Twisted truth behind horrifying baby-snatching murder of Heidi Broussard that has Netflix viewers gripped: Her mother delivers furious verdict
When Heidi Broussard's coffin was lowered into the ground, her family's fervent wish was that she be left to rest in peace.New mother Broussard, 33, had died under the most horrific, and public, of circumstances - murdered by her best friend, who then stole her 16-day-old baby and claimed her as her own.One week later, police arrested Magen Fieramusca and retrieved the unharmed baby Margo, reuniting the little girl with her grieving father, Broussard's fiance, Shane Carey.So on that somber December day in 2019, those gathered at her graveside hoped that Broussard might be granted privacy, calm and dignity in death.Now that hope has been shattered. Netflix has begun streaming a Lifetime movie dramatizing the barely believable story of Broussard's killing, her baby's kidnap and Fieramusca's unravelling.And, the family tells the Daily Mail they are furious.Broussard's mother, Tammy Broussard, said: 'None of us were happy with that film,' and described the depiction as 'deeply disappointing.'She added: 'It was one of the worst Lifetime movies I've ever seen - and I watch them all the time.' New mother Heidi Broussard, 33, died under the most horrific, and public, of circumstances - murdered by her best friend, who then stole her 16-day-old baby and claimed her as her own. Netflix has begun streaming a Lifetime movie dramatizing the barely believable story of Broussard's killing, her baby's kidnap and Fieramusca's unravelling Magen Fieramusca, right, was Heidi's best friend Baby Margo's paternal grandfather, Frank 'Ty' Carey agreed.'I wish they just let it go,' he said. 'They're just making money off of it. It's not like the public needs to know any more detail.'We're simply trying to get down the road. But this fires it all up again.'The film, Stolen Baby, was made in 2023 but released on Netflix last week. It is already a hit, surging to number three in the US chart with 2.9 million views.With a cast of largely unknown actors and lacking the gloss of most Netflix extravaganzas - Lifetime films are famously shot speedily and on a limited budget - its success has been a surprise.But the spotlight is not at all welcomed by those involved in the real-life tragedy.Shane's mother died two years ago and his father, now 70, told the Daily Mail that the years since Broussard's headline-grabbing killing have been spent trying to protect and support her children, baby Margo, now six and older brother Silas, 12.Broussard was born and raised in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and moved to Austin, Texas in 2015.She met Fieramusca, who was living in Houston, at bible camp when the girls were both teens.Speaking at the time of Broussard's death, a broken Shane said: 'Heidi loved Magen. I mean, they had a great relationship.'That relationship only seemed to be strengthened when, soon after Broussard told Fieramusca that she was expecting her second child, Fieramusca announced that she, too, was pregnant. The women would go through their pregnancies together, their children be born within weeks of each other.At least that, perhaps, is what Broussard hoped. In the movie of the tale, nothing is quite so straightforward. At the time, Fieramusca was in a relationship with a Houston man, Christopher Green, and the film depicts Green trying to split up with Fieramusca only for her to halt him in his tracks by telling him she is pregnant.The implication on screen is clear; Fieramusca's sudden announcement is a desperate bid to try and keep Green in the relationship. In fact, it is not known whether her pregnancy was real, lost or a lie from the start designed to lock-in a reluctant Green - she has always refused to say.The film, however, shows Fieramusca wearing a prosthetic baby bump under her clothes. Shane later told investigators that Fieramusca accompanied his fiancée to their prenatal appointments: so close was she, that they gave her a key to their apartment.And when, on November 26, 2019, Broussard gave birth to Margo, Fieramusca drove two-and-a-half hours from Houston to Austin to be in the birthing room.Margo's grandfather, Carey, recalled: 'She was in the birthing unit, and I thought it was bizarre. I got Margo from Heidi, and Magen came and got the baby from me within 30 seconds, maybe a minute at the most.'I thought, you know... But it's not my place. They're best friends. I didn't say anything. It was kind of weird.'But I didn't say anything, and I don't think back and think I should have either, because I was just there enjoying Heidi and Shane's life with them. I'm not trying to tell her who to be friends with.'And Shane didn't really either. He didn't like Magen that much.'But he kind of just let Heidi do Heidi, that's why their thing worked.' Broussard's mother, Tammy Broussard said: 'None of us were happy with that film,' and described the depiction as 'deeply disappointing' Since Broussard's headline-grabbing killing, her fiance, Shane Carey, has been trying to protect and support her children Baby Margo is now six and has an older brother Silas, 12 When Broussard disappeared, 16 days after giving birth, Fieramusca rang their mutual friends constantly for updates and even volunteered to help in the week-long search as law enforcement and desperate family fanned out across Texas on foot and on horseback.And all the while, Fieramusca attempted to pass Margo off as her own.The film shows a bizarre scene in which Fieramusca tells Green as he arrives at the home they still shared - he had told her she could stay until after their baby was born - that she gave birth that morning.She refers vaguely to the 'birthing center' she attended and angrily rebuts his confused efforts to interrogate why she is back home so soon after allegedly giving birth, and why nobody contacted him to let him know she had even gone into labor.In reality, Fieramusca appears to have given little thought to just how she would pull off the deception that followed Broussard's murder and ultimately the lie could not hold.A neighbor of Broussard's told police she had seen Broussard getting into Fieramusca's car with baby Margo on the day she was last seen. Officers began asking questions.Fieramusca's ex-partner Green was confronted by police near his Houston home. The net was closing in on Fieramusca and, on being shown a photo of baby Margo, Green told officers: 'That's the baby at my house.'Police arrived at Fieramusca's Houston home on December 19. When they approached her car, they were hit by the unmistakable smell of decomposing flesh. They found Broussard's body, stuffed in a duffle bag in the trunk of her car. She had been strangled.Green was as shocked and stunned at the crime as everyone else.Margo was taken from Fieramusca and returned to her father, in time for Christmas.Fieramusca pled guilty in February 2023. She took a plea deal with prosecutors which took the death penalty off the table - reducing her original 2020 charge of capital murder to murder in the first degree. She was sentenced to 55 years in prison. Now 40, she will not be eligible for parole until 2047.Margo is now six years old, with no memory of her mother, but guarded by her big brother Silas, who turns 13 in July. The pair have grown up alongside Addison, a daughter from their father Shane's previous relationship.He remains a single parent, keeping the family afloat with his delivery business, despite suffering a stroke in November 2023 and requiring the removal of a section of his skull.The 39-year-old is supported by his older sister Tiffany and Broussard's friend Rachel, who Carey said has been a tower of strength. All live within ten miles of each other in Austin, Texas.Theirs is a remarkable story of resilience.'Silas was six years old, just like Margo is now, when it happened,' said Carey. 'And it knocked him off his feet when we told him. But everybody's just been surrounding him in love, and he and his dad are really close.'Rachel, who was Heidi's friend, in kind of an ode to Heidi helps take care of him, and everybody just showers him with love. And he's unbelievable. He does well in school, he's in all kind of sports and that's great.'Carey said he is attuned to the boy's mental health needs and trying to be as open and approachable as possible.'I told Silas the other day - he and I did something together, and we were riding the truck - and I said: "If you ever think anything about it where it doesn't seem normal to you, or anything like that, just say something. Because any time you need something, I'm there."'I'm all open to him getting some therapy or anything like that, if he needs it. So many people need it.' 'We're simply trying to get down the road. But this fires it all up again,' Frank 'Ty' Carey, seen here with a friend, said of the Lifetime movie Fieramusca and Broussard at bible camp when the girls were both teens. Fieramusca was sentenced to 55 years in prison. Now 40, she will not be eligible for parole until 2047Yet Carey said his grandson was incredibly well adjusted, despite the trauma.'He knows about his mother, because every now and then he'll say something,' he said. 'And he told Margo that some strange stuff happened, but it's not like he said it with malice.'I was trying to kind of hide it from Margo, but he told her, and I think he even told her how. He cherishes her memory.'And Margo is so full of love: it's like Heidi's inner being. She's so sweet, always wants to be around you, always gives you big hugs.'Carey, who has interests in real estate, telecomms and investing, said he wants the children to be given space.'Filmmakers have been around before, and they usually talk to me first, because they know I'm the patriarch,' he said. 'And I tell them I'm not in favor of it. But I'm not all rowdy about it or anything: I just talk to them normally, tell them what I think. I can't stop them.'Then they go to the family members, they go to Heidi's mom and they go to Heidi's friends.'But for me, I feel it should be, out of sight, out of mind.'I just try to make sure my family's okay.'Carey said he has had no contact with Fieramusca or her family. She has never given any inkling of what drove her to commit her crimes but to Carey it seems clear. He said simply: 'That girl, she was stricken by wanting to have a kid.'What he and Broussard's loved ones will never understand is how, even the most potent of longings, could have led to such a brutal betrayal. After all, Carey said: 'That was her best friend.'
