Justin Anthony Banta: Capital murder charge after man spikes girlfriend’s drink with abortion drug in Texas

A man has been charged with capital murder after allegedly lacing his girlfriend’s drink with an abortion drug at a coffee shop, because she refused to terminate her pregnancy.

Detectives in the US state of Texas began an investigation into allegations made against Justin Anthony Banta after his girlfriend made a complaint to police following a miscarriage.

Mr Banta was arrested and charged with murdering the unborn child after investigators felt they had gathered enough evidence to prove he poured the abortion drug, Plan C, into his former partner’s a cup of coffee while meeting at a local store.

The woman, whose name has not been released, was unaware of his actions, but later became suspicious after she experienced heavy bleeding soon after the meeting and had to rush to an urgent care facility.

Days after her hospital visit the woman lost the baby, which doctors had described as being in perfect health, to a miscarriage.

Prior to the incident, Mr Banta reportedly offered to provide money for the woman to have an abortion, which she refused, saying she wished to have the baby.

A police statement said Mr Banta’s former girlfriend was around six weeks pregnant. During a checkup with her doctor, she was told the baby had “a strong heartbeat” and vital signs, according to the statement.

“Later that same day, the victim reported she met Banta at a coffee shop ... where she expressed her suspicion that Banta had secretly added abortion-inducing pills to her drink without her knowledge or permission,” the Parker County Sheriff’s Office said.

The woman also reportedly told police Mr Banta proposed they purchase some Plan C abortion drug online as he tried in vain to convince here to terminate the pregnancy.

Mr Banta who was working in IT for the US Department of Justice at the time, is alleged to have accessed his phone remotely and performed a “reset” following the events. He has been subsequently been charged with tampering with physical evidence.

The state of Texas introduced a law in 2022 that carries civil and criminal penalties for those who perform abortions and has some of the strictest laws in the US around abortion.

A law in 2021 also bans the termination of pregnancies after a baby’s heartbeat is detected, but does make exceptions for medical emergencies.