Jury convicts woman of killing abducted South Bend mom in 1988

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A St. Joseph County jury has convicted a woman of murder in the 1988 beating death of a pregnant mother abducted while walking her dog in northern Indiana.

The jury found 56-year-old Barbara Brewster guilty of killing 28-year-old Miriam Rice of South Bend after a three-day trial.

Rice’s body was discovered at Pinhook Lagoon, about 2 miles from her home, with multiple skull fractures. An autopsy showed she was four months pregnant at the time. She also had a 3-year-old son.

Brewster’s son testified against his mother during the trial. Robert South was 6 in 1988 and said he watched his mom beat Rice to death.

A co-defendant, Brewster’s former boyfriend 77-year-old George Kearney, pleaded guilty in March and died in the St. Joseph County Jail of cancer while awaiting sentencing.

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