Man killed his unborn child in 'harrowing' attack

Stefan Marin's actions have been described by police as "utterly inhumane"

A man killed his unborn baby in a "deeply disturbing, violent and harrowing attack".

Stefan Marin assaulted his then-girlfriend at his home in New George Street, Hull, on 13 March this year after drinking with friends to celebrate his 19th birthday.

Doctors directly attributed the death of the baby, which was at 29 weeks, to the attack.

Following a trial lasting nine days, Marin was found guilty of the rare charge of child destruction – the first conviction of its kind secured by Humberside Police and only the fourth nationally in the past decade, according to the force.

In a statement read out by police after the hearing, Marin's former girlfriend, a teenager, said the verdict meant her son's life "has been acknowledged".

"What happened to me was something no one should ever have to go through," she said.

"I was beaten for hours and suffered injuries that permanently changed my life, but the greatest pain of all was losing my baby boy."

The young woman thanked medical staff and prosecutors for supporting her "throughout this long journey".

The BBC secured permission from the judge, Mr Justice Goss, allowing the domestic violence aspect of the case to be reported.

'Repeated punches'

It took five hours and eight minutes for a jury comprising four men and eight women to find Marin guilty of child destruction, grievous bodily harm with intent, false imprisonment, intentional strangulation, perverting the course of justice and making a threat to kill – all charges that related to the same incident on 13 March.

During the trial, Marin's former girlfriend said she was subjected to repeated punches.

She told how she had attempted to protect her stomach, but Marin kept removing her hands.

Passers-by found her covered in blood in a street, the court heard. She was able to identify her attacker before she was taken to Hull Royal Infirmary, where an ultrasound failed to detect the baby's heartbeat.

She suffered a broken nose and significant injuries to her body.

A post-mortem examination on the baby showed he had developed "normally", the court heard.

A pathologist concluded the baby's death was a consequence of trauma to the mother, which he said was a direct consequence of the assault she suffered on 13 March.

Marin admitted to the court that he had hit the woman about eight times to the head and bitten her on her arm after he took her mobile phone and she tried to get it back from him.

He was found not guilty of three counts of common assault and making a threat to kill.

'Utterly inhumane'

Mr Justice Goss adjourned sentencing for pre-sentence and psychiatric reports.

Outside court, Det Ch Insp Jon Cross said: "This was a deeply disturbing, violent and harrowing attack on a vulnerable young girl, which resulted in the unfathomable loss of her child that was just weeks away from being born.

"Marin's actions were calculated and utterly inhumane."

Marin showed "no remorse" throughout the police investigation, he added.

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