LaToyia Figueroa (January 26, 1981 – August 2005) was an American woman of African-American and Hispanic descent who was murdered in 2005. Figueroa, who was five months pregnant at the time, was reported missing on July 18, 2005 after she failed to show up to work. She was later found strangled to death after being featured on America's Most Wanted. Police discovered Figueroa's remains in a grassy, partially wooded lot in Chester, Pennsylvania, located 13 miles south of Philadelphia. They arrested Stephen Poaches, the father of her unborn child, on August 20, more than a month after she was reported missing. On October 17, 2006, Poaches was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Figueroa and her unborn child. The disappearance and murder of Figueroa sparked controversy about media coverage because cable news channels, such as CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News Channel, neglected to cover her story while focusing most of their attention on the case of Natalee Holloway, a Caucasian teen missing on the island of Aruba. Some observers protested that Figueroa's case was similar to the Laci Peterson case (which also covered the same timespan) and thus deserved greater attention, implying that race was a factor in the lack of coverage. Disappearance On July 18, 2005, 24 years old and five months pregnant, LaToyia went to a prenatal checkup with the father of her unborn child, 25 year old Stephen Poaches. Afterward they went to his apartment. Poaches later stated that LaToyia had left his home "peaceably" around 5pm however, LaToyia did not pick up her 7-year-old daughter that evening nor did she show up for her shift at the restaurant where she worked. After she was reported missing, Poaches told police that he knew nothing about LaToyia's disappearance and did not participate in any search efforts. Poaches then called a radio station to defend himself against suspicion. Investigation In the weeks following her disappearance, detectives searched Poaches's home and car and found no evidence of a crime. Police also did not find any evidence of credit card use or cellphone activity by Latoyia and thus she was categorized by police officials as a missing person. Her father, Melvin Figueroa organized on his own, search teams throughout the city for weeks following her disappearance. As relatives and friends papered the city with flyers, a reward for information reached $100,000 which included donations from the