A Texas man was arrested and accused of spiking a romantic partner’s drink with abortion-inducing medication and allegedly ending her pregnancy without consent, officials said Wednesday.
Justin Anthony Banta, 38, was booked into custody on Friday last week on suspicion of tampering with evidence and capital murder before he posted at $500,000 bond and was released, Parker County authorities said.
A woman claimed she had been seeing Banta and told him in September last year that was pregnant with his child, according to a sheriff’s department statement.
The woman met Banta at a coffee shop in nearby Tarrant County where she believes the suspect “secretly added abortion-inducing pills to her drink without her knowledge or permission,” the sheriff said.
“The victim reported she lost her baby on Oct. 19, which she believed was a result of the drugs Banta had previously placed in her drink at the coffee shop without her permission,” the sheriff added.
Banta, who works in information technology for the U.S. Department of Justice, also “reset” his cell phone during the probe, “thereby deleting crucial evidence related to the case,” according to the sheriff.
Banta, who is separated from his wife, said he’d seen this woman four times. He and defense attorney Michael Heiskell denied the defendant spiked any drinks.
“He’s innocent of these charges,” Heiskell told NBC News. “He has cooperated with the investigators since last fall when all of this brouhaha arose after his relationship ended with this woman. He is not guilty.”
At this point in the probe, law enforcement has not shown Banta any evidence to confirm the woman’s pregnancy, according to Heiskell.
“There were discussions about her being pregnant, but that was never confirmed by her to him. And yes, he did research Plan C,” said Heiskell, who denied his client put that medication in the accuser’s drink.
Texas law bans nearly all abortions, so abortion-inducing pills cannot be obtained from doctors or pharmacists in the state.
However, people are often still able to obtain the medication through any number of online providers.
Cristian Santana and Donna Mendell contributed.
