Law&Crime Sidebar - Woman Put Fetus in Cooler, Gave It to Her Ex: Cops

Episode Date: October 14, 2025

A woman allegedly handed her ex-lover a cooler containing a human fetus, telling him, "Here's your kid." Law&Crime’s Jesse Weber and trial attorney Ali Young delve into this disturbing case, exploring the harassment charge Makayla Annette Haedt faces and potential additional charges like desecration of remains, as well as Haedt's past erratic behavior.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW: Download the FREE Upside App at https://upside.app.link/sidebar to get an extra 25 cents back for every gallon on your first tank of gas.HOST:Jesse Weber: https://twitter.com/jessecordweberLAW&CRIME SIDEBAR PRODUCTION:YouTube Management - Bobby SzokeVideo Editing - Michael Deininger, Christina O'Shea, Alex Ciccarone, & Jay CruzScript Writing & Producing - Savannah Williamson & Juliana BattagliaGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law and Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Here's your kid. That's allegedly what a woman told her ex-lover when she handed him a small cooler. And inside, it's the stuff of nightmares. We are taking a closer look at this horrifying incident and what could become of the suspect as her court case moves forward. Welcome to Sidebar, presented by Law and Crime.

This is a story we might not really believe if it weren't in the black and white of a police report, and I really wish it wasn't, but it is, because Missouri investigators say that a woman claimed she had a miscarriage and decided to give the remains to the alleged father of the child in the most cold and callous way, I think I have ever heard. That's the allegations. Now, we're going to warn you, these are incredibly disturbing allegations and are very tough to hear. 29-year-old, Michaela Annette Head, is facing a harassment charge, and a probable cause affidavit filed in support of her arrest lays out what led up to that charge. So to help me talk about what law enforcement says happened, discuss where the investigation goes from here, where the case goes from here. I want to welcome on trial attorney Ali Young.

Allie, thanks so much for taking the time. Appreciate it. Yeah, thanks for having me. So this deputy with the Pulaski County Sheriff's Office wrote in this affidavit that he responded to a home in Waynesville, Missouri on September 18th. This is just before three in the morning. And he spoke with a man identified as confidential victim number one or CV number one. So we believe this to be the alleged father, right, Allie. First of all, why keep him confidential in this report? Well, we just like to protect victims' rights here, just having a kind of a buffer between who the victim is and who the public knows him or her to be kind of creates a little bit of a safety net for any victim. So not just him, but any victim, we tend to refer to them by their initials to give them a little bit more anonymity. So the affidavit reads, quote, CV number one in the female subject identified as,

Michaela Head, and I believe that's how you pronounce her name, could be wrong apologies, have been friends for a few years. During those years of being friends, they had been romantic with one another on and off, stating, we never dated. It was more of a fling. He stated Michaela was a habitual liar, which caused him to not believe her when she advised him. She was pregnant approximately one to two months prior. CV-1 told me earlier in the afternoon of September 17th, 2025, McHale had messaged him stating she had a miscarriage, but did not say anything else on the subject. Michaela then came to CB number one's residence and picked him up in her vehicle where they then went to run errands. Now, Allie, this gives us some kind of background on not only the relationship between the victim and Michaela,

but also how she interacts with him after apparently telling him she had a miscarriage, right? The whole thing is written away that sounds so nonchalant. I guess the question is if this is the account that was told to him by CV1, just taking there, is CV1, this apparent father, most reliable narrate or given what the timing of, just told this and then what are we talking about? Right. Like, why does he not have more questions? She just said she went through a miscarriage. Any normal person would kind of have concern for another person that maybe went through a miscarriage of their own child. but outside of knowing more about what's going on during the background of the relationship,

or, I mean, he does say, hey, she's a habitual liar. I don't believe her. But at the same time, we don't know how far along she was or anything of that nature. It's very, it reads very callous and it reads very kind of juvenile. And to be clear from the story, you know, we can't even be certain there was a miscarriage per se. Let me get into this a little bit more. So the affidavit continues, quote, at approximately 20, 30 hours, once back at his home, CB1 was burning trash where Michaela threw what appeared to him as a Walmart bag containing clothes into the fire. Allie, just before she hands in the cooler, which we'll talk about, she apparently burns this Walmart bag.

Now, law enforcement seems to posit that the bag contained clothes. Are we talking about destroying evidence here? I don't think there's necessarily evidence there because there would need to be just destroying clothes doesn't necessarily lead to any sort of a crime, especially if we're going to talk about is there a fetus in a cooler or is there a baby who is. once alive. So those are two very stark differences that we have to kind of acknowledge here as far as Missouri law acknowledges. If it's a fetus and it never once had a breath of air coming out, then there's no life to give it under Missouri law. If it's if it's an infant and it died during the course of childbirth in any capacity, but at one point in time after it been born, it took a breath. Then we can talk about, oh, that's a live fetus. So Missouri law

kind of gets a little bit iffy in that gray area. But if we're just talking about a bag of clothes, there's no evidentiary value that says this would have led to something more nefarious. Now, obviously, this is a story that we wanted to bring to you. And the reason that we can do this is not only because of the amazing support that we get from all of you out there, but also from our incredible sponsor, Upside. Now, Upside is the free app that gets you cash back on Daily Essentials, like gas, groceries, food, I pump my gas, I can use Upside. I go out to lunch, I can use Upside.

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To find out how much you can earn, click the link in the description to download upside or scan the QR code on screen. But make sure to use our promo code sidebar because you'll get an extra 25 cents back on every gallon on your first tank of gas. Yeah, that distinction is important. And let me get to this part. This is the main part of the affidavit that is just gut wrenching. Quote, Michaela then gave him food, which she had gotten from a good Samaritan, where she then handed him a red and white in color cooler with green tape holding it closed, dating, here's your kid, then driving off in her vehicle.

CV number one said he believed she was making a cruel, bleeped up joke, and instead believed it was a cooler of drinks, but was hesitant to see the contents. He placed the cooler on the ground where he sat next to it trying to decide what to do with it, in fear it may actually be a deceased fetus. CV1 said after speaking with family members and friends regarding what he should do, approximately one to one and a half hours later, he decided to have his friend, D, accompany him to see what was inside the cooler. After opening the cooler and observing the fetus,

CV1 then closed the cooler and called the sheriff's office. Allie, this is so disturbing. It is so unthinkable. My question is, you know, I have a lot of questions about this. First of all, do police conduct testing to see if this is, in fact, his child, to see if, in fact, this is her child? I mean, how do they process this? Sure. I mean, so they invite a coroner to the scene to try and figure out, one, is this a human fetus?

Two, then they try and decide, did this baby ever live? or is this, in fact, a miscarriage where the baby was dead prior to being born? That all happens later on. It doesn't happen specifically there at the scene. But they could do a DNA test. They could try to see if it is related to CV, but based off the charges, there's no real need to do so. The paternity of this child doesn't necessarily matter in the eyes of the law. law as far as what his head is charged with.

And the idea of the sequence of events, right? She allegedly drops off the cooler, leaves. He doesn't know what to do, according to the account, has to call a friend. I mean, that is so chilling. And I wonder that sequence of events, how that fits into the investigation. Well, something that really stood out to me in the probable cause statement is when CV tells the officers, he even apologizes to the officers. for them having to see the fetus and the cooler.

He says, I'm sorry you guys had to see that, knowing this is something that nobody wants to see. This is an image that's going to haunt CV. It's going to haunt the officers. It's going to haunt everyone that's involved in this case just because of Ms. Head's cruel decision to leave the body in the way that she did. I'm glad you mentioned that because the affidavit says,

while speaking with CV-1, I observed he would often become silent where he would stare at the ground for several minutes, then make a statement such as this is the type of thing you see on the internet all the time, but don't think will happen to you. And this is bleeped up. I'm sorry you guys had to see that. CV-1 appeared to have tears build in his eyes while speaking about the incident and had a hard time describing what he felt when he initially opened the cooler, but said once he saw the fetus, he was shocked and couldn't believe she would do something like that. Now, Ali, officers, they always assess credibility of the witnesses they're speaking to, what does that account tell you and the specifics of it,

the emotion of it, to put it in a report? The officer, the deputy, thought it was relevant to make note of that. Yeah, absolutely. Anytime the complaining victim is experiencing such a high level of emotion, it definitely is important, and it shows through the probable cause statement how hurt that the victim was. And if you can just read on paper how hurt somebody was, then there's no level of feeling it in person. So I couldn't imagine in person what he is actually feeling because I can read it on paper

and I can just see how hurt he was through that. And it's a great point because that actually ties into the specifics of the charge that Michaela is facing, okay? We will get to that because it's not, only just opening a cooler and seeing a fetus, right? The shock of that, how disgusting it is, but to think, or you were led to believe this is your own child, right? That goes beyond. So the deputy writes, in order to verify the contents of the cooler, I carefully opened the cooler where I observed what appeared to be a human fetus. So now you have the deputy confirming

what was in there. After shutting the cooler and asking CV-1 to move away from the area, I advise dispatch to notify detectives and the corridor. Now, the day, Deputy made sure to note in his report that part of his interactions weren't recorded on his body cam, quote, after leaving CV-1's residence, my body-worn camera malfunctioned, causing it to only save the footage leading up to opening the cooler. Allie, why is that important? Why make note of that? How much of a difference does that make?

It doesn't make a whole lot of difference. It's just a procedural thing. So it shows a defense attorney or a prosecutor who's going to eventually get this case that says, hey, nothing else of substance happened after my body cam turned off. I just left and it malfunctioned. Everything of substance happened while the body cam was on and then I left the scene and my body cam stopped working. It just kind of clears up any questions about what's going on after the body camp cuts off that a defense attorney or a prosecutor might have of the case. So let's talk about what reportedly happened next. According to court doubt,

documents. Deputies were able to locate Michaela's car, this Ford Fiesta. They took it into custody for processing. She was arrested. She was booked into jail. Around a $50,000 bond has been set. And court paperwork reads, Michaela committed harassment first degree when she, without good cause, gave CB1 the cooler containing a deceased fetus, stating, here's your kid, causing him emotional distress. Now, I'll talk about that charge in a second. First, Allie, taking the car in for processing what are they looking for sure they're looking for i believe they're looking for any evidence that says that maybe the baby could have been alive at the time of birth um that obviously then elevates this case significantly from the e-level felony of harassment in the first degree to an infant homicide or to an endangering the welfare of a child first degree which is an a felony I think just based off taking the car into evidence, that's what they're looking for. Can they find anything that would suggest that the baby was alive prior to it going into the cooler and then being handed to CB?

And I want to talk about that. But first, so she's facing this harassment charge in the first degree. I looked it up. It says a person commits the offense of harassment in the first degree. If he or she, without good cause, engages in any act. with the purpose to cause emotional distress to another person. And such act does cause such person to suffer emotional distress. So now, Allie, we can see why the deputy is putting in those specifics about how CV-1 was reacting

into that probable cause affidavit. Yes, the deputy knows at the time of writing his probable cause statement exactly what he's going to ask the prosecutor to charge and based off of what he thinks the evidence is, that's what he's going to write in his report, to kind of bolster that claim. So a probable cause statement just is everything the officer observes and sees that could bolster the claim that he is making in order to get the charge that he's asking for. And that's pretty straightforward, the harassment charge. It feels kind of broad.

It can include a lot. But, I mean, it seems like a law school example. If all the facts are true and you put a fetus in a cooler, hand it to somebody and say, this is your child or here's your kid, feels like a textbook, a clear-cut case of harassment? Exactly. The harassment charge in the state of Missouri is all-encompassing. It can include, hey, this person threatened me by racking his firearm and putting a note on my doorbell saying that that's for me, or it could include sending harassing text messages that somebody's.

going to regard as offensive, and it can include putting a fetus in a cooler, apparently. By the way, this harassment charge, you seem to, and I don't want to put words in your mouth, you say, it's possible this can be upgraded if we're talking about whether that baby was alive and whether or not the baby was killed. Because, I mean, how do they confirm whether or not she had a miscarriage or not? But beside from that, can there also be another charge? I don't know if there's something in the books for, you know, desecration of remains or mutilation of a corpse or tampering with evidence or something like that. Is there something else that you think based purely on these facts or facts laid out by law enforcement more that she could face? I think those are great options for the prosecutor if they want to explore that route.

I think going the route of trying to see if the fetus was alive at any point in time is a big stretch. That's very hard to do, and it's going to require a lot of expert testimony in order to establish that. But tampering with evidence is a good additional charge. And like you said, that would just go towards, hey, you're taking evidence of this fetus. You're putting it into a box. and then you're giving it to some random person on the street, that's a crime. But also, it doesn't necessarily establish that there was a crime initially committed. There was a crime that was initially committed.

So if you're going to tamper with physical evidence, that evidence has to be evidence of a crime to begin with. And if there's no evidence of that crime, the underlying crime, then you can't tamper with. the evidence. Given this heinous series of allegations here, are we potentially looking at some sort of mental health defense or at the very least, a competency evaluation that may become a priority in a case like this? I haven't seen anything to suggest that's what we're dealing where she can't appreciate the charges against her or provide, you know, assist in her defense in some way or understand the legal process because that's different from, let's say, insanity. I do wonder taking these allegations is true if Missouri provides for a mental health defense

and what that may look like. Yes. So I did a quick case net search of her name, and it shows that there are three pending cases currently for her, this one and then two others. One, misusing 9-1-1 and then a DWI. The two of those are very benign charges anyways. their misdemeanors. However, if you read into them and you read their probable cause statement, I mean, it gives rise to a defense of diminished capacity, which is the question, what goes to

your question as far as an insanity defense outside of, is she completely competent? I have no doubt she's competent. That's a very low standard to meet. But if there's mental health issues there, I would say this case probably has all the hallmarks of it, especially if there's some sort of underlying mental health issue and then pregnancy on top of it does compound those mental health issues. It can certainly lead to questions of whether or not her mental status and her capacity are there in order to commit crimes. Yeah, because the idea of just handing over of cooler to somebody with a fetus inside, right? That's the allegation, knowing they're probably going to call law enforcement. It does raise those questions. And by the way, just adding to something that you said,

you're right. It seems based on the court records that Missouri law enforcement have encountered her before. So in July of this year, according to court records, it's our understanding. Michaela was pulled over for crossing the center line, having a broken tail light. And according to the officer's report, she was argumentative with a state trooper, tried to call 911 on him multiple times during the stop. At one point, the trooper notes that she has her phone between her legs, and it turns out she's connected to dispatch. The dispatcher reported that Michaela had called multiple times to report she was being harassed by an officer. And the probable cause statement in that case reads, head had contacted Troop F and 911 five times within a 10-minute

period. Now, there is an interesting tidbit from that affidavit. It ties back in with this disturbing case because the trooper wrote that her behavior was, quote, extremely erratic during questioning. She stated she was a little dehydrated and pregnant. She was charged with a misdemeanor in that case, misuse of 911. But when she failed to show up for court, there was a warrant that was put out for her arrest. Allie, just to circle back on that, do you think that will play a role in the current case? I think it would definitely, as a defense attorney, I think it would definitely play a role in my eyes. A prosecutor may try and sever them. And, say, obviously, she knows the role of 911. She's calling and she's asking for help. She certainly

could have done that in this case. However, as a defense attorney, I'm using all that I have available to me. And that right there kind of bolsters my claim for she has a diminished capacity. She's not able to appreciate the mens rea or the mental status needed in order to commit harassment in the first degree. And I want to just focus on that harassment charge for a minute because the charging information that was filed with the court laid out the sentence that she could face if she's convicted. You mentioned it, a Class E felony. It says, quote, the range punishment for a Class E felony is imprisonment in the custody of the Missouri Department of Corrections for a term of years, not less than one year and not to exceed four years or by imprisonment for a special term not to exceed one

year in the county jail or other authorized penal institution or by a fine not to exceed $10,000 or by both imprisonment and a fine. Now, Ali, that's our understanding about how this would work here. If she takes this to trial, if she's convicted, what do you think she would be looking at here? Again, assuming the charges aren't upgraded. Sure. If she goes to trial on the harassment case, a one to four year sentence in prison is that it's a non-85 percenter, so she would do probably somewhere around 30 to 35% of whatever time is given to her. Additionally, she wouldn't even have to serve time. This is not a mandatory prison charge.

So she could receive a probation, an SIS probation, which is a probation that doesn't carry a conviction or an SES probation, which would carry the felony conviction. So there is a wide range, but it's not a, it's not the harshest of ranges that she could face, obviously. I got to say, I mean, if she's convicted of this, it doesn't get more egregious. I would have to imagine there be prison time, which does make me wonder if this is all that she's facing right now, would a plea bargain be put forward in this case? A plea deal. Why? I wonder if prosecutors really want to take this to trial. Do they want to expose a jury to photos of a fetus in a cooler? Do they want the family? Do they want anyone to be a part of this?

I would imagine avoiding a trial could be a great decision here. However, you know, offering no prison time for, if these allegations are true, offering no prison time for something like this to avoid a trial. I don't know if that's in the best interest, too, in the interest of justice. Sure. In the interest of justice is an interesting question that we would face here. So I would want to know, like, what I would want to get a psychologist and a psychiatrist involved.

I want to know what's going on deep inside of this. Because as a mom and as a member of our society, I mean, you would have to think that there has to be something that is deeply rooted in Ms. Head in order to, for these facts to be true. Even just a member of our society, you would want to make sure that, okay, let's take care of the underlying causes that is making Ms. Head do these crazy things because one to four years in the Department of Corrections is no time at all. And so at some point, regardless of if she gets one year or four years, she's getting back onto the streets, right? And so we want to make sure that we're addressing whatever mental health concerns there is at the time, whatever issues that could be kind of wrapped up in Ms. Head and then trying to put her back into a position where she can be a contributing member of society when she's done with this case and that we're not going to keep seeing her in the justice system. This is a case where you have to ask yourself, like you said, what does serve justice?

And I don't think four years is ever going to be enough for CV who has to see these images of this baby for the rest of his life or the officers for the rest of their life as well. But also does this person, does this defendant have severe mental health issues that have caused her to do this? Those are what I would weigh on the scale here to try and decide what's appropriate and what's not appropriate. Allie Young, thanks so much for coming on to talk about this case. I know it's not an easy one, but appreciate it. Never is. Thank you, Jesse, for having me. And that's all we have for you right now here on Sidebar, everybody. Thank you so much for joining us.

And as always, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you should get your podcasts. You can follow me on X or Instagram. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll speak to you next time. You can binge all episodes of this long crime series ad free right now on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.