Man in London found guilty of killing unborn baby by repeatedly kicking pregnant ex-girlfriend

Kevin Wilson and Ms Malorie Bantala had been in an on-off relationship since 2011. PHOTO: METROPOLITAN POLICE

LONDON - A 22-year-old teaching assistant has been convicted of killing his unborn baby by kicking and stamping on his heavily pregnant ex-girlfriend after she refused to have an abortion.

Kevin Wilson and his accomplice, a 17-year-old teenager, were found guilty of child destruction and causing grievous bodily harm to Ms Malorie Bantala on June 15, 2015, when she was eight months' pregnant, Guardian reported on Thursday (Dec 17).

Wilson and the teenager, wearing crash helmets to disguise their faces, hid in the bushes outside Ms Bantala's apartment in Peckham, London, and attacked her as she was returning home after buying decorations for her baby shower.

The pair repeatedly kicked and stamped Ms Bantala's bump, as she laid on the ground trying to protect her unborn child with one hand.

Ms Bantala, 22, knew that one of the men was Wilson.

"I remember looking at him and then something clicked in my mind... He turned round and we made brief eye contact," she said.

"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," she recounted.

"By then, I had screamed 'Kevin' for him to stop but he continued to kick my stomach. They were harsh kicks."

Wilson and the teenager made off on a Vespa scooter .

Ms Bantala suffered life-threatening internal bleeding and the baby boy was delivered stillborn. She broke two fingers during the attack.

Ms Bantala and Wilson had been in an on-off relationship since 2011. Their baby was conceived when Ms Bantala turned to him for comfort after the death of her five-year-old nephew.

She decided to keep the baby, even though Wilson persuaded her to have an abortion because he was not ready for fatherhood.

In court, Wilson apologised for his behaviour saying: "When I look back on it now, I could have behaved much better."

When the verdict was announced, Ms Bantala screamed at him: "I'm going kill you. You don't understand. I hate you. Drop dead."

In Ms Bantala's impact statement read to court, she said the "real victim" was her son Joel.

She wrote: "Joel never got to meet me properly, never know how much I love him."

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