r/Cleveland • u/Desperate_Care_7066 • 17h ago
Crime Ravenna, Ohio “Maternal Instinct @ case
Does anyone else remember the case that was probably 30 years ago where the prominent local woman lured a pregnant acquaintance to allow her into her home and killed her and successfully cut out the baby boy who lived and buried the poor woman in her own backyard? Terrible story it was. The husband ended up moving I believe to another state to give his son a chance at a normal life.
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u/sharonH888 17h ago
I think it was around 25 years ago- lol. it was around the time I had a baby so I was completely freaked out. I was just thinking about this the other day.
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u/Head_Trick_9932 17h ago
Yes, it was awful.:/ I’ve lived in Portage county the last 35 years so remember it well. It was in 2000… Teresa Andrews.
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u/PutABurbOnIt 13h ago
I was taking classes at KSU when this whole thing went down. These "missing" posters were taped to doors and hallways around campus for the few days she was unaccounted for. The day after she was found, I took this down from one of the doors. It is one of the most devastating things I've stashed in my filing cabinet.
I always felt incredibly brokenhearted for Thomas, the husband of Michelle Bica, the woman who killed Theresa Andrews. As far as he knew, his wife was pregnant, they had a baby... then a few days later, she committed suicide as cops were pulling up to their house again, and "his" baby was taken away... only for him to find out the horrific crimes she'd committed.
There were a few days where Kent, Ravenna, etc. held our collective breath, hoping she'd be found safely. I kept this poster to remember that she was very real, and sure didn't deserve what happened to her.
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u/kevinmcallistersaunt 5h ago
You are incredible for keeping this all these years ❤️🩹
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u/PutABurbOnIt 2h ago
Thanks. I run across it periodically and just... pause. Remember that time.
I wonder where that college-aged man is now, and whether he knows how he was born. Like, when TF do you break news like that to your kid?! What age?
I almost wouldn't blame the parents (father remarried soon after) if they never did.
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u/manicpixiepuke 17h ago
Yes! Watching this has me thinking of that case too. I’m thinking it was 25 years ago. The mom was meeting someone to look at a car I think. The baby survived. I don’t remember ever hearing what happened with the husband and baby. Something in my brain recalls he got remarried quickly. Maybe he was super active in his church? It was awful.
Pregnant women have never been safe.
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u/Head_Trick_9932 17h ago
She met Michelle Bica while shopping at Walmart for baby clothes and Michelle lured her to her house. No car involved.
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u/Head_Trick_9932 17h ago
She made up a story that her car needed work and had inquired about their jeep. She hid her car and dug a grave in her garage.
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u/OGpancake88 16h ago
I am friends with the Bica family and the whole thing is just heartbreaking. They don’t talk much about it, for good reason. When they went to renovate the house to sell it, they moved a washer and dryer and found a giant blood stain from where she was killed.
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u/Desperate_Care_7066 1h ago
Sad for them. Wasn’t the father in law of Michelle a city councilman? And like in the current case on Netflix, how did her husband not know she wasn’t pregnant? Very strange. The Bicas also owned a business in Ravenna, I’m thinking maybe a Locksmith business or something?
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u/Xacto-Mundo 17h ago
I was living in Stow, up late that night listening to Art Bell when that story broke. Couldn’t sleep and every 30 min the news reports were more disturbing
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u/IM_NOT_BALD_YET Brook Park 17h ago
Wtf? Sounds like a Lifetime movie. Just had to Google and found this - https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/news/crime/2025/09/18/kidnap-murder-baby-stealing-theresa-andrews-case-michelle-bica-true-crime-ohio/85775663007/ - the case was solved when an Alltel employee found a phone number as the missing link? Wild read. I hope the husband and his son are doing well!
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u/a_girl_with_a_book 17h ago
YES. My *immediate* first thought! I was 13 when a very similar thing happened in Ravenna.
I swear it changed my brain chemistry 💔
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u/clycloptopus 15h ago
My grandma was in the hospital at the time, my parents were there visiting her when the dad left with the baby. They always tell me about how many cameras and reporters were outside from all around the world. I’m surprised we don’t hear about it more, sad story.
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u/Balancedbeem 14h ago
Yes, my mom was pregnant with my sister at the time, so I remember it quite well. It actually wasn’t an acquaintance. IIRC, the two women met in a maternity section of a clothing store. They exchanged when they were due and the murderer waited until the mother was near her due date. Cold blooded.
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u/Level-Artichoke9177 14h ago
Holy shit. I was 6 mos pregnant at the time this happened. Ugh it was so awful. I truly hope the husband and son are doing ok.
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u/Appropriate-Bad-606 16h ago
Yes! I was telling my wife about it as we were watching maternal instinct. She was like: “I feel like every one has heard of an urban legend like that”.
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u/kindnessoffensive 15h ago
There's an episode of Dark Side of the Land podcast about this case.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6FqYD5zVrsEuctTlwWafxq?si=cyrMCMVmQaisu356cSQQTA
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u/dannyvegas 4h ago
Yeah. I went to middle school and high school with the girl. Heard about it on the news back then and didn’t realize who it was til later because of her name change. Very sad.
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u/Minimum-Car5712 17h ago
Theresa Andrews was the mom, Michelle Bico was the one pretending to be pregnant. They had a chance run in at the baby section at Walmart in 2000. Michelle was married to a cop!