Mum-to-be killed by ‘womb raider’ who wanted her baby
Flavia was looking forward to meeting her daughter – but an old friend still determined to be a mum after a miscarriage hatched a terrible plot
At 36 weeks pregnant, Flavia Godinho Mafra was so close to finally meeting her new baby and she couldn’t have been more thrilled. The 24-year-old substitute teacher and her husband, Valdeli, were both excited to be having their first child together.
They lived in Canelinha in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina, and had married in October 2019, with Flavia becoming pregnant soon afterwards. They’d shared many happy pictures on social media of themselves tenderly cradling her baby bump and looked so in love.
Flavia was trusting, kind and generous, and everyone thought she’d be an amazing mum. Because she had diabetes, which put her at risk during the Covid pandemic, she stayed at home to keep her baby safe.
Then, as her due date neared, Flavia’s school friend Rozalba Grimm revealed she was organising a baby shower for her. It seemed particularly thoughtful of Grimm as the 28-year-old’s social media revealed that she was heavily pregnant, too. Posing at six months in a red dress with her husband as they waited for her “princess” to arrive, she said it was a time when “anxiety begins”.
But Grimm insisted on arranging everything for Flavia’s baby shower – all she had to do was show up.
On 27 August 2020, Flavia headed off to her party. Her husband imagined her day being filled with thoughtful presents and special touches. But Flavia didn’t return and when he checked, Valdeli could see that his wife hadn’t looked at her WhatsApp messages since 3.48pm. It was getting late.
When he contacted some of the baby shower guests, they said they’d been told it was cancelled. So where was Flavia?
A missing person’s report was filed that night. Grimm later told investigators that when the baby shower was cancelled Flavia had “left with someone else”.
The next morning, Flavia’s husband and family were out desperately searching for the mum-to-be. Had she gone into labour and needed help? Had she had an accident?
At 9am, they found themselves at an abandoned pottery warehouse. When they looked inside a large kiln, they made a horrific discovery.
They found Flavia’s body. Her stomach had been sliced open and her baby was gone. Someone had murdered her, cut her open and stolen her unborn child. As the family grieved for Flavia, they were also desperate to know if her baby had survived the attack.
An autopsy revealed that Flavia had been hit over the head with a brick. Her abdomen had been sliced open and she’d died from a haemorrhage. It had been a brutal death and it wasn’t revealed whether Flavia was alive when she’d been cut open for her child.
CUTS FOUND ON NEWBORN’S BACK
Investigators suspected that the baby shower had been a trap, to lure Flavia away from her family so that someone could steal her child. Her social media posts made it obvious to anyone that she was close to giving birth – meaning the baby was more likely to survive being cut from her.
Then, Grimm and her husband, Zulmiar Schiestl, appeared at a local hospital with a newborn baby girl and Grimm explained that she’d given birth. Was it just a coincidence?
Hospital staff were suspicious. There were no physical signs that Grimm had experienced labour and the tiny baby girl had cuts on her back. Tests confirmed that Grimm was trying to pass Flavia’s baby off as her own. Surveillance footage showed Flavia getting into Grimm’s car on the day of the fake baby shower and the pair driving off towards the abandoned pottery yard. Those with access to Grimm’s social media said they’d seen a photo she’d posted that showed a baby covered in a blanket, held in her blood-stained arms. It was quickly deleted and the authorities warned that any sharing of the image would have legal consequences. Flavia’s baby needed protecting at all costs. When detectives questioned Grimm, she confessed that she’d committed a crime that would make her forever known as a “womb raider”
– the term for someone who cuts open a pregnant woman to steal their unborn baby.
As far as police could determine, Grimm had been pregnant but suffered a miscarriage in January 2020. She’d posed with her baby bump, just as Flavia had done. But when she lost her baby, she didn’t
Her abdomen had been sliced open – it had been a brutal death
tell family members and pretended she was still pregnant – fooling even her husband. She confessed that after the miscarriage, she’d been obsessed with the idea of stealing a baby and spent six weeks forming a plan.
Grimm admitted that she’d lured Flavia away from her family with
the promise of the baby shower. After driving her to the remote location, she’d hit her from behind with the brick to try to kill her. Then, after incapacitating her, she’d used a blade to cut open her belly and pulled out the baby.
Grimm was charged with femicide, attempted murder, abduction and concealment of a body. Her husband was initially considered a suspect but was acquitted of any involvement. The killer had acted alone.
SHOCKING ADMISSION
Other witnesses came forward to say they’d been approached by Grimm when they were pregnant, but she’d seemingly lost interest
in them when they’d revealed they were having boys. Flavia’s baby was a girl.
And although the tot endured a horrific arrival into the world, thankfully she survived the ordeal and was healthy.
Grimm went to trial in Tijucas, Santa Catarina, in November last year. She told the court she’d researched how to remove the baby from the womb. She’d also looked up how to simulate the symptoms of pregnancy and childbirth, so that no one would suspect she’d lost her baby.
She said she used a utility knife to cut her friend open – and then discarded her. Grimm had put the baby at terrible risk and it was a miracle the little girl had survived.
The prosecutor said Grimm was fully aware of her actions and mentally fit to be found guilty.
Following a 15-hour trial, Grimm was convicted of aggravated murder, attempted murder of a baby, concealment of a corpse, obstruction of justice, abduction of a minor and denying the rights of a newborn. She was sentenced to 57 years in prison.
Flavia’s baby is now being protected by her family and one day, she will be told about the shocking way she entered the world.
But her family and the heartwarming snaps her parents took during Flavia’s pregnancy will also tell her how loved she
was by a mum who was so excited about meeting her.