Zak Hughes pleaded guilty to murdering pregnant Sarah Montgomery and to child destruction. A post-mortem found at least 59 instances of blunt-force trauma; prosecutors said the attack lasted 19 minutes. The judge did not set a tariff and scheduled a review next week.
Montgomery confronted Hughes about his fiancée’s pregnancy when he came to collect one of their daughters, the court heard. Audio on Montgomery’s phone recorded the exchange; its final 24 seconds captured her screaming. Prosecutors said Hughes later changed clothes and disposed of evidence, including a dented, blood-stained water bottle given to him as a Father’s Day gift and a wooden brush shaft, which police believe were murder weapons.
The prosecution described Hughes’s attack as “cold blooded, sustained and murderous.” The defence called it a horrific case that caused a high level of harm, but argued it involved less planning and premeditation than some other cases.
