The two 20-year-olds have each been handed a 14-year sentence for their crimes, as both planned and executed the horrific crime against the 19-year-old Maria and her unborn child.

Prosecutors had demanded the maximum 15-year sentence from the youth court.

Speaking of the father of the unborn child, judge Regina Alex said, “for him the crime was a solution, he wanted a free, happy life which he had control over.”

He abused Maria’s love for him to lure her into an ambush, the judge said.

The second convicted man was a former classmate of the father-to-be and had several previous convictions.

He acted “for the sole purpose of taking pleasure in the destruction of another human being’s life,” the judge said.

Speaking after the trial, Maria’s brother said “I hope that our family can finally have some peace.”

Maria was eight months pregnant and was looking forward to becoming a mother, broadcaster N24 reports.

But, according to the judge, the father of the unborn child lured her into a forest on the outskirts of the capital on January 22nd 2015, after saying he wanted to go shopping for baby clothes.

First he injured her with a bread knife then poured gasoline over her and set her alight, Judge Alex said.

“She was still conscious, it could have been 10, 20, 30 seconds .- she was still moving,” the judge added.

Hours after the crime the two men accused one another of responsibility. Both stayed silent during the trial.