Austin woman charged with killing best friend, kidnapping baby makes courtroom appearance

Over a year after the incident, the Austin woman who allegedly killed her best friend and kidnapped her newborn baby saw a courtroom virtually from the Travis County Jail for the first time on Monday.

Thirty-five-year-old Magen Fieramusca's trial was reset to April 28 after her defense attorneys asked the Travis County court for another month to prepare for the case.

Fieramusca's charges include capital murder, tampering with a corpse and two counts of kidnapping after her best friend, Austinite Heidi Broussard, went missing in December 2019 and was found dead in the trunk of Fieramusca's car at a Harris County home a few weeks later. Broussard's three-week-old baby, Margo Carey, was found safely inside the home.

According to Broussard's ex-boyfriend, Fieramusca tried to pass on the baby as her own and allegedly told friends and family she had given birth to a daughter named Luna Mae. Fieramusca's ex-boyfriend said that he had noticed her belly growing and feeling "hard" in the weeks before the alleged kidnapping.

Alongside Broussard's body, evidence against Fieramusca includes several internet searches she made during the kidnapping window, including "reasons for Amber Alert," "Amber Alert issued Austin," and "bodies found in Austin Texas."

The FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit found "maternal desire" to be Fieramusca's main motive in the alleged kidnapping and murder. According to the unit, some mothers who lose their baby can have urges to take another in order to fulfill their wishes of having a child.

The case shocked the nation and was even featured on Dateline NBC's Abducted in early 2020. Broussard's Austin neighbors have said she was an "awesome mom" and friend and have held vigils in her honor.

The child, who is now over a year old, was reunited with her father two days before Christmas 2019.