According to a recent AP News report on Sunday, September 17, a 22-year-old Kansas man, Alexander J. Lewis, has been accused of strangling his 19-year-old pregnant girlfriend, Zaiylah Q. Bronson, and throwing her body in the trunk of his car.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Lewis made multiple internet searches in the days and hours leading up to Bronson’s murder on August 26th.
The searches included things like “choke hold,” “snapping necks,” and “weapons that can kill.”
The timeline shows that Lewis was at Bronson’s apartment the night before the murder and made searches for lethal weapons.
The next morning, he searched for information on choke holds and snapping necks before eventually searching for “murder.”
Surveillance footage captured Lewis parking his car outside Bronson’s apartment the night of the 25th and shows him carrying a wrapped bundle from the apartment to his trunk the next morning.
When questioned by police, Lewis admitted that he got into an argument with Bronson when she was on the phone with another man.
In a fit of anger, he said he grabbed her around the neck until she stopped moving.
He then wrapped her body in a blanket and placed her in the trunk of his car before driving off.
Police were able to locate Lewis and Bronson’s body after receiving concerning 911 calls.
Officers arrested Lewis at his own apartment after using his cell phone to track him down.
Bronson was a gifted 19-year-old with a bright future ahead of her.
She was a successful student-athlete who excelled at track and field in high school and college.
She had aspirations of becoming a teacher one day.
Friends and family remember her as a kind, vibrant soul who was always smiling. At the time of her murder, Bronson was 16 weeks pregnant with Lewis’s child.
Bronson’s shocking and tragic murder has left her loved ones reeling.
Her mother spoke about their close relationship and how she talked to her daughter nearly every day.
She said she had no idea about the signs that could have led to this. Bronson’s godmother called her “a vibrant soul with dreams, aspirations, and love to share.”
She also revealed she is a domestic violence survivor herself.
Lewis has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder, though the charge may be upgraded to capital murder which carries a potential death penalty.
For now, he has not had the chance to enter a plea deal.
The brutal murder of the beloved teen and her unborn child has rattled the community and devastated those who knew her.
It serves as yet another tragic reminder of the horrors of domestic violence and the need to provide more resources for victims.
