Andrew Welden: Son of fertility doctor tricked his pregnant girlfriend into taking an abortion pill

Mike Gallagher

May 16, 2013 - 15:12

May 16, 2013 - 15:34

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Andrew Welden: Son of fertility doctor tricked his pregnant girlfriend into taking an abortion pill

Andrew Welden, 28, from Lutz, Florida, faces a first-degree murder charge for allegedly giving the woman a bottle of abortion-inducing drugs, which he told her were harmless antibiotics. His now ex-girlfriend, Remee Lee, was six weeks pregnant when she to

The son of a fertility doctor has been accused of tricking his pregnant girlfriend into taking an abortion pill and killing their unbo child.

John Andrew Welden, 28, faces a first-degree murder charge and a life in prison for allegedly giving the woman a bottle of abortion-inducing drugs, which he told her were harmless antibiotics.

His now ex-girlfriend, Remee Lee, was six weeks pregnant when a scan at Welden's father's clinic in Lutz, Florida confirmed that she was pregnant - but she said Welden was not happy with the news.

'I was never going to do anything but go full term with it, and he didn't want me to,' Lee, 26, told ABC Action News.

But after the scan, Welden, who is working towards a degree in sports medicine, called her to say that she had a bacterial infection and needed to take Amoxycillin, an antibiotic, three times a day.

He gave her a bottle of pills, which she called 'his weapon of choice'.

Lee told ABC Action News that she did not call Dr Welden to confirm that she had an infection because she trusted her boyfriend and believed they had a future together.

Accused: Welden, pictured with his ex-girlfriend Remee Lee, allegedly told her the pills were antibiotics

Heartbroken: Ms Lee said she really wanted the child, but that Welden was not happy about it

In fact, Andrew Welden had forged the doctor's signature on a prescription for Cytotec - an abortion-inducing drug - and re-labeled the bottle as Amoxycillin, according to a federal prosecutor.

Lee took a pill on her way to work but was hospitalized with bleeding and abdominal pains, the Tampa Bay Times reported. She lost the baby in hospital.

She was carrying the bottle of pills and doctors saw that they were not antibiotics.

'What did you give me, Andrew?' she asked Welden, according to the prosecutor.

Welden admitted the switch in a confession recorded by Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office detectives, the prosecutor said. A drugstore surveillance camera captured him buying Cytotec, the Times reported.

Lee filed a lawsuit in state court on Wednesday claiming she suffered battery and emotional distress, while the govement has begun its criminal case in federal court.

A federal grand jury indicted him on Tuesday with product tampering and first-degree murder.

In federal court, Assistant U.S. Attoey Steve Muldrow called the terminated pregnancy 'senseless', the Times reported.

'He had no reason to kill the baby, his baby,' Muldrow said. 'She had a name for the baby she wanted to have.'

The paper noted that while a six-week-old fetus would not be considered viable in state court, federal law does not acknowledge the distinction.

If someone kills an unbo child while committing a federal crime, it is considered murder, Tampa lawyer Todd Foster, a former assistant U.S. Attoey and FBI agent, said.

Loss: The fetus, pictured, was six weeks old when it died and now Welden faces a murder charge

Welden was denied bail after he was deemed a flight risk, but his defense attoey David Weisbrod said Welden had no prior criminal record and said the act was out of character for his client.

Welden's father, a board certified obstetrician and gynecologist who works with infertile couples wishing to become pregnant, has not been accused of any crime.

Andrew Welden worked as an office manager at the Lutz office of Premiere Weight Loss Center, another family business.

His bio on its website says that he studied nutrition and exercise physiology at the University of Mississippi and the University of Memphis, and is working toward a degree in sports medicine.