His girlfriend kicked him out. He beat her unborn child to death, Alabama police say

An Alabama man is accused of beating his ex-girlfriend so badly after she attempted to end their relationship in 2016 that her unborn child was killed, police told the Hoover Sun.

Now, in the midst of his murder trial, Christopher Kemp told the court he “panicked,” blacked out during the alleged assault and never intended to hurt anyone, AL.com reported.

Police say they were originally called to a residence in Sterrett, Ala., on March 15, 2016, where they found the then-28-year-old female victim suffering from serious injuries, according to the Shelby County Reporter.

She was seven months pregnant, and the baby did not survive, the paper reported.

The victim identified the attacker as her ex-boyfriend Christopher Kemp, and a request was released to the community to be on the lookout for him, the Hoover Sun reported. He was taken into custody without incident early the next morning.

“This is one of the most disgusting and horrific cases that we’ve worked in quite a while,” Capt. Gregg Rector told the Hoover Sun at the time. “This evil individual once had a relationship with the victim and was very much aware that she was pregnant.”

He was charged with capital murder and first-degree domestic violence, according to court records.

“Alabama law does have a provision that allows for a suspect to be charged with murder if an assault leads to the death of an unborn baby and we certainly believe this is going to be a fit for that crime,” Rector told WVTM.

At trial in July 2018, officials and prosecutors described a troubled relationship that turned violent, AL.com reported, describing how the ex-girlfriend had become frightened when Kemp allegedly fired an AK-47 outside their home to celebrate the new year, before eventually kicking him out of the home.

“The victim had clearly ended the relationship with the suspect and was attempting to move on with her life,” Rector told the Hoover Sun.

Rector told WVTM the ex-girlfriend filed a police report against Kemp two days before the alleged attack, saying Kemp “obviously had some issues with moving on and getting past this relationship.”

The court heard that Kemp allegedly wrote “I didn’t want to hurt her, just the baby,” in a Facebook message, Al.com reported. Later, Kemp argued that he meant to type “or,” as in “I didn’t want to hurt her or the baby,” according to the site.

Kemp testified that he blacked out during the alleged attack and came to find himself on top of his ex-girlfriend strangling and punching her, according to the site. Kemp’s defense attorney said Kemp had been “popping Xanax like candy,” and so was under the influence of drugs at the time, AL.com reported.

The jury began deliberations Friday.