What to Know
Angelique Robledo was expecting her first child at age 18 in 2011. Robledo, a high school senior, met another pregnant 18-year-old, Kassandra Toruga, and the pair became fast friends. They spent time together during their pregnancies planning for their babies, shopping, and developing a close bond. Robledo didn’t know it, but Toruga had a plan that would change her life forever. On February 16, 2011, Toruga reportedly wanted to kill Robledo and steal her unborn baby. Robledo survived, and Toruga spent more than eight years in prison.
At first, everything seemed OK.
@angeliquemonet0 Replying to @MichelleR1347 i suck at story times 😂 #storytime#wombraiders#truecrimecommunity#wombraider#arizona#intuition#pregnacy#healing ♬ original sound – Angelique💋
Robledo shared a first-person narrative about her near-death experience in the New York Post. She explained that meeting Toruga gave her someone to commiserate with during her pregnancy. The women were both young, just 10 days apart in age. They enjoyed planning for their babies and picked out items for their nurseries.
“I love this animal light projector,” Robledo once told Toruga. A detail she apparently kept in the back of her mind.
Robledo remembered Toruga being very inquisitive about birth.
@angeliquemonet0 Replying to @ssgmyers as requested , lets get all the inbetween i missed & the arson🔥#storytime#wombraiders#truecrimecommunity#arizona#intuition#pregnacy#arson ♬ original sound – Angelique💋
Robledo’s body was changing rapidly, and by the end of her pregnancy, she had a very large belly. Toruga, on the other hand, barely showed any signs of being pregnant. One day, she was at Robledo’s home and asked her mother, Celeste, multiple questions about birth and having a C-section. This sparked concern for Robledo, who asked her mother if she thought it was strange. Celeste assured her that Toruga’s hormones were probably heightened and she was nervous.
Things took a very strange turn.
@angeliquemonet0 Watching Maternal Instincts felt different when you’ve actually lived through something similar. #fetalabduction #maternalinstincts #netflixdocumentary #truecrime #arizona ♬ original sound – Angelique💋
At nine months pregnant, Robledo was at her Arizona home when Toruga arrived with gifts. She gave her friend a very expensive baby carrier and then asked her to go to her bedroom and turn off the lights for one final surprise. “I have one last present for you. It’s what you wanted!” Robledo wrote, thinking her friend bought the animal projector she’d wanted. But suddenly she became paralyzed with fear as Toruga put her hand on her shoulder and counted down from three.
The 18-year-old jumped up and ran to the kitchen, questioning her own hormones and whether she was overreacting. When she returned, she found Toruga soaking wet, claiming her water had broken. Robledo also noticed a fire in the bedroom, called a friend for help, and ran out of the room.
Emergency responders arrived, and Robledo made a shocking discovery.
@angeliquemonet0 Every scar, every setback, every chapter. This was my drag path. #dragpath #survival #trauma #healing #arizona ♬ original sound – solo.mp3
As firefighters worked to put out the blaze, Robledo went back to the bag of gifts Toruga brought over. She told her parents she feared her friend was going to hurt her. It seemed at first as if they didn’t believe her, but when she opened the bag, she didn’t find the projector. Instead, she found knives, disinfectant, and other items that someone could have used to perform a crude C-section.
Per court documents obtained by People Toruga initially confessed to planning to kill her friend. “I asked Kassandra what she was going to do with the knives she had in her diaper bag. Kassandra stated she was going to stabbed [sic] Angelique with them. Kassandra stated she was hoping that Angelique would go into labor. Kassandra stated she was going to kill Angelique and take the baby.”
Police arrested Toruga.
Police arrested Toruga on attempted murder, arson, and burglary charges. Robledo told People Toruga’s confession was thrown out due to a procedural error. She was convicted only of Arson and stayed in jail until 2019.
“I didn’t really understand everything. All I knew was that they were telling me she could walk, we could go to trial, or they could do a plea agreement where she’d spend seven-and-a-half years in Arizona State Hospital to treat her for schizophrenia, manic-depressive disorder, all of her diagnoses. I thought about it for a few days,” Robledo explained. “At first, I wanted her to go to prison because I was so angry she wasn’t being charged with what she tried to do to me. Then I started thinking that one day, she’s going to be released and I didn’t want that to happen without getting the help she needs.”
She told People she shared her story on social media because survival is so rare.
“I want women to know they can trust their instincts and intuition. I don’t want people to feel bad for me. I want them to learn from me,” she said. “I want them to understand that we all ignore intuition sometimes, but there’s a time to listen to it, too. It can absolutely save your life.”
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