North Texas man charged with capital murder in girlfriend's forced abortion case

Man charged with capital murder after forced abortion

A North Texas man who works for the U.S. Department of Justice has been arrested and charged with capital murder after authorities said he secretly gave his pregnant girlfriend an abortion-inducing drug, causing the death of her six-week-old fetus.

PARKER COUNTY, Texas - A North Texas man who works for the U.S. Department of Justice has been arrested and charged with capital murder after authorities said he secretly gave his pregnant girlfriend an abortion-inducing drug, causing the death of her six-week-old fetus.

Justin Anthony Banta, 38, was arrested Friday following a months-long investigation, according to the Parker County Sheriff’s Office. He also faces a charge of tampering with physical evidence.

Justin Anthony Banta, 38 (Source: Parker County Sheriff's Office)

Forced Abortion Allegations

Timeline:

In a news release, Sheriff Russ Authier said the investigation began in September 2024, when the victim reported the incident. She told investigators that after she became pregnant, Banta, her then-boyfriend, suggested she have an abortion. When she refused, expressing her desire to keep the baby, Banta allegedly ordered an abortion-inducing drug, referred to by authorities as "Plan C," online.

According to the victim, she had a sonogram on Oct. 17, 2024, which confirmed the fetus was healthy with a strong heartbeat. Later that day, she met Banta at a coffee shop in Benbrook. The victim later told investigators she suspected Banta had slipped the pills into her drink during that meeting.

Arrest documents for Banta say that he gave the victim a drink he purchased prior to her arrival and homemade cookies. She drank the full drink, but did not eat the cookies, police observed from security cameras in the store.

The following day, she began experiencing extreme fatigue and heavy bleeding, prompting a visit to an emergency room. She lost the fetus on Oct. 19, 2024, which she believed was a direct result of the drugs.

When police met with Banta for an interview, he told them he knew officers wanted to speak to him about the miscarriage. He also told police he ordered the Plan C pills on his phone.

During the investigation, authorities collected Banta’s cell phone as evidence. Investigators believe Banta, who works in the IT Department of the U.S. Department of Justice, remotely accessed the phone and performed a factory reset, deleting crucial evidence.

Banta was booked into the Parker County Jail on Friday. The tampering with evidence charge was filed by the Parker County Sheriff's Office. The capital murder charge was filed by the Texas Rangers in Tarrant County, where the alleged poisoning occurred.

Banta was released on Friday after posting a $500,000 bond for the capital murder charge and a $20,000 bond for the tampering with evidence charge.

Sheriff Authier said the cases against Banta remain active and are awaiting prosecution. Due to the ongoing investigation, no further details pertaining to this case are being disclosed to the public.

Sheriff Authier says the Texas Rangers, Benbrook Police, Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney's Digital Forensic and Technical Services, the U.S. Secret Service, the Regional Organized Crime Information Center and the FBI assisted in the case. 

What they're saying:

Attorney Russell Wilson, who has no involvement in the case, talked about the kinds of evidence that could be involved in the case.

"I think the law would require corroboration, generally under Texas law, a person who themselves could be suspected of committing a crime, their word alone in describing someone else’s actions is not usually sufficient," said Wilson. "Certainly I would think video. The contents of the cell phone. The coffee shop, presumably because of the proximity and time to this medical event happening, may have video from the patrons coming in. Receipts either from the purchase of the pills or purchase of the coffee at the store, perhaps even the coffee cup. So you could go very far with biological evidence. If you’re able to recover it in a short time after this happened."