No charges in the killing of preborn baby in Connecticut

A Norwich, Connecticut, man who has admitted to stabbing his pregnant wife and setting their apartment on fire will not face charges in the death of their preborn baby girl.

According to NBC Connecticut, Patrick Antoine, 39, told police on June 2, 2016, that he had killed his wife, 37-year-old Margarette Mady, because he believed she was a Voodoo priestess who had been casting spells on him. He did not believe that she was pregnant with his child.

The couple had an argument on Thursday morning and Antoine followed Mady out of the kitchen with a steak knife. He told police that after his wife pushed him, he stabbed her in the head, face, and feet repeatedly. He then used a lighter to set fire to the living room curtains.

Antoine turned himself over to police at 10:49 a.m. Thursday morning and shortly after that, firefighters found Mady, who was 8 months pregnant, with several stab wounds and burns. She was pronounced dead at 11:10 a.m.

Antoine appeared in court of Friday on charges of murder and first-degree arson. No charges were filed in the death of the couple’s baby because according to Connecticut state law, a preborn child is not a person.

The couple has two other children who were not home at the time of the murders.