Magen Fieramusca (pictured left) pleaded guilty to murdering her friend Heidi Broussard. (Image of Fieramusca via Harris County Sheriff’s Office; image of Broussard via Austin Police Department)
A 37-year-old Texas woman pleaded guilty on Thursday to murdering her longtime church camp friend after authorities said she planned to take the woman’s infant daughter to pass off as her own.
Magen Fieramusca, 37, was sentenced to 55 years in prison.
She was accused of killing Heidi Broussard, 33, who, along with her daughter, Margot, went missing from their apartment complex on Dec. 12, 2019, Austin cops said. Broussard was last seen dropping off her 6-year-old son at Cowan Elementary School at 7:30 a.m. that day, police said.
Broussard’s body was found before Christmas 2019 at a home in Harris County, Texas, police said. Margot was still alive. Fieramusca was accused of kidnapping mom and daughter and asphyxiating Broussard, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said it was an elaborate plan by Fieramusca who went so far as to appear pregnant at the same time as Broussard, to make it look like the baby was legitimately hers, officials said. The ruse even tricked Fieramusca’s ex-boyfriend who said he thought she was going to have his child, authorities said.
But the story unraveled, when her story about giving birth became inconsistent, officials said.
Fieramusca’s attorney Brian Erskine said the defense and prosecution reached a negotiated agreement.
“As charged, Ms. Fieramusca was looking at life without the possibility of parole,” he said in a statement obtained by Law&Crime. “After considerable discussion, in conjunction with significant compelling mitigation related to Ms. Fieramusca and the possible appellate issues related to the search of her residence, both parties feel that this is the appropriate resolution. I imagine many have questions that will never be adequately answered, nevertheless, I hope that this plea brings some closure to this family’s great loss.”