Man Who Secretly Aborted His Unborn Child Convicted of Attempted Murder

State   |   Micaiah Bilger   |   Nov 16, 2015   |   11:51AM   |   New York, NY

A popular restaurant owner was convicted of attempted murder Friday after secretly aborting his unborn child.

The Daily Mail reports that Josh Woodward will likely be sentenced to prison for nine years; he pleaded no contest to the murder charges on Friday in court. His sentencing is expected in January.

Woodward was arrested in October 2009 after secretly giving his pregnant girlfriend an abortion drug that cause the death of their 13-week unborn child.

According to the former girlfriend, who was not named, Woodward put pressure on her to abort their baby as soon as he found that she was pregnant. She steadfastly refused to have an abortion, and he continued to put pressure on her. The couple separated, and the unborn baby continued to grow in his mother’s womb, LifeNews previously reported.

Woodward and the pregnant woman got together again. He claimed that he changed his mind and would now support her and her baby. However, Woodward apparently had no intention of allowing the baby to be born. According to the New York district attorney’s office, Woodward sprinkled powder on his hands before touching his partner sexually.

On Oct. 18, several hours after the couple had been intimate, the woman began experiencing severe cramping and bleeding. She miscarried her 13-week-old unborn baby.

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When the woman saw a powdery substance in her underwear, she became suspicious. She called the police, who analyzed the substance and discovered that it was misoprostol, a drug that is usually used in conjunction with RU-486 to induce abortions.

When police searched Woodward’s backpack, they found more misoprostol. Authorities said Woodward discovered the drug online when he typed in “ways men have forced abortions” and “evil ways to terminate a pregnancy” online.

Woodward had attempted to secretly slip his girlfriend the abortion drug twice before Oct. 18 but was unsuccessful in killing their unborn child, according to a report in the New York Daily News. On the third attempt on Oct. 18, Woodward increased the dosage and succeeded, police said.

Woodward was engaged too another woman at the time of the abortion. He and his fiance split up at the time, but they are now married and have a child, according to The Daily Mail.

Woodward is a part-owner in the Table 8 restaurant chain. Woodward owns restaurants in Manhattan, Miami and Los Angeles, according to reports.

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