On a chilly December morning in 2019, Heidi Broussard dropped her six-year-old son off at Cowan Elementary School in Austin, Texas. She was carrying her three-week-old daughter, Margot. It was a routine start to a normal Thursday. But Heidi never came back to pick up her son.
By that afternoon, the alarm bells were screaming. Her boyfriend, Shane Carey, arrived at their apartment to find Heidi’s car in the driveway and her purse still inside. The door was unlocked. The baby was gone.
The search that followed gripped the nation. It felt like one of those impossible mysteries where a person just vanishes into thin air. But the truth was far more sinister, and it was hiding in plain sight.
The Shocking Answer: Who Killed Heidi Broussard?
So, who killed Heidi Broussard? The person responsible was someone Heidi trusted with her life: her best friend of over a decade, Magen Fieramusca.
The betrayal is honestly hard to wrap your head around. They met at a church camp when they were younger and stayed close for years. Fieramusca was even in the delivery room when Margot was born just weeks before the murder.
But while Heidi was actually pregnant, Magen was faking it. She wore a prosthetic "baby bump" and even set up baby registries on Target and Amazon to maintain the ruse. She convinced her own boyfriend and her entire social circle that she was expecting a child at the exact same time as Heidi.
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The Grimmer Details of the Crime
The timeline is chilling. On December 12, 2019, investigators believe Fieramusca abducted Heidi and Margot from their Austin apartment. She then drove them nearly 160 miles back to her home near Houston.
Heidi didn't make it.
Police eventually tracked a gray Nissan Sentra seen on surveillance footage near Heidi's home back to Fieramusca. When they arrived at Magen’s residence in Jersey Village, they found baby Margot alive and healthy inside.
Heidi’s body was discovered in the trunk of that same Nissan.
An autopsy later confirmed that Heidi had been killed by ligature strangulation. Prosecutors alleged that Magen used a leash to end her best friend's life. All of this was done so Magen could claim baby Margot as her own child. Basically, she wanted a baby so badly she was willing to discard her best friend to get one.
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The Evidence That Toppled the Lies
Detectives didn't just stumble onto Magen. They followed a digital breadcrumb trail that was frankly overwhelming.
- Google Searches: Investigators found that Fieramusca’s account had searched for "Heidi Broussard" at least 162 times in the month leading up to the kidnapping.
- The "Amber Alert" Search: On the very night Heidi disappeared, Magen searched for "reasons for Amber Alert" and "Amber alert issued Austin." At that point, the public didn't even know the baby was missing yet.
- The Boyfriend’s Realization: When police showed Magen’s boyfriend a photo of the missing baby Margot, he reportedly told them, "That’s the baby at my house." He had no idea he was living with a kidnapped infant and a murder victim in the driveway.
Magen's defense tried to argue that the search of her home was illegal, but a judge tossed that out. The evidence was just too heavy.
The Sentence: 55 Years
In February 2023, Magen Fieramusca finally faced the music. She pleaded guilty to the murder of Heidi Broussard.
As part of a plea deal to avoid the death penalty or a life sentence without parole, she was sentenced to 55 years in prison. She also had to waive her right to appeal, which means the Broussard family won't have to keep reliving this in court for the next two decades.
Heidi’s mother, Tammy Broussard, spoke directly to Magen in the courtroom. It was a moment of raw, human grief. She talked about how full of life Heidi was and how Magen had destroyed a family.
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Magen will be eligible for parole in 2047, but she likely won't see the outside of a cell until she is in her late 70s or 80s.
Why This Case Still Haunts Texas
This wasn't just a random act of violence. It was "fetal abduction" by proxy—a rare and deeply disturbing crime where a perpetrator targets a pregnant woman or new mother to steal the child.
What makes it worse is the friendship. Heidi let Magen into her most private moments. She shared the joy of her newborn daughter with the very woman who was plotting to take her life.
Today, Margot is back with her father and her older brother. They are moving on, though the shadow of what happened in 2019 will always be there.
What We Can Learn From the Case
While cases like this are incredibly rare, they highlight the importance of "red flags" in obsessive behavior.
- Trust Your Gut: Friends and family of Magen noted her "pregnancy" seemed off, but nobody wanted to believe she was capable of something this dark.
- Digital Footprints Matter: The swift resolution of this case happened because of rapid digital forensics. Surveillance tech and search histories are now the primary tools for modern detectives.
- Community Awareness: The Austin community's quick reporting of suspicious vehicles was a major factor in identifying the Nissan Sentra early on.
If you are following true crime or want to support families affected by similar tragedies, you can look into organizations like Parents of Murdered Children (POMC) or local victim advocacy groups that provide resources for those navigating the aftermath of violent loss.
Actionable Insight: If you or someone you know is in a situation involving stalking or obsessive "friendships" that feel unsafe, contact local law enforcement or a victim advocacy center. Awareness and early intervention are the only ways to prevent domestic tragedies from escalating. You can also follow the Texas Department of Criminal Justice public records if you wish to track the status of Fieramusca's incarceration.