Teka Adams’ Survival After Fetal Abduction Attempt

October 10, 2021 ~ By Shari Rose

Against all odds, both Teka Adams and her unborn fetus survived a brutal 4-day attack in 2009

In early December 2009, Teka Adams was nine months pregnant and staying at a homeless shelter in Washington, D.C., when a woman named Veronica Deramous approached her. Deramous promised Adams she could have gently used baby clothes and other supplies for her soon-to-arrive baby. Adams, 29, agreed to pick up the supplies at Deramous’ apartment in Suitland, MD. 

After feeding Adams some lunch, Deramous suddenly attacked the pregnant woman with an iron fire poker, striking her on the head multiple times. Deramous, 40, then tied and gagged Adams on the kitchen floor. 

“She told me what she was getting ready to do and I bust out crying,” Adams said in a later interview.

Over the next four days, Deramous used multiple knives and a boxcutter to cut open Adam’s abdomen and attempt to rip the fetus from her body. 

“I was shaking and sweating because the pain was so excruciating that it got to a point where I just couldn’t feel it anymore,” Adams said.

During the horrific attack, Deramous could not locate the fetus and eventually gave up the effort. Somehow, Teka Adams remained conscious throughout the ordeal. After the fetal abduction attempt, Adams says that Deramous began to panic about her teenage son soon coming home to the bloody scene. Her attacker started cleaning the apartment’s walls and floors of her blood. 

At this point in Adams’ story, details get a little fuzzy. She was certainly held captive in Deramous’ apartment for four days before managing to escape with some of her organs still exposed. As far as I can find, there are no public details about her actual escape. She received an emergency c-section at a local hospital soon after leaving the apartment and gave birth to a healthy baby girl. 

Adams named her baby Miracle Sky. 

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Aftermath of fetal abduction attempt

Teka Adams was seriously injured during the attempted fetal abduction. Her bladder was severely cut, and her abdominal muscles were slashed. 

“I couldn’t walk, I had to kind of learn how to build up the muscles in my stomach again before I could go and see my daughter,” Adams said. “But I was determined, so I started walking pretty early.”

When Adams’ survival story reached local news, there was an outpouring of support from the community. She received baby supplies, cards, and other gifts while recovering in the hospital. 

“There were a whole bunch of big bags, just full of baby stuff,” she said. “Cards, all kinds of stuff from the EMTs and fire department.”

Following the brutal attack, Veronica Deramous was arrested after surrendering to police. Just one month after the attempted fetal abduction, she appeared in court for a preliminary trial. Teka Adams was there in the courtroom with her family, and she brought Miracle with her. Both mother and baby had moved in with Adams’ father in Washington after recovering in the hospital.

In November 2010, nearly one year after the attack, Deramous pleaded guilty to first degree assault. While in court, Deramous alleged that Adams agreed to sell her baby to her for $5,000. Outraged, Adams lunged at her assailant in the courtroom, and was escorted out. 

“I tried to attack her ass in the courtroom,” a half-smiling Adams later said on House of Horrors: Kidnapped. “I jumped over the wall, and I went straight for her.”

Veronica Deramous is up for parole in 2022. 

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