Eren Toben, 20, burned his heavily pregnant girlfriend because he didn’t want to become a father

A man was so desperate not to become a father, he burned his heavily pregnant teenager lover alive, leaving her body in the woods.

Eren Toben, 20, lured girlfriend Maria Peiner, 19, into a wood on the outskirts of Berlin with the help of old schoolfriend Daniel Mueller.

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After pretending they were going shopping for baby clothes, the pair captured the girl, attacked her with a piece of wood, stabbed her with a bread knife and then poured petrol over her before setting her alight.


Toben and his accomplice were jailed for 14 years for the horrific crime.

Maria Peiner had been eight months pregnant and was looking forward to becoming a mother

Sentencing him, Judge Regina Alex said: ‘For him the crime was a solution, he wanted a free, happy life which he had control over.



‘He abused Maria’s love for him to lure her into an ambush.’

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Maria was eight months pregnant and was looking forward to becoming a mother, the court heard.

But in January last year, Toben became nervous about the prospect of becoming a dad and hatched the plot to kill her.

The pair lured Maria to a wood on the outskirts of Berlin, Germany (File picture: Alamy)

The judge said: ‘She was still conscious, it could have been 10, 20, 30 seconds – she was still moving.’

Maria’s body was found by a walker the next day and the pair were soon arrested.

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Toben’s fingerprints were discovered on the handle of the knife found near her remains.

Speaking after the trial, Maria’s brother said: ‘I hope that our family can finally have some peace.’

Both men were jailed for 14 years.