Suspect Is Charged in 2 Texas Deaths

A man was arrested and charged Tuesday with murdering his pregnant former girlfriend and her 7-year-old son, both of whom disappeared from their home over the weekend.

Hours after the arrest, authorities found two bodies matching the descriptions of Lisa Underwood and her son, Jayden, authorities said.

Stephen Dale Barbee, 37, admitted arguing with Underwood about leaving his wife, according to court papers. Barbee allegedly said he suffocated Underwood, then did the same to the boy after the child interrupted the attack.

Court papers said Barbee was the father of Underwood’s fetus.

Barbee was arrested in Tyler, where he had been working clearing trees.

Underwood reportedly told investigators he put the bodies in the back of his sport utility vehicle and dug a shallow grave. The SUV was found in a creek near the town of Denton on Monday.

Court papers also revealed that a sheriff’s deputy briefly had Barbee in custody early Saturday after he stopped a suspicious man covered in mud. The man ran into the woods and escaped.

Underwood, a bagel shop owner who was seven months’ pregnant, was reported missing Saturday along with her son after she failed to show up at her baby shower. A pool of blood was found in her Fort Worth home, but there was no sign of forced entry, police said.

Underwood and Barbee met about two years ago but split up last fall because Barbee had another girlfriend, said Debbie Lindley, a neighbor of Underwood’s.