Man Charged with Pregnant Girlfriend's Murder

A Paducah man has been arrested in connection with the death of his girlfriend and their unborn child.

According to the Paducah Police Department, Epionn J. Lee-McCampbell was arrested Wednesday afternoon on charges of murder and third-degree fetal homicide.

The charges stem from an investigation that began March 1, when police were called to Lee-McCampbell's home on North 24th Street. Officers say they found 19-year-old Ja'Lynn N. Ragsdale in the home and she was unresponsive. She was taken to Baptist Health Paducah, where she later died. 

In late August, detectives received a final report from the state medical examiner's office saying Ragsdale died of asphyxiation consistent with suffocation, and that she was pregnant at the time of her death.

Police say Lee-McCampbell has been a suspect throughout the investigation, and had told officers that he and Ragsdale were, "wrestling," when she lost consciousness. 

Lee-McCampbell was booked into McCracken County Jail, and is being held on $500,000 bond. The McCracken County Jail website says he is scheduled to appear in court on September 13.