What Happened to Erica Bader? Warnings, Charges, and Police Response

Erica Bader, a 24-year-old Rhode Island woman, was found dead in a wooded area of Pawtucket on October 27, 2025, roughly six months after friends first asked police to check on her safety at a home in Central Falls. Her family says she had been held against her will there, beaten, and was pregnant when she died. Eight people who lived at the Central Street address have been charged in connection with her death, and five of them face first-degree murder charges.¹

What Her Family Says Was Happening to Her

Bader had been living on Central Street in Central Falls with a group of people her family described as strangers. Her stepmother, Crystal Smith, told reporters that Bader was physically abused at the home and that when she tried to leave, the people there “dragged her in, pulled her in that house and held her hostage, basically.”¹

Smith and Bader’s aunt, Stephanie Bender, also said Bader was pregnant when she died. Bender said the family did not initially know about the pregnancy. Police have not publicly confirmed the captivity or the pregnancy, and no official cause or manner of death has been released. As of the most recent court proceedings, the family said they had not received an autopsy report.¹

Warnings Before Her Death

In March and April 2025, friends contacted Central Falls police to request a wellness check. They told officers they had seen bruises on Bader during a video call and were worried about what they described as severe abuse.² Police said they went to the address in April 2025 but could not locate Bader. Officers told the family to file a missing persons report. No such report was ever filed.³

A later review found that Central Falls police had responded to the Central Street address roughly 25 to 30 times over the prior two years, though the department said not all of those calls were tied to Bader’s specific apartment. A neighbor, Tatiana McKinney, said she had heard fighting coming from the apartment before Bader’s body was discovered.⁴

How Her Body Was Found

Pawtucket police found Bader’s body in a wooded area on October 27, 2025. Investigators determined she had died elsewhere and that her body had been moved to the Pawtucket location from the Central Street home in Central Falls.¹

In early November 2025, the Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals removed 46 cats and four dogs from the Central Street residence after the people charged in Bader’s death abandoned the home. RISPCA President Wayne Kezirian said the home was strewn with feces, reeked of ammonia, and the animals had no adequate food or water.⁵

Who Has Been Charged

Six people connected to the home were arrested shortly after Bader’s body was found and initially charged with failure to report a death. One of them, Brittney Terpening, 34, who had been Bader’s roommate, also faced a charge of domestic felony assault.²

Charges were significantly upgraded in November 2025. On November 25, 2025, eight people were arraigned in Providence District Court.³

Charged with murder, kidnapping, and conspiracy: Brittney Terpening (34), Andrew Cornell (28), Joshua Brunelle (35), Elizabeth Durand (41), and Stephanie Bletzer (37).⁶
Charged with kidnapping, conspiracy, and failure to report a death: Christopher Kordalewski (22), Joanne Miller (26), and Cheryl Blakely (36).⁶

The five murder defendants were held without bail. The other three were granted bail of $30,000 surety each.¹ Durand and Bletzer had first been charged only with failure to report a death before their charges were upgraded to murder.⁷

On April 28, 2026, the Rhode Island Attorney General’s office announced that a Providence grand jury had indicted the five murder defendants on four counts each: first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, kidnapping, and conspiracy to commit kidnapping.⁸ At arraignments on the indictment on May 20, 2026, Terpening, Durand, Bletzer, and Cornell pleaded not guilty. Brunelle was not arraigned that day.⁹

Under Rhode Island law, a first-degree murder conviction carries a life sentence, with the possibility of life without parole depending on aggravating circumstances. Defendants must serve at least 15 years before becoming eligible for parole.¹⁰

Criticism of the Police Response

On November 1, 2025, organizers held a “Justice for Erica Bader” protest outside the Central Falls Police Station. They criticized the department for what they described as inaction, alleging officers had known for months that Bader was being beaten and held against her will.¹¹ The failed April 2025 wellness check, and the fact that no missing persons report was ever filed in the months before her body was found, have remained central to that criticism.