BATON ROUGE - A former East Baton Rouge Parish assistant principal accused of murdering a woman said to be pregnant with his child is back in court this week.

Investigators say Robert J. Marks, charged in the murder of a pregnant colleague who may have been carrying his child, allegedly dumped his former lover's body in an Iberville Parish ditch in June of 2016. But in late 2020, a judge ruled the case should be moved across the river due to uncertainty as to exactly where the murder occurred. 

Authorities said they believe Marks, 42, killed Lyntell Washington in East Baton Rouge Parish and then deposited her body in Iberville Parish before leaving her car, with her 3-year-old daughter inside, down the street from Washington’s apartment.

Authorities later found Washington's daughter wandering near the parking lot of the apartment complex with her mother's blood on her feet, according to a police report. The toddler told investigators she was with her mother and "Mr. Robbie" when she heard a loud noise and saw him trying to clean up blood, the report said.

The second-degree murder and feticide charges Marks had faced in East Baton Rouge Parish were dropped following a 2020 indictment in Iberville Parish. Grand jurors in Iberville Parish indicted Marks on a slew of charges, including second-degree murder, feticide, two counts of kidnapping, aggravated kidnapping of a child, obstruction of justice and a handful of gun-related infractions.

Washington was a 40-year-old instructional specialist at Brookstown Middle Magnet, the same school where Marks was Assistant Principal, and was seven months pregnant with his child.

Authorities speculate that Marks, who is married, did not want anyone to know Washington was pregnant with his child.

Marks was fired as an assistant principal at Brookstown Middle Magnet after he was indicted in October 2016 and he continues to deny any involvement in Washington's death.

Marks is scheduled to appear before a judge Tuesday, Jan. 5.