend, Steven would tell his friends they were just room-mates and he avoided having his photo taken with her.
Compassionate and thoughtful Charli deserved more. She was always happily singing out loud and going out of her way to make people feel special. She would experiment with hair colours and pin-up style clothes – and loved to refer to herself as a unicorn. Wise beyond her years, Charli often gave people advice. But she was blind when it came to Steven.
When the couple broke up, Steven found a new girlfriend but continued to have sex with Charli. She was under his spell and loved him, despite knowing he didn’t care about her in the same way.
As she struggled to move on, Charli, 27, fell pregnant with Steven’s baby. Her maternal instinct kicked in and she couldn’t wait to become a mum. She found out she was having a boy and named him Joshua. But Steven, 24, wasn’t so keen on becoming a dad. He wanted Charli to have an abortion, but she refused.
On February 9, 2014, Charli got a call from Steven saying he’d broken down and needed help getting his car out of a ditch. Dutifully, five-months pregnant Charli jumped in her car with her dog Nala. She never returned.
The next day, her family reported her missing. Steven admitted Charli had come to his aid. After fixing a battery cable, she’d helped him get his truck out of the ditch. He said she’d followed behind him in case he broke down again. He saw her lights before losing sight of her, but he assumed she’d got home safely. Had she had an accident?
The community came out in force to search for her. Nala was found wandering abandoned, but safe. Then a few days later, Charli’s SUV was found burnt-out in a rural area. It was a devastating discovery and suggested foul play.
Steven, the last person to see Charli alive, was interviewed again. He was recorded referring to Charli in the past tense – despite no evidence that she was dead. When asked about whether he was happy that his ex-girlfriend was pregnant, he admitted that he wasn’t ‘thrilled’ about it.
As family searched, Charli’s half-sister found her blood-stained skirt and bra in a remote area off the highway. When police searched the site further, they found part of Charli’s jawbone, clumps of her red hair and her fingertips. Experts later testified that her injuries were likely inflicted by someone attacking her with a sharp object or knife – to essentially de-flesh the bone.
All hope was lost for Charli and her unborn baby. Investigators also found torn clothing similar to what Steven had been wearing on the night Charli vanished.
In July 2014, Steven was arrested. Despite there being no complete body, the police announced that Charli was dead. When Steven pleaded not guilty in court, he was wearing a neck brace after being assaulted by a fellow inmate. Emotions were running high on the small island.
At the trial in 2016, the prosecution showed the court what was left of Charli’s black skirt. It had been punctured below the waist band over 20 times. They said the knife had been plunged in time and time again – right into Charli’s pregnancy bump. They said Steven was the only one with motive, opportunity and intent. He didn’t want to be a dad. Why else was the attack focused on the abdomen?
Judge Cardoza told him his actions were ‘calculated and self-centred’. That he’d killed Charli because he didn’t want to be a father. As Steven was led away, the court heard calls of, "Where is she, Steven?"
Charli’s body has never been found and it is torture for her family. All they want to do is bring her, and her son, home. They continue to try and find her, and fight for changes in the law that would recognise foetal homicide.
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