Left inset: Makala Pendley (WXIN/YouTube). Right inset: Joseph Jude Butler Jr. (GoFundMe). Background: Makala Pendley and Joseph Jude Butler Jr.'s seven children after they were found in Mexico (WXIN/YouTube).
A pregnant Indiana mom was found murdered in a small Mexican village — nude and dead in a ditch — after she fled the Hoosier State and country with her seven children out of fear they would be taken from her, authorities say.
Makala Pendley, 30, of Indianapolis, was found in a small village in the Mexican state of Chiapas after being brutally raped and beaten to death, according to Indiana CBS affiliate WXIN, citing information provided to the outlet by her family and local authorities.
Chiapas State Prosecutor Jorge Luis Llaven Abarca announced the discovery in a Facebook Live briefing on Monday. Pendley's sister, Maurica Lambert, confirmed to WXIN how Pendley died, the outlet reports.
"It just still does not feel freaking real," Lambert said. "It just doesn't feel real at all."
Pendley, who was six months pregnant, allegedly fled from Indiana with her seven children and their father, Joseph Jude Butler Jr., earlier this year because she was fearful the children would be taken away from them. It's unclear why.
Butler, who was allegedly in a relationship with Pendley, has been arrested by Mexican authorities and is suspected to be behind Pendley's death, but officials have not charged him.
"In the coming hours, his criminal responsibility will be determined, and he may be brought before justice," Llaven Abarca said during his press briefing. "We will seek the maximum sentence of 100 years for this perpetrator of femicide."
According to police reports obtained by WXIN, Pendley and her children were reported missing to Indianapolis authorities in late February. Mexican officials found the children after Pendley fled to Mexico and took custody of them, but later returned them to Pendley, according to the outlet.
The children and Butler have been found, with the dad being taken into custody last weekend, according to local officials.
"She was a good mom," Lambert said about Pendley. "As moms, you know, we have our bad days, you know what I mean? And she was a good mom, though. She put her kids before she put anything."
The family says Pendley's children are being returned to Indianapolis, along with their mother's body. Authorities believe Pendley was in the ditch for eight to 12 hours before she was found. Her death was reportedly caused by "traumatic brain injury secondary to blunt force trauma," according to Llaven Abarca.
"This is the worst time in my life, my mom's life," a GoFundMe launched by Lambert says. "All of our lives have been affected and shattered."