Wash. man pleads guilty to killing pregnant ex-girlfriend whose body was found in trash bags

PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. (TCD) -- A 40-year-old man recently pleaded guilty and was sentenced to prison for killing his pregnant ex-girlfriend in 2020.

According to a news release from the Pierce County Sheriff's Department, on Aug. 27, 2020, Kassandra Cantrell's family reported her missing after the 33-year-old woman did not return home. Cantrell, who was in the early stages of her first pregnancy, also reportedly failed to show up for a doctor's appointment.

The next day, on Aug. 28, 2020, the Sheriff's Department said Cantrell's abandoned vehicle was located in Tacoma, Washington, but there we no signs of her.

Using surveillance video footage, investigators reportedly identified Cantrell's ex-boyfriend as a suspect after he was seen walking from Cantrell's abandoned car to a nearby parking garage.

Detectives were able to use GPS data from Cantrell's ex-boyfriend's truck and found "a set of human remains that were wrapped and disposed of over a steep hillside along Chambers Creek," the Sheriff's Department announced.

According to KIRO-TV, the victim's remains were wrapped in trash bags, and an autopsy report revealed that she was stabbed and suffered skull fractures.

Cantrell's ex-boyfriend, Colin Patrick Dudley, was reportedly arrested and pleaded not guilty in September 2020. Dudley was the father of the victim's unborn child, KIRO reports.

On Monday, Nov. 14, Dudley pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 26 years and eight months in prison for first-degree murder, The News Tribune reports.

One of Cantrell's friends reportedly told authorities that the victim didn't want to tell Dudley about the pregnancy because he did not want children.

MORE:

• Detectives locate body believed to be missing person Kassanndra Cantrell; victim's ex-boyfriend identified as suspect & arrested by SWAT team, 9/22/2020 - Pierce County Sheriff's Department
• Pierce County man pleads guilty to killing pregnant ex-girlfriend in 2020 - KIRO
• He killed his pregnant ex-girlfriend, dumped her body in UP. He’s now been sentenced - The News Tribune
• Missing pregnant woman found dead in Washington; ex-boyfriend arrested, 9/24/2020 - TCD