MANTON, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – The newly released 18-page probable cause affidavit (PCA) in the killing of 22-year-old pregnant mother Rebecca Park lays out a stark narrative of her death – and a maze of shifting, contradictory statements from the two defendants who emerged as the primary suspects. The affidavit suggests that Park was deliberately lured to her biological mother’s home, where the chain of events leading to her murder began.
Park disappeared on November 3, 2025. Her body was found 22 days later in Manistee National Forest in Wexford County, triggering a homicide investigation that immediately focused on the last people known to have been with her, including her biological mother, Cortney Bartholomew.
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Both Cortney and her husband, Bradly, now sit in jail without bond on a slate of severe charges, including homicide, torture, unlawful imprisonment, and removal of a dead body. Rebecca’s sister, Kimberly Park, also faces charges for lying to investigators and tampering with evidence.
What the affidavit shows.
The PCA, authored by Wexford County Sheriff’s Deputy Alexis Howard, details Cortney and Bradly repeatedly contradicting one another, revising their timelines, and adding new revelations after being confronted with evidence. The pair’s evolving versions of events – paired with incriminating digital evidence – place them at the scene of Rebecca’s killing, the disposal site, and the location where her phone was thrown away.
Cortney’s shifting story.
While being questioned several times by law enforcement, Cortney began her story by claiming Rebecca left her house alive with a friend in an unidentified “black sedan.” When pressed, she introduced a second car, then a third on social media. Cortney also spun a series of claims involving Richard Falor – Rebecca’s fiancé and a man who had previously dated both Cortney and Kimberly. Cortney alleged everything from threats to rape to a revenge plot, even suggesting Falor arrived intending to shoot her husband Bradly.
Cortney always seemed to have an answer when law enforcement found evidence that went against her statements. When detectives pointed out that Rebecca’s phone never contacted anyone for a ride – contradicting Cortney’s “black sedan” story – Cortney said that Rebecca might have two phones. She also floated other potential suspects in an apparent effort to take the heat off of herself.
Then Cortney pivoted: she said that Bradly had confessed to killing Rebecca in a revenge plot against Falor because he had triggered law enforcement putting Bradly back in jail on a violation pertaining to his sex offender registration.
Cortney admitted she was in the vehicle with Rebecca and Bradly, yet insisted she played no role in the killing. She said she just tried to save her grandson at the end of everything that had transpired. Cortney, who is disabled, insisted that she was helpless in the truck because she lacked her crutches and wheelchair but then admitted that she had attempted to save Rebecca’s newborn by cutting him out of Rebecca while she was still alive.
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Cortney added that Bradly had held a knife to Rebecca’s throat, and that the infant was later placed in a trash bag and discarded in a blue lunch cooler and then thrown in a residential trash bin off- property.
Bradly’s stories change.
Bradly’s interviews followed a similar pattern of evolving narratives as time went on. At first, he denied involvement in anything. Then it appeared he was trying to throw Kimberly under the bus by saying that she wanted Rebecca “out of the picture.” After several shifting stories, Bradly claimed he witnessed Cortney stab Rebecca in the truck and cut out the baby once Rebecca was outside of the truck, saying that Cortney wanted Rebecca’s baby for herself and was mad at Rebecca for always bad mouthing her and not giving her a chance to be a mom.
Despite Bradly’s attempts to distance himself, he admitted to cleaning the truck and disposing of the knife and the infant.
What Cortney’s sister said.
One of the more unusual revelations in the affidavit involves Cortney’s sister, Candis Freeman. Freeman told investigators that on October 28, Cortney confided she had recently given birth to a baby. Then, on November 3, Cortney told a cousin, “my son passed away.” The very next day, November 4, she told Freeman that Rebecca Park was missing. Investigators are probably now weighing the obvious question: were these shifting claims a ready-made cover story for the sudden appearance of a newborn in Cortney’s life – until Cortney knew the baby was dead?
The phones that told the truth.
The most damaging evidence against the Bartholomews was location data from their phones that placed both Cortney’s and Bradly’s devices in areas where Rebecca’s body and her phone were found.
With Tuesday’s hearings for Cortney, Bradly, and Kimberly postponed because discovery was not prepared yet, the newly released affidavit is the public’s first real window into what investigators uncovered from phone records and interviews. The document outlines key evidence, glaring contradictions, and the digital breadcrumbs that led detectives to their conclusions about who is responsible for Park’s murder, setting the stage for the next phase in court.
