Father of Newborn Taken From Slain Girlfriend's Womb Speaks Out: 'I'm Mom and Dad'

The father of a newborn that was taken from her slain mother is speaking out, saying that "now, I'm mom and dad."

Ashton Matheny, the longtime boyfriend of the late Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind, opened up to PEOPLE about being a dad, moving on, and life after his girlfriend's murder.

"She would have been the best mom ever. She was so good with kids," Matheny, 22, said, adding that in the absence of his daughter Haisley Jo's mother, "now, I'm mom and dad."

On Aug. 19, 22-year-old Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind disappeared from Fargo, North Dakota. She was eight months pregnant, expecting her first child with longtime boyfriend Ashton Matheny. On Aug. 24, five days after her disappearance, authorities discovered her neighbor, 38-year-old Brooke Crews, with LaFontaine-Greywind's newborn daughter.

LaFontaine-Greywind's body was discovered three days after the arrests of Crews and her live-in boyfriend Henry Hoehn, wrapped in plastic in the Red River. An autopsy report revealed that she had died from "homicidal violence," though authorities have refrained from specifying how or where she died or how Haisley Jo was born.

Both Crews and Hoehn were charged with conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, and giving false information to police. Crews pleaded guilty to the charges and will be sentenced on Jan. 16. Hoehn pleaded not guilty. His trial is expected to start in March. They each face life in prison without parole.