Kevin Wilson jailed for killing unborn child Published duration 11 February 2016

image copyright Metropolitan Police image caption Teaching assistant Kevin Wilson must spend at least 16 years in prison

A man who killed his ex-girlfriend's unborn child during an attack in south-east London has been jailed for life.

Kevin Wilson, 22, kicked and stamped on Malorie Bantala's stomach when she was eight months pregnant with his son after she refused to have an abortion.

He was found guilty of child destruction and GBH on 17 December.

Wilson will serve at least 16 years in prison. His accomplice, Taffari Grant, 17, was given a 10-year custodial sentence, plus four years on licence.

Miss Batala, 22, who suffered life-threatening injuries when she was attacked in Peckham on 15 June, was in court to see them sentenced.

Judge Mark Lucraft described it as "a cowardly, vile, callous attack".

Crash helmets

The Old Bailey had heard Wilson, a teaching assistant, recruited Grant to help him attack Miss Bantala.

On the day of the assault, she had been buying decorations for her baby shower, returning home at about 20:00 BST.

As she approached her flat, Wilson and Grant emerged from some bushes where they had lain in wait disguised in crash helmets.

image copyright Anthony Devlin/PA image caption Malorie Bantala lost six pints of blood in the attack

They launched a vicious attack, kicking and stamping on Miss Bantala's stomach as she lay curled up on the ground, trying to protect her unborn child with one hand.

The pair fled on a scooter. Family and neighbours ran to her aid but her baby was stillborn later in hospital.

Miss Bantala lost six pints of blood and was also left with two broken fingers in the hand she had used to try to shield her baby, whom she had named Joel.

"The moment Joel died inside me I lost everything, literally. Life as I knew it no longer made sense," she said in a statement.

'Could have behaved better'

She and Wilson met when they were both students at the University of Luton in Bedfordshire.

Wilson maintained his innocence despite the verdict but told jurors: "When I look back on it now, I could have behaved much better."

By the time of the attack, he said he had "moved on" with another girlfriend and got her pregnant too, although she had had an abortion.

Wilson was arrested the day after the assault, while Grant was picked up weeks later. Both denied they were at the scene of the attack, although Grant declined to give evidence.

The jury was not told Grant had himself become a father in August and was said by his lawyer to be "very involved" with the child.