Dateline: Unforgettable season 6 episode 9 - A complete timeline of events of Akia Eggleston's disappearance

An imagery crime scene (Image via Unsplash)
An imagery crime scene (Image via Unsplash)

Season 6 episode 9 of Dateline: Unforgettable will look back at the case of Akia Eggleston, a pregnant Maryland woman who went missing without a trace in May 2017. Titled The Day Akia Disappeared, the episode will examine the arduous investigation that unfolded over a six-plus-year journey to justice. The episode is set to premiere on July 31, 2025.

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By utilizing case files and interviews with detectives, the family, and others associated with Akia, the Dateline: Unforgettable episode constructs a timeline of what happened to Akia in the days before she went missing.

The investigation that followed, and the indictment of her murderer, as well as his conviction, which happened only after several years of delay, will also be detailed in the episode of Dateline: Unforgettable.


Akia Eggleston's disappearance: Dateline: Unforgettable features a complete timeline of events

May 1-3, 2017: Preparing for a new chapter

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Akia Eggleston was a 22-year-old who was eight months pregnant and was preparing for a baby shower in early May 2017 when she was last seen. Media outlets, including NBC and CBS News, reported that Akia was making arrangements for a new place to live with her ex-boyfriend and father of her soon-to-be-born child, Michael Robertson.

On May 3, the last sighting of Akia on bank surveillance video, she was seen withdrawing money to help put a down payment on a new home she was supposed to be living with Robertson, as per CBS News.

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May 6, 2017: The day of the baby shower

The baby shower was scheduled for May 6, and Akia never showed up, according to a report by People. The family and friends of the Dateline: Unforgettable subject became concerned when she started not answering her phone.

According to NBC News, her family and friends initially assumed she went into labor and checked her apartment. However, they discovered most of her clothes were packed up, furniture gone, and Akia was in the wind.

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May 7-10, 2017: Missing person report filed

That's when her family knew something was seriously wrong, and they reported her missing. The Baltimore Police Department opened an investigation. Detectives, including Detective Jill Beauregard, told NBC News that they were concerned about foul play early on, given that Akia was pregnant and that she just disappeared without a trace.


2017-2021: The case grows cold

The case went cold for a while (Image via Unsplash)
The case went cold for a while (Image via Unsplash)

Akia's family and the Black and Missing Foundation kept her case in the media spotlight, even when there weren't new developments, and thorough investigations and vigorous media postings turned up nothing. Searchers still consulted with Akia's family and friends, and they reported finding things. However, there was nothing to indicate Akia's whereabouts.

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Likewise, the investigation continued. In addition to the physical search for Akia, there were digital searches of her phone records and an authorized search of any online activity.


2022: Arrest of Michael Robertson

It took over a year, but in February 2022, Michael Robertson, the accused killer of the Dateline: Unforgettable subject, was located and apprehended by the U.S. Marshals in the state of Michigan. There was abundant circumstantial evidence opposing Robertson, including phone records that placed Robertson as the last person to communicate with Akia.

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Although the damning evidence was that Google searches revealed Robertson searched how to bury a body. In addition, text messages, many inconsistencies in Robertson's statements, and motive, based on their troubled relationship, all corroborated the prosecution's case, according to CBS News.


July 2023: Conviction and sentencing

And on July 27, 2023, Michael Robertson was found guilty and convicted of two counts of first-degree murder, murder of Akia, and murder of Anubis, their unborn child.

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Robertson was sentenced to two life terms in prison (Image via Unsplash)
Robertson was sentenced to two life terms in prison (Image via Unsplash)

According to CBS News, he was sentenced to two life terms in prison, which would run consecutively. Akia's remains were never recovered, and until the end, Robertson, the convicted murderer, maintained his innocence. However, the jury was convinced by the evidence beyond a reasonable doubt.

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Akia's aunt, Sanobia Wilson, continues to pressure for an “Akia Alert” system for missing pregnant women. WMar2News reported that the family believes that more timely response systems can prevent similar tragedies.


Dateline: Unforgettable season 6 episode 9 can be streamed on Oxygen.

Edited by Riya Peter
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