A 29-year-old pregnant woman in Rhode Island was allegedly stabbed to death by her 30-year-old boyfriend, who was arrested last Thursday night and is being held without bail.

Key Takeaways:

• Gabriela Vallejo, who was "several months pregnant" and also mother to a six-year-old daughter, was found stabbed to death on Thursday during a welfare check.

• Police arrested her boyfriend, William Santiago Ramos, who is being held without bail.

• It is believed that Vallejo was killed on Monday evening or early Tuesday morning.

• Homicide is a leading cause of death among pregnant women.

The Details:

William Santiago Ramos did not enter a plea on Friday during his arraignment for the death of his girlfriend of one year, Gabriela Vallejo, who was found dead from multiple stab wounds to the neck on Thursday night during a wellness check. Police believe she was killed last Monday night or early Tuesday morning.

Ramos is charged with Domestic Violence – Murder – 1st Degree, Sexual Offender – Failure to Notify of Change in Address, and Obstructing Officer in Execution of Duty.

Vallejo is the mother of a six-year-old daughter and was "several months pregnant at the time" of her death, according to WPRI.

Man charged with the murder of his pregnant girlfriend held without bail

Ramos was pulled over at 3:30 in the morning on Tuesday, giving police his license before he drove away. Then at six in the evening on Wednesday, he was a passenger in a car that police pulled over. During that stop, he lied about his identity. It was at this time that he was charged with obstructing and eluding during the stop on Tuesday. He was held overnight but was released on Thursday morning.

A welfare check was called in regarding Vallejo, and after she was found dead, police identified Ramos as a suspect and tracked him down on Thursday afternoon. A chase ensued, and Ramos jumped into the Blackstone River to try to escape the police, but was ultimately arrested.

He was arraigned on Friday and ordered to be held without bail. He is scheduled to be back in court next week for a previous bail violation.

The Bottom Line:

Homicide is, tragically, a leading cause of death among pregnant women. Women in the U.S. who are pregnant or have recently given birth are more likely to be murdered than to die from obstetric causes. While some argue that pro-life laws put women at greater risk of being murdered during pregnancy, many of the victims were killed after refusing to abort their children.

Kaylin Fiengo was 12 weeks pregnant when she was shot and later found dead in a car. She was killed by her boyfriend after she refused to have an abortion.

Trisha Cole's boyfriend shot her with a rifle and ran over her body after she said she would not have an abortion.

U.S. Olympic boxer Félix Verdejo-Sánchez threw his girlfriend, Keishla Rodríguez Ortiz, off a bridge because she refused to abort their preborn child.

Breana Rouhselang was murdered by her baby’s father when she was six months pregnant because he believed she waited too long to tell him about the pregnancy and ran out of time to get an abortion.

The list goes on. According to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, murders of pregnant women are more common than deaths from hypertensive disorders, hemorrhage, or sepsis during pregnancy.