The man convicted of Akia Eggleston's murder was sentenced to spend the rest of his life behind bars.
"It's honestly not as much a relief as I thought it would be," Sanobia Wilson, Eggelston's aunt told WMAR-2 News. "Him being behind bars is a great thing, but what does that do for us, in a sense?.. How has that helped in any way ease any pain?"
Eggleston was 8 months pregnant when she disappeared in May 2017. Friends and family became worried when she didn't show up to her baby shower for the baby boy she was expecting, already named Anubis.
Wilson says the Baltimore Police Department blew her off.
We know from the trial that the first formal interview with the suspect wasn't until mid-June 2017, after a cold-case homicide detective began working on the case. Wilson told us they didn't conduct searches until months later.
"I think it was like four months later," she told WMAR-2 News.
We reached out to BPD for a statement on the handling of the case.
This case represented a strong collaboration with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners. We are grateful for their ongoing partnership in not only securing a conviction, but bringing justice to Akia Eggleston, her unborn child and her loved ones. As in every case, our detectives work tirelessly to seek justice for all victims and is committed to solving each case without prejudice or bias.
-Baltimore Police Department Statement
It took until February 2022 for FBI to arrest their suspect, and Akia Eggleston and Anubis were added to the 2022 BPD homicide count.
It took jurors just a few hours to find Michael Robertson, the father of the baby, guilty of two counts of first degree murder after a three-week trial.
The judge sentenced him to two consecutive life terms in prison.
"He didn't seem remorseful at all," said Wilson about Robertson at the sentencing. "He wouldn't even look at me when [I was] speaking to him."
"The good part is he doesn't get to do it to anyone else, so I'm relieved in that sense," she added.
And Wilson is working to make sure what she's gone through, doesn't happen to anyone else's family either.
She's working on a proposal for lawmakers called the 'Akia Alert'.
But while she's brought the proposal to create the alert for missing pregnant women to several lawmakers, many have brushed her off at this stage as well.
"It's definitely very disheartening to know that we're not important enough, but we're only important enough when it's time for you to get reelected," Wilson says.
"One high concern for Baltimore City is safety, safety on the streets," she adds. "I'm asking for safety for a vulnerable population, which should not be a problem and it's just not being taken serious at all. I guess it doesn't matter. Maybe, I'm definitely the wrong color, but.. I'm not going to stop until it actually goes into law."
One of the politician's shes been in touch with most recently is Rep. Kweisi Mfume, the congressman who represents the district Eggleston lived in at the time of her disappearance.
When we spoke to her, she was waiting to hear back from the Congressman's office, so we reached out to see what the status of proposal was in his office.
"Ms. Sanobia Wilson, Akia Eggleston’s aunt, had an extensive conversation with my colleague in Congressman Mfume’s legislative team to discuss Ms. Wilson’s policy proposal.
At this time, the Office of Congressman Mfume is still researching this policy, as there are guideposts as to what can fall under the current AMBER Alert system. The Congressman’s legislative staff will continue to conduct research, as well as study if there are other possible ways to achieve the same goal of an "Akia Alert" if there isn’t a path forward through existing code or law.
In other words, Congressman Mfume is studying possible modifications to existing law to accommodate policy that resembles the “Akia Alert,” while also gauging if there are other approaches available as well."
"How many people could benefit from this alert? How many people have been found, how many children have been located from the Amber Alert?" asks Wilson, pointing out the importance of her proposal.
According to the Amber Alert website, as of early January of this year, more than 1,100 kids have been successfully recovered through the system.
Meanwhile, research shows that pregnant women are at higher risk of homicide.
An article published last year in the American Journal of Public Health looked at trends in pregnancy-associated homicide from 2020, and found that pregnant and postpartum women were at a 35% higher risk of being murdered than their nonpregnant, nonpostpartum counterparts.
The researcher also found that the "rates were highest among adolescents and non-Hispanic Black women."
"I don't want anyone to be up in the middle of the night wandering, looking under bridges," Wilson says, adding, "I would not want any family to suffer like we've suffered. It has been an nightmare."
As for Eggleston's legacy, Wilson wants her to be remembered for the happier things in her life.
"I want her to be remembered as a fun-loving great mom, who would do anything for anyone," says Wilson.
She added that Eggleston loved to dance and was into the arts.
"When it gets passed," Wilson tells WMAR-2 news about the proposal, "I hope that this alert save a lot of people. I hope that.. just knowing that I fought had for her, she would be proud, her mom would be proud. So that's why this alert is so important."
