When a young Colorado woman disappears shortly after finding out she’s pregnant, investigators quickly zero in on a suspect. A case full of unbelievable twists and turns results in a rare no-body homicide conviction in this episode of Last Seen Alive.
Kelsie Schelling was 21 years old when she disappeared from Pueblo, CO on Feb. 4th, 2013. She was also 8 weeks pregnant. 
Kelsie loved animals and children, and was excited about her pregnancy. Her doctor confirmed her pregnancy was healthy on the day she left for Pueblo. 
Kelsie drove from Denver to Pueblo on Feb. 4th to visit her on-again, off-again boyfriend and alleged father of her baby, Donthe Lucas. He lured her there with the promise of a surprise. 
Security footage shows Donthe driving Kelsie’s abandoned car out of a Walmart parking lot. It was later found abandoned in a hospital parking lot. 
Surveillance footage shows Donthe exiting Kelsie’s car alone the morning after her disappearance. He’d originally told police they’d gone to the store together. 
This snapshot of the inside of Kelsie’s car shows a teddy bear and rosary that she normally kept in the vehicle. They were missing whenever her car was recovered. Instead, gravel was scattered throughout the car 
Donthe Lucas was convicted of the first degree murder of Kelsie Schelling on Mar. 8th, 2021–7 years after her disappearance. Kelsie’s case is an example of a rare no-body homicide conviction, and her family is still waiting to bring her home and honor her memory with a burial.
Sources used to research this episode:
Man Convicted in Slaying of Pregnant Girlfriend 8 Years After Disappearance (Dorian Geiger / Oxygen)
“I can honestly say I was scared at the time”: Donthe Lucas’ Neighbor Takes the Stand Tuesday (Kate Singh / Fox21 News)
Witness Testimonies Continue Friday in Donthe Lucas Trial (Kate Singh / Fox21 News)
Men’s Basketball: Donthe Lewis (NJCAA)
Where is Donthe Lucas Now? (Kriti Mehrotra / The Cinemaholic)
Female Victims of Violence (Bureau of Justice Statistics)
Homicide: A Leading Cause of Injury Deaths Among Pregnant and Postpartum Women in the United States, 1991-1999 (American Journal of Public Health / Jeani Chang MPH, Cynthia J. Berg MD / MPH, Linda E Saltzman PhD, and Joy Herndon MS)
Sara Lucas Testifies in Son’s Murder Trial (Brandon Thompson / Fox News)
Donthe Lucas Admits to Moving Kelsie Schelling’s Car to St. Mary-Corwin in Taped 2017 Interview (Zach Hillstrom / The Pueblo Chieftain)
If you know anything about the location of Kelsie Schelling’s remains, please contact the Colorado Bureau of Investigation at (719) 647-5999.
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