Man jailed for 20 years over pregnant mother's murder
A man who beat to death the pregnant mother of his two children has been jailed for a minimum of 20 years for what the judge described as a "brutal attack on a completely defenceless, heavily pregnant mother".
Zak Hughes has been sentenced to a minimum of 20 years in prison for the brutal murder of Sarah Montgomery, who was 32 weeks pregnant with their second child Liam Arthur. The judge described the attack as a brutal, heinous act, and Hughes pleaded guilty to both the murder of Ms Montgomery and a charge of child destruction relating to her unborn baby.
The court heard that the attack lasted 19 minutes and involved at least 59 instances of blunt force trauma. Hughes used a water bottle, which he had given to Ms Montgomery as a Father's Day gift, as a weapon. The mother of two had recorded the attack on her mobile phone, and Hughes took her phone, locked the door, and left the home.
He later picked up their other child from school and attended his fiancé's baby shower. Ms Montgomery's body was discovered by her grandfather the following day, covered in blood in her home. Hughes, a personal trainer, and Ms Montgomery, a beautician, had a relationship that had faltered following the birth of their first child.
Written by urgent.news from RTE News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
