A man who killed his unborn baby in an “extremely despicable” attack has been jailed after being found guilty of a rare crime of child destruction.
In March 2025, Stefan Marin attacked his then partner at their home in New George Street, Hull, after drinking with friends to celebrate his 19th birthday.
Following a trial at Hull Crown Court in October, he was handed an extended sentence of 20 years on Friday after a pathologist told the court the baby’s death was caused by an assault.
In a tearful statement to the court, the victim told Marin: “You took an innocent life and not only that, but your own flesh and blood. He didn’t deserve to be treated like this and I didn’t deserve to be treated like this.”
Malin was found guilty of killing a child after a nine-day trial, the first such conviction by Humberside police and the fourth nationally in the past decade, according to police.
He was also found guilty of intentional grievous bodily harm, false imprisonment, intentional strangulation and perverting the course of justice in connection with the incident.
Judge Goss sentenced Marin to an extended sentence of 20 years, with 16 years in prison and four years on license, as he was considered a “dangerous” offender.
covered in blood
During the trial, Marin’s ex-girlfriend said she was punched and kicked multiple times and tried to protect her abdomen, but Marin kept removing her hands.
Passers-by found her in the street covered in blood, the court heard. She identified her attacker before being taken to Hull Royal Infirmary, but an ultrasound failed to detect the baby’s heartbeat.
In handing down the sentence, Goss said the crimes were “not serious enough to warrant a life sentence.”
Mitigating factors included Marin’s age, the fact that he was an “isolated individual” and that he was considered a “victim of modern slavery” as a child.
A destruction order was made for the cannabis seized from Marin and a restraining order was made banning him from contacting his ex-partner.
“Innocent Life”
Marin’s ex-girlfriend read out a powerful victim impact statement, saying she was left with scars as a “constant reminder” of the attack.
She said: “Not only did you hit me so hard, you hit me so hard that I couldn’t believe I was still alive.”
She told the court she now has memory problems, her eardrum is still perforated and she may need surgery to reposition her jaw.
“I can recover from the bruises and the abuse, but I will never recover from what you did to my son,” she said.
“I tried very hard to protect him that night.”
The judge allowed the BBC to report on the domestic violence aspect of the case.
“No regrets”
Edmund Hall, a senior prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service, said such an “absolutely despicable” crime of killing a child was “extremely rare”.
Hall added that targeting a “vulnerable” teenager and her unborn baby was “the lowest level”.
He added that Marin had “no remorse” and “absolutely no empathy” throughout the case.
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