Search warrants obtained during an investigation into the death of Jennifer Rothwell of St. Louis, Missouri, reveal an eye-opening detail about her heartbreaking disappearance. She reportedly googled "What to do if your husband is upset you are pregnant" on her phone right before she went missing in November. Her husband, Beau Rothwell, has since been charged in her murder.
Beau told police that he saw his wife leave for work on the morning of November 12 -- but she never came back.
Court documents state that after Jennifer left their home about 6:20 in the morning, her husband had four missed calls from her on his phone, according to KMOV. Beau claimed that about 8 that night, a coworker of his wife's told him she never showed up for work. He then called police.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that when Beau originally notified police that his wife was missing, he told them they had been watching cooking shows together on television the night before, November 11. Police, however, later said her car had already been found about 12 hours before Beau contacted them and was discovered on the shoulder of Olive Boulevard.
Police confirmed there were no signs of a crash and her cell phone was found inside the car, KMOV added. Jennifer, who married Beau in 2015, was about six weeks pregnant at the time.
Beau later refused to let police search his home, car, and phone. He also declined to give them a DNA sample and asked for a lawyer.
A trash can was placed outside the Rothwell home November 13 that was filled with cleaning supplies including, rubber gloves, paper towels, and a receipt for the cleaning supplies that was dated 9:22 p.m. November 11 at Dierbergs on Olive Boulevard. That was during the time Beau claimed he was watching TV with his wife.
Police obtained surveillance footage from the store that showed Beau using a gift card and cash to pay for the items. The shopping trip happened at the same time he told police he was at home with his wife watching television.
On that same day, police finally obtained a search warrant for the Rothwell home, and Beau was detained and taken to St. Louis County Justice Center. When police searched the house, they noted that it smelled overwhelmingly like bleach and cleaning supplies.
Court documents later stated that police also found several large red stains at the bottom of the basement steps that tested positive for human blood. Damage to drywall near the steps had samples of human hair fibers. The area was wet from what seemed like cleaning detergent, and a fan was on in an attempt to dry the area.
“Despite the current temperatures in the 30-degree range, several basement windows were found open in an apparent attempt to dissipate the odor of bleach and cleaning solvents,” an affidavit reported. There was also a 2015 GMC Canyon pickup truck in the garage that smelled strongly of bleach.
The Post-Dispatch reports that police used DNA samples from Jennifer's parents to confirm that the blood in the garage was hers.
The next day police charged Beau with second-degree murder and evidence tampering.
On November 18, police finally found Jennifer's body about 20 yards away from the shoulder of U.S. 61. She was naked and covered with branches and brush.
Friends of the couple told police there were no signs of trouble before Jennifer's murder.
