A Bellingham woman told police her former fiancé tried four separate times over the spring to secretly end her pregnancy, swapping her prenatal vitamins and sleep medicine for abortion-inducing pills without her knowledge. Police arrested three people in connection with the alleged plot — two in Bellingham and one in Arizona — and say the woman and her fetus are now healthy despite the repeated attempts.
Investigation Began After Woman's Hospitalization
The case became public after My Bellingham Now reported that Bellingham Police Lt. Claudia Murphy said the investigation began after the pregnant victim was admitted for extensive medical treatment. According to The Bellingham Herald, the probe formally opened Oct. 20, when the woman reported to Bellingham police that her former fiancé, 32-year-old Jean Brando Zintz, had intentionally drugged her. Court documents cited by My Bellingham Now stated the fetus survived the termination attempts and that the pregnancy remained viable ahead of the victim's due date later this year.
Zintz is accused of trying to administer abortion pills to the woman four times over the spring, according to Cascadia Daily News. The Bellingham Herald reported that Zintz's brother later told the victim that Zintz had “poisoned (her) baby” and drugged her by replacing her prenatal vitamins with pills meant to induce an abortion. Court records cited by the same outlet state that Zintz's mother had separately offered the woman $10,000 to get an abortion, which she declined.
Arrests Spanned Washington and Arizona
My Bellingham Now reported that after the first attempt failed, the 32-year-old Arizona man recruited two others to help obtain pregnancy-ending medication, and that he allegedly offered the victim money to end the pregnancy. Bellingham police took a 30-year-old male accomplice into custody on Nov. 5, according to that outlet, while a 30-year-old woman was arrested in the case on Nov. 8. Whatcom News identified the three arrested as 32-year-old Jean Brando Zintz, 30-year-old Michael M. Montano and 30-year-old Ciara L. Miller.
U.S. Marshals arrested Zintz in Mesa, Arizona, on Nov. 8, and the Bellingham Herald reported he is awaiting extradition to Whatcom County; My Bellingham Now similarly reported he is scheduled for extradition in the coming days. The two accomplices remain in custody at the Whatcom County jail without bail, per My Bellingham Now.
Conflicting Accounts of the Charges
Local outlets differ on exactly how Zintz has been charged. Cascadia Daily News reported that each suspect is facing charges related to attempted manslaughter and second-degree assault, while the Bellingham Herald reported that Zintz specifically was charged with first-degree manslaughter, two counts of second-degree assault and protection-order violation assault. My Bellingham Now, citing jail booking records, reported that the primary suspect faces first-degree attempted manslaughter, second-degree assault, violation of a prior domestic violence order, and placing harmful substances in food, drink, medicine or water.
The Bellingham Herald reported that the two accomplices — Zintz's 30-year-old brother and his girlfriend, both 30 — were arrested on suspicion of complicity to attempted first-degree manslaughter, second-degree assault and placing poison or other harmful substances in food, drink, medicine or water. My Bellingham Now's account similarly describes the two suspected accomplices as facing complicity charges for attempted manslaughter, assault and medication tampering.
A Pattern Seen Beyond Bellingham
The allegations echo a case involving former West Point cadet Caleb T. Suh, who Fox News reported admitted to secretly drugging his pregnant girlfriend and administering abortion medication to her without her knowledge or consent in 2022. Suh pleaded guilty on June 30 to assault resulting in substantial bodily injury to a dating partner, according to the same report. The Bellingham case remains active, with the primary suspect's extradition still pending and no outcome yet reported in court.
