Boyfriend charged with killing girlfriend and unborn child

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Authorities say a pregnant woman found dead in South Carolina was killed by her boyfriend in North Carolina before being left on the side of a road.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said 28-year-old Mahmood Bhatti has been charged with murder and murder of an unborn child in the killing of 23-year-old Natalie Merrick.

York County, South Carolina, sheriff’s deputies found a body near Fort Mill on Oct. 19. They identified the remains as those of Merrick a day later after she was reported missing in Charlotte.

Authorities haven’t said how Merrick was killed or why. Police say Bhatti and Merrick have a child together and were in a long-term relationship.

It wasn’t immediately known if Bhatti has a lawyer.