Germany: Man burnt pregnant teen girlfriend alive 'because he didn't want to be a father'

A man burned alive his heavily pregnant teenage lover because he didn't want to be a father. Eren Toben and his school friend Daniel Mueller, 20, lured Maria Peiner, 19, into the woods on the outskirts of Berlin to kill her. Maria was eight months pregnant and looking forward to becoming a mother, the court heard.

The murder in Germany last year was planned by Toben and Mueller who lied to her, telling her that they were going to go shopping for baby clothes. Once in the woods he hit her with a piece of wood, stabbed her with a bread knife and then poured petrol over her and set her alight.

The body was found by a walker the next day. Toben's fingerprints were on the handle of the knife found near her charred remains.

The pair blamed each other for the murder. During the subsequent trial, Judge Regina Alex said: "She was still conscious, it could have been 10, 20, 30 seconds - she was still moving. 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."

Of his accomplice, the judge said: "He acted for the sole purpose of taking pleasure in the destruction of another human being's life." The killer and his accomplice friend were each jailed for 14 years for the callous murder, the Mirror reports. Both remained silent during the trial as their sentences were passed. Speaking after the trial, Maria's brother said: "I hope that our family can finally have some peace."