Justin Banta, Texas man and federal IT worker charged with causing girlfriend’s unborn child to die after slipping Plan C abortion drug in her drink along with tampering with evidence. Girlfriend had insisted on keeping unborn baby while the Department of Justice worker insisted she get an abortion.
A federal worker is accused of intentionally causing his girlfriend’s unborn child to die after spiking her drink with an abortion drug.
Justin Anthony Banta, 38, an employee in the IT department of the U.S Department of Justice was taken into custody on Friday, June 6, on charges of capital murder and evidence tampering following a months long investigation into the death of his ex girlfriend’s unborn child, the Parker County Sheriff’s Office in Fort Worth, North Texas announced Monday.
In October 2024, Banta’s then-girlfriend reported that the federal employee intentionally added “Plan C,” an abortion drug, to her drink so that she’d have an abortion without her knowledge. The the active ingredient in Plan C abortion drug is Mifepristone and is known to induce the ending of a pregnancy.
She told authorities that while she was still in a romantic relationship with Banta, she found out she was pregnant Banta in turn was overwhelmed with joy, proposed to cover the cost of an abortion and suggested the couple ordering “Plan C” online, the sheriff’s office stated in the release. The girlfriend who was not identified allegedly told Banta that she wanted to keep the baby when she first found out about being pregnant in September.
In October 2024, when the victim was about six weeks pregnant, she went for a sonogram and learned the baby ‘had a strong heartbeat, displayed good vital signs and was said to be healthy by her doctor,’ according to Parker County Sheriff Russ Authier.
Later that same day, the victim said she and Banta met at a coffee shop in Tarrant County, where she shared her suspicion that Banta ‘secretly added abortion-inducing pills to her drink without her knowledge or permission,’ the news release stated.
A day after their coffee shop outing, the victim began to suffer from fatigue and heavy bleeding, leading to an emergency room visit. The victim told authorities she lost the baby on Oct. 19, which she believed was a result of Banta slipping her “Plan C” in her drink after arranging to meet at a local coffee shop to ‘further discuss’ her pregnancy.
During questioning, the woman claimed Banta had already bought her a drink when she arrived at the coffee store, with the woman unwittingly drinking the abortion drug.
The two had been dating for one month when the then girlfriend discovered that she was pregnant with Banta’s child.
The Parker County Sheriff’s Office said Banta was interviewed about the incident, and his cellphone was collected as evidence in the case.
Investigators believe Banta, later accessed the phone remotely and ‘performed a ‘reset,’ thereby deleting crucial evidence related to the case.’
It remained unclear what evidence was eliminated, with attorney Russell Wilson, not associated with the case, telling FOX4 that corroborating evidence leading to the boyfriend’s indictment likely included receipts, video interaction and phone texts along with the pair being placed at the coffee shop on the day of pregnancy results being announced along with the coffee cup itself.
Investigators obtained a felony arrest warrant for Banta, who was booked in the Parker County Jail for tampering with physical evidence and a charge from the Texas Rangers for capital murder, which has been filed in Tarrant County.
Banta’s lawyer Michael Heiskell has disputed the charges, describing them as the result of a romantic relationship that ‘went awry’.
‘He is innocent of these accusations,’ Heiskell told The Dallas Morning News. ‘We intend to litigate this in court, and at the end of the day we expect him to be exonerated of these charges and lies against him.’
The investigation is still ongoing, and the sheriff’s office said the cases against Banta are awaiting prosecution, with the man bonding out of jail on the same of his arrest on $520,000.
Banta who faces capital murder charges in Texas, could face the death penalty if convicted.
