Husband stabs pregnant wife in front of two children, pleads guilty

“He stabs her so many times. He stabs her in the chest and the stomach, knowing she was carrying his baby.”

The Minneapolis man who brutally and mercilessly stabbed his pregnant wife last year in front of his children pleaded guilty to murder on Thursday.

FOX 9 reports that Yevgeniy “Eugene” Savenok, of  Eden Prairie, Minnesota, walked into his home on May 17, 2016, and fatally stabbed his “visibly pregnant” wife, Lyuba Savenok, 23. Shortly before attacking her, Savenok took his two children from the home and put them in his SUV. After authorities found Lyuba’s lifeless body, they rushed her to the hospital after noticing she was in the later stages of pregnancy. Doctors tried to save the unborn baby, a boy, via emergency cesarean section, but he didn’t make it.

After the stabbing, Savenok drove away with the children, and eventually dropped both kids off at a family member’s house. He later turned himself in. In a police statement, Savenok admitted to stabbing Lyuba “at least seven times in her torso and upper chest.”

A handful of members from the Eden Prairie Police Department showed up  at Savenok’s court hearing on Thursday. Many of them still remember the outcome of the brutal murder in vivid detail. Lyuba’s brother was also at the court hearing, and was given an opportunity to speak to the judge directly.

“I’ve been to every one of Eugene’s hearings and today was especially difficult.  It was difficult to hear him say that he intended to kill my sister.  It was difficult to hear that he understands that he killed his son Ellis as well.  I was holding my own son who is only 1 month older than Ellis would be now.  We miss Lyuba very much and my wife and I wish that Ellis survived as we would have loved to adopt him as well.”

Lyuba’s brother also said he was “disappointed in the state of Minnesota” because it didn’t allow Savenok, and other murderers, to be shot to death. He ended by saying he held the prosecutors in the “highest regard” on a job well done in prosecuting Savenok.

Savenok pleaded guilty to two felony counts of second-degree murder. He’ll serve around 65 years in prison.

Meanwhile, family members set up a GoFundMe fundraiser for Lyuba’s two children. The campaign has already raised more than $80,000, with the hopes of reaching a $100,000 goal.

[Feature Photo: GoFundMe]