What happened to Akia Eggleston? Details explored ahead of Dateline NBC

The latest episode of Dateline NBC will delve into the murder of Akia Eggleston, a 22-year-old woman from Baltimore who was eight months pregnant at the time. The brutality of this crime still sends shockwaves across Baltimore and parts of it still remain shrouded in mystery today. Even her body was never recovered after she mysteriously disappeared.

This case will be the subject of Dateline NBC season 32 episode 43. It airs at 10 pm EST on Friday, September 13, 2024. The synopsis for the episode reads:

"A pregnant woman vanishes before her baby shower and detectives struggle to unravel the chilling mystery: is it a missing persons case, or something far more sinister?"

Ahead of the episode, let us dive into the circumstances surrounding Akia Shawnty Eggleston's disappearance.

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Who was Akia Eggleston and what happened to her?

Akia Eggleston was born on September 6, 1994, and raised by her mother and stepfather, Shawn Wilkinson. She was also good friends with Michael Robertson from a young age, who happened to be the grandson of her childhood babysitter. This meant that Akia and Michael spent a lot of time playing with each other from a young age.

Akia Eggleston had a fairly straightforward upbringing and was close to even her extended family. However, it all changed in 2012 when her mother passed away after a long battle with cancer. According to Shawn, this was a pivotal moment in Akia's life and it changed her completely.

Akia began keeping most of her life private after 2012, and in 2015, she entered motherhood. Shortly after this, Akia encountered Michael Robertson once again, and this time their childhood friendship transformed into love.

The two began dating, and by 2017, Akia was pregnant with her second child. Michael was the father, and the two were dreaming of starting a family together.

Akia was so excited about this, she planned everything ahead and even held a gender reveal party on May 7, 2017. However, that day, the eight-month-pregnant Akia Eggleston never turned up, which was a cause of huge concern for her family.

Her relatives and friends began searching for her frantically, but she was nowhere to be seen. Soon, her family members decided to involve the police. The investigation soon revealed that Akia was last seen withdrawing money from a BB&T Bank in downtown Baltimore on May 3, 2017. No one saw her alive after this point.

Sadly, even Akia Eggleston's body was never recovered, leaving this case partly unresolved.

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Who killed Akia Eggleston?

As mentioned earlier, her body was never found, which suggests that she could still be missing. As the investigators started delving deep into the investigation, Michael Robertson stood out because of the narrative inconsistencies in his story and his ongoing affair with his former lover, with whom he also shared two children.

Moreover, it was also established that at the time of the murder, Akia and Michael were going through a rough patch in their relationship. It also seemed that Michael was harboring different dreams from that of Akia, who was intent on starting a family with Michael Robertson.

The motive, combined with Michael's suspicious Google search history, led to his conviction based on circumstantial evidence. He was sentenced to two life sentences for the murder of Akia and Anubis, the unborn child.

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Dateline NBC will cover this case in further detail.