Zak Hughes, 29, has been convicted of murdering his heavily pregnant former partner Sarah Montgomery, 27, at her flat in Donaghadee, Co Down, last year. The attack, which prosecutors described as one of the "worst cases of domestic violence in recent times", lasted 19 minutes and involved a water bottle Ms Montgomery had purchased for Hughes as a Father's Day gift from their two children.
Attack triggered by lies about fiancée's pregnancy
Belfast Crown Court heard that Hughes launched the attack after Ms Montgomery challenged him about lies he had told regarding his fiancée's pregnancy. An audio recording on her phone captured her screams during the assault.
A post-mortem examination found at least 59 applications of blunt trauma, confirming she died following a "sustained blunt force trauma attack". Ms Montgomery was 32 weeks pregnant with a son she had named Liam Arthur, due in August.
Hughes's actions after the murder
After the attack, Hughes took Ms Montgomery's mobile telephone, secured the door, and left to collect their other child from a local primary school before travelling to Belfast. He made multiple stops, including visiting Primark in Newtownards to purchase a fresh outfit, disposing of her phone and keys in one spot and his blood-stained garments and water bottle at another.
Hughes sent two text messages to Ms Montgomery and later attended a baby shower for his fiancée. Her grandfather discovered her body the following day.
Guilty plea and sentencing
Hughes, of Ardglen Place in the Ardoyne area of north Belfast, pleaded guilty earlier this year to murder and child destruction. Madam Justice McBride indicated that life imprisonment was the only available sentence. She stated she would take time to consider submissions before determining a tariff, with a review hearing scheduled for the following Friday.
