Murder of Austin mom Heidi Broussard by Houston friend who stole her baby is subject of new movie
"Stolen baby: The murder of Heidi Broussard" is a Lifetime movie about the new mother's 2019 death at the hands of her "best friend" Magen Fieramusca.
The story of an Austin woman murdered by her so-called best friend because she wanted to steal her baby has been turned into a Lifetime movie.
"Stolen Baby: The Murder of Heidi Broussard" depicts the chilling case that ended with the Houston arrest of Magen Fieramusca and the recovery of Broussard's body. The victim's baby daughter, Margo Carey, was found safe in Fieramusca's home.
It was a twist that no one saw coming.
Investigators determined Fieramusca had been plotting to kill her childhood friend for weeks. She pretended to be pregnant at the same time as Broussard and after killing her, she told everyone that Margo was her baby.
In a plea deal, Fieramusca, 37, pleaded guilty to murder last February in Travis County and was sentenced to 55 years in prison.
Broussard's mother traveled to Austin from Louisiana for the hearing.
"Heidi's hugs were strong, full of love. They lingered in the atmosphere. I still feel them now. She loved beyond measure, and she never gave up on anyone. When I think of her – which is every moment – I ask, 'What would Heidi say or think?' It gives me comfort, thinking of her gives me peace amidst the pain," Tammy Broussard said. "She was just so much fun. So full of life. And now it's been taken from her."
'I just want her to come home'
Broussard, 34, and baby Margo were reported missing on Dec. 12, 2019 by Shane Carey, the victim's live-in boyfriend and Margo's father.
He told police that Broussard had dropped their 6-year-old son off at school that morning and hadn't been seen since.
A search turned up nothing and there were no signs of forced entry at the couple's apartment.
"I just don't see why no one heard any screams or anything out here. So we're trying to put the puzzle pieces together," Carey said two days later. "I just want her to come home. She's amazing. She's missed."
The FBI and Texas Rangers joined the case.
Texas Equusearch founder Tim Miller traveled to Austin to help search for Broussard. When he got a list of her friends, he later said Magen Fieramusca was the first one he called.
"She said, 'Mr. Miller thank you for what you're doing,'" Miller told KHOU 11. "She says, 'I'm going to keep talking to people and everything and if I come up with anything, is it OK if I call you?'"
Fiermusca fooled everyone
Miller wasn't the only one who was fooled by Fieramusca.
Shane Carey told investigators that Fieramusca drove to Austin to go to prenatal appointments with Broussard. She returned to help her "bestie" after Margo was born. They gave her a key to their apartment but she never returned it.
Carey said they believed at the time that Fieramusca was pregnant. The two women, who met at a church camp two decades earlier, had even talked about the possibility of giving birth on the same day.
Carey said after returning home to Houston, Fieramusca called to tell them that she too had given birth to a baby girl.
The ultimate betrayal
Weeks later, Fieramusca drove back to Austin, strangled Broussard, stuffed her body into her trunk and drove back to Houston with Margo.
She led her ex-boyfriend to believe that she had given birth to his baby, court records showed.
FBI agents followed him to a Target where he bought baby clothes and formula. They approached him and showed him a flier with photos of Broussard and Margo.
“That’s the baby at my house,” he told them.
Law enforcement surrounded the house on Bo Jack on Dec. 20, eight days after Broussard and her baby disappeared. They found Broussard's body inside the car parked in front of the home and then found Margo unharmed inside.
"It's just very upsetting that someone could do that," neighbor Darla Bundick said. "I thought, 'What in the world could have happened to her? and oh Lord Jesus, here she is in our backyard.'"
Fieramusca was arrested on kidnapping charges that were later upgraded to capital murder.
'What were you thinking?'
For Heidi's mother, the long wait for justice in her daughter's death was agonizing. Tammy Broussard watched one painful delay after another from her home in Lake Charles, Louisiana until Fieramusca's guilty plea.
“I want this whole thing finished, to where my grandchildren are not asking what happened," Broussard told KHOU 11 by phone. "I want my grandchildren not to have to linger in the dust of all this."
She still couldn't believe the woman charged with the murder was her daughter’s longtime friend.
“Heidi would want us to forgive her and release her. That’s my Heidi, but I would really want the chance to talk to her," Broussard said. “You came to our house, we loved you, you were welcomed into our home, and we cared for you, you know, what were you thinking to murder our daughter?"
Margo was eventually returned to Carey who is raising her, her older brother and a child from a previous marriage.