Man Burns Pregnant Girlfriend Alive Because He Didn’t Want to Become a Father

National   |   Micaiah Bilger   |   Feb 22, 2016   |   7:50PM   |   Berlin, Germany

Sometimes the horrific act of abortion is coupled with equally horrific crimes against the mother.

In a gruesome new case in Germany, a man took matters into his own hands after deciding that he did not want to be a father. According to the Irish Mirror, Eren Toben, 20, recently was sentenced to 14 years in prison of burning his girlfriend and their unborn child to death last year on the outskirts of Berlin, Germany.

Toben’s 19-year-old girlfriend, Maria Peiner, was 8-months pregnant with their unborn child, and was excited about being a mother, the report states.

One day, Toben lured her away, claiming that they were going to buy baby clothes; instead, he took her into the woods where he and a friend staged an ambush, according to MRC TV. Toben and an accomplice, Daniel Mueller, hit Peiner in the head with a piece of wood, stabbed her with a bread knife and then poured gasoline on her and lit her on fire, according to the report. Authorities later found Peiner’s charred body and the bread knife with Toben’s fingerprints on it, the report states.

Judge Regina Alex said Peiner was still conscious when Toben lit her on fire – “it could have been 10, 20, 30 seconds – she was still moving.”

Whether Peiner’s unborn baby was also recognized as a victim of the violence is unclear.

In court, Alex had harsh words for Toben and Mueller.

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“For [Toben] the crime was a solution, he wanted a free, happy life which he had control over,” Alex said. “He abused Maria’s love for him to lure her into an ambush.”

In Mueller’s case, the judge added, “He acted for the sole purpose of taking pleasure in the destruction of another human being’s life.”

Both men were reportedly silent during the trial. Both were sentenced to 14 years in prison.

Deadly violence against pregnant women and their unborn babies is tragically common across the world. In 2015, LifeNews reported a Texas man was on trial for allegedly stabbing his pregnant girlfriend and their unborn twins to death after she refused to have an abortion. In 2014, an Ohio man was accused of killing his 8-month pregnant girlfriend and their unborn baby.

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