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Man jailed for life for killing unborn son in attack on ex-girlfriend Man jailed for life for killing unborn son in attack on ex-girlfriend
(about 3 hours later)
The man who attacked his heavily pregnant ex-girlfriend in Peckham, killing his unborn son by stamping on her stomach, has been sentenced to life in prison. The teaching assistant who brutally attacked his heavily pregnant ex-girlfriend in Peckham, killing his unborn son by repeatedly stamping on her stomach, has been jailed for life.
Kevin Wilson, who was masked when he brutally assaulted his former partner in south-east London last year, must serve at least 16 years. His 17-year-old accomplice was sentenced to 10 years in detention with a further four years on extended licence. Kevin Wilson, 21, pounced on his former partner outside her home in south London on 15 June last year after she refused to have an abortion. In a vicious assault, he repeatedly stamped on and kicked her stomach after pushing her to the ground.
Teaching assistant Wilson, 22, and Taffari Grant were found guilty of child destruction and causing grievous bodily harm to Malorie Bantala on 15 June last year. Sentencing, Judge Mark Lucraft QC told them it was “a cowardly, vile, callous attack”. Malorie Bantala, a Marks & Spencer employee, had been buying decorations for her baby shower and was returning home when Wilson and a 17-year-old accomplice emerged from bushes disguised in crash helmets.
The Old Bailey had heard how Wilson took matters into his own hands after Bantala refused to have an abortion and recruited Grant to help. Judge Mark Lucraft QC sentenced him to life and ordered him to serve 16 years, saying this was a “rare case” where a life sentence was necessary. His accomplice, Tafari Grant, was sentenced to 10 years in custody with a further four on licence.
The pair were sentenced on Thursday, with their distraught victim looking on in court. “This was a cowardly, vile and callous attack,” the judge told them. “The assault was premeditated and involved planning, it was sustained and involved repeated kicks and stamps to the midriff.
Jonathan Rees QC, prosecuting, reminded the court of the devastating impact on Bantala, who described her unborn son Joel as the real victim. “There were two victims of the attack, a young pregnant woman and her unborn child. You, Wilson, were the father of the unborn child and as such had a responsibility to ensure the continued wellbeing of mother and baby.”
Bantala, who still bears the scars of the attack, said in a statement: “The moment Joel died inside me I lost everything, literally. Life as I knew it no longer made sense.” During the trial the jury heard how family and neighbours had rushed to help Bantala as she lay curled up in the street with life-threatening injuries, unable to feel her baby moving inside her. When emergency services arrived, she told police her unborn child’s father was responsible, saying: “He doesn’t want the baby.”
Rees told of the psychological damage and how, until Bantala became pregnant again, she would live with uncertainty, despite her womb being saved. After the attack Bantala was rushed to King’s College hospital but her unborn baby boy could not be saved and was stillborn by emergency C-section.
Of her ex-lover who turned on her with such brutality, Bantala said: “It was all about him and having the life he wanted.” She needed life-saving surgery to control catastrophic bleeding from a major artery and suffered fractures to her right hand as she tried to shield her stomach from her attackers.
The trial had heard that on the day of the assault, the eight-months-pregnant Marks & Spencer worker had been buying decorations for her baby shower, returning home to Peckham at about 8pm. Bantala and Wilson met in the summer of 2011, before their first term at Bedfordshire University in Luton. They embarked on a relationship but it fizzled out in the middle of their first year, although they remained friendly.
As she approached her flat, Wilson and Grant emerged from nearby bushes where they had lain in wait disguised in crash helmets. They launched a vicious attack, kicking and stamping on Bantala’s stomach as she lay curled up on the ground, desperately trying to protect her unborn child with one hand. They got back together in summer 2014 during a trip to Ibiza to celebrate the end of university and the baby was conceived in November that year.
Giving evidence, Bantala, 22, told jurors: “I remember looking at him and then something clicked in my mind and I said ‘Oh shit, it’s Kevin’. He turned round and we made brief eye contact. The following month, she phoned Wilson to say she was pregnant and he reacted by saying he was not ready to be a father.
“I didn’t have time to think anything because by the time I knew it, I was on the floor. Kevin proceeded to kick my stomach, probably three or four times and then he stamped on my stomach twice. By then I had screamed ‘Kevin’ for him to stop, but he continued to kick my stomach. They were harsh kicks.” When she told him she had decided to keep the baby, he cut her off but rang back to ask: “Why are you doing this to me?” He threatened to commit suicide if she went ahead with the pregnancy.
The attackers were caught on CCTV fleeing on Grant’s scooter, running a red light in their haste to get back to the estate where Wilson lived in Bermondsey. Bantala, who was in court to witness the sentencing, said in a victim impact statement she hated being referred to as the victim, as the real victim was her son Joel.
Family and neighbours ran to Bantala’s aid but her baby was already dead. Bantala immediately told police her child’s father was responsible, saying: “He doesn’t want the baby.” 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.
She was driven by police to King’s College hospital where she was treated for life-threatening internal bleeding. As well as losing six litres of blood, she had broken two fingers in the hand she had used to try to shield her child. “These are only some of the things that I envisioned in my life with Joel, and that was taken away from me in a split second. The moment Joel died inside me I lost everything literally. Life as I knew it no longer made sense.”
The court heard how 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 also recounted the trauma of her baby’s funeral: “The thought of burying him was unbearable and when I had to do it that was the worst day of my life.”
Bantala decided to keep the baby, despite Wilson’s repeated attempts to persuade her to have an abortion because he was not ready for fatherhood. A postmortem examination of the foetus found that if it had not been for the assault, there was no reason why he would not have been born alive. A DNA test confirmed Wilson was the father.
Wilson apologised for his behaviour as he told jurors: “When I look back on it now, I could have behaved much better.” At the time of the attack, Bantala, then 21, lived with her mother and sister in Peckham, while Wilson lived with his mother, stepfather and brothers on the Longfield estate in Bermondsey.
Wilson was arrested the day after the assault while his accomplice was picked up weeks later. Both defendants denied they were at the scene of the attack, although Grant declined to give evidence. Det Ch Insp Rob Pack, of the homicide and major crime command, described the case as “truly shocking”. “Shocking that a man would plan and carry out such a violent and abhorrent attack with the sole intention of destroying the life he had helped create. Also, shocking that any person would help him in committing this crime,” he said.
“Selfish and manipulative” Wilson had carefully planned the attack, he said.
“Just as he had manipulated others he similarly sought to thwart the police investigation by laying a false trail to evade justice. It’s clear that the jury saw through Wilson’s account.”