Man Attempted To Abort Baby By Poisoning Pregnant Girlfriend

In Rapid City, South Dakota, a man was found guilty in September of attempted fetal homicide for trying to cause the abortion of his ex-girlfriend’s unborn baby. Although 36-year-old Alfredo Vargas fled to Puerto Rico, he was extradited from there to stand trial for the attempted abortion.

When his girlfriend, Lisa Komes, became pregnant with his child, Vargas told her they should get an abortion. He also told his family and friends that he did not want this baby.

As the pregnancy continued, Vargas and Komes fought about finances, and Vargas left Komes for a time. He later reconciled with her, and on three separate occasions, Vargas gave Komes a fountain drink, which Komes described as bitter and smelling minty. Komes became suspicious that he was trying to poison her and called the authorities. The drink tested out for containing a substance called polegone, an herb that can cause an abortion when administered in large quantities and is used in tiny amounts in mint extract.

Vargas’ defense attorney attempted to ridicule the prosecutors’ case, referring to it as murder by mint; but the jury wasn’t buying his efforts to joke about the very serious crime of attempting to poison a pregnant woman and her unborn child.

The prosecutors also presented a highly damaging piece of evidence in the form of a recorded conversation between Vargas and his wife telling her that he intended to hurt the fetus with the herb by poisoning his ex-girlfriend.

Vargas is now facing a potential 25 years in prison when he appears in his November sentencing.

Meanwhile, Komes happily delivered a healthy baby boy despite Vargas’ attempts to kill him.