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| Man guilty of killing unborn baby by kicking mum's stomach | Man guilty of killing unborn baby by kicking mum's stomach |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A man has been found guilty of killing his unborn baby by stamping on the stomach of his pregnant ex-girlfriend. | A man has been found guilty of killing his unborn baby by stamping on the stomach of his pregnant ex-girlfriend. |
| Malorie Bantala, 22, was ambushed outside her Peckham home by Kevin Wilson, 22, and a teenager on 15 June. | |
| She suffered life-threatening internal bleeding and a fractured hand. The baby boy was delivered stillborn. | She suffered life-threatening internal bleeding and a fractured hand. The baby boy was delivered stillborn. |
| Wilson of Longfield Estate, Bermondsey, and his 17-year-old accomplice were both convicted of child destruction and causing grievous bodily harm. | |
| Their actions were described as "incomprehensibly evil" by Malcolm McHaffie of the Crown Prosecution Service. | |
| Miss Bantala, who was 32 weeks pregnant, had been buying decorations for her baby shower before the attack. | Miss Bantala, who was 32 weeks pregnant, had been buying decorations for her baby shower before the attack. |
| As she approached, Wilson - a teaching assistant - and his accomplice emerged from the bushes outside her flat, where they had been lying in wait with their faces hidden in crash helmets. | |
| Jurors were told they launched a brutal attack, targeting Miss Bantala's bump as she lay curled up on the ground, trying to protect her unborn child with one hand. | Jurors were told they launched a brutal attack, targeting Miss Bantala's bump as she lay curled up on the ground, trying to protect her unborn child with one hand. |
| Malorie Bantala's impact statement read to court | |
| Miss Bantala said the "real victim" was her son Joel. She wrote: | |
| "Joel never got to meet me properly, never know how much I love him. | |
| "I will never get to see him smile, watch him get his first tooth or to take his first steps. I will never get to watch him at university or see him graduate. | |
| "I will never get to be the mother of the groom. I love my son so much words cannot describe it. The moment Joel was taken from me I lost everything." | |
| Miss Bantala, a Marks & Spencer worker, told the Old Bailey: "I had screamed 'Kevin' for him to stop but he continued to kick my stomach. They were harsh kicks." | |
| Afterwards, they made off on the youth's Vespa scooter, which was never found. | Afterwards, they made off on the youth's Vespa scooter, which was never found. |
| When the verdict was returned, Miss Bantala jumped from the well of the court and screamed at Wilson: "I'm going to kill you. You don't understand. I hate you. Drop dead." | |
| She then ran from the court in tears. | |
| Jurors had heard how Miss Bantala had been in an on-off relationship with Wilson and had turned to him for comfort after the death of a nephew from sickle-cell anaemia. | |
| She decided to keep the baby, despite Wilson's repeated attempts to persuade her to have an abortion because he was not ready for fatherhood. | |
| Wilson apologised for his behaviour as he told jurors: "When I look back on it now, I could have behaved much better." | |
| Judge Mark Lucraft QC adjourned sentencing to a date to be fixed in February. | |
| The maximum sentence for the offence of child destruction is life. |