Akia Eggleston
Akia Eggleston was a 22‑year‑old expectant mother from Baltimore who vanished on May 3, 2017.
Her disappearance drew immediate concern when she failed to show up for her own baby shower four days later — an event she had planned, paid for, and was excited about. Akia was eight months pregnant at the time and had been preparing for the arrival of her son.
On the afternoon she disappeared, Akia was seen on surveillance footage withdrawing money from a bank in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. She told friends she was getting ready to move into a new apartment, believing she would be living there with the father of her unborn child.
When she stopped answering calls and missed a prenatal appointment, her family went to check her apartment and found her room nearly empty, with only a bed and a few dressers left behind. She was reported missing that same day.
For years, Akia’s case remained unsolved, with no phone activity, no social media use, and no confirmed sightings. Her pregnancy was considered high‑risk, and she would have needed medical care to deliver her son, yet no hospitals reported seeing her. The lack of physical evidence made the investigation especially difficult, and her family continued to push for answers.
In February 2022, a major break came when Michael Robertson — the father of Akia’s unborn child — was arrested and charged with her murder. Investigators uncovered that he had been deceiving Akia about their future and maintaining another relationship at the same time. Prosecutors argued that he lured her into believing they were moving in together as part of a plan to kill her.
In July 2023, a jury found Robertson guilty of two counts of first‑degree murder for the deaths of Akia and her unborn son, Anubis. He was sentenced in October 2023 to two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.
Despite the conviction, Akia’s remains have never been found. Prosecutors believe she was killed shortly after the bank withdrawal and that her body was disposed of in a dumpster later taken to a landfill too deep to excavate.
Akia’s disappearance and the long fight for justice have been featured in multiple documentaries, including Dateline NBC’s “The Day Akia Disappeared.” Her family continues to honor her memory and hopes that one day her remains will be recovered.
If you have any information that could help locate the remains of Akia Shawnta Eggleston, please contact the Baltimore Police Department or your local law enforcement agency.
