Arizona – A Arizona man was sentenced this week to ten years in prison after a County Superior Court judge found him guilty of atempted second-degree murder for the vioIent assauIt of his expectant spouse. Prosecutors also secured a separate sentence of seven years of supervised probation on a related kidnapping charge, with the probation term to begin after his release from prison. TheCounty Attorney’s Office announced the sentencing as part of the conclusion of a case that drew attention for the severity of the attack and its consequences.

The charges stemmed from an incident in Oct. last year, when Arizona authorities were called to a home just outside the city limits. The victim, who had recently learned she was approximately nine weeks pregnant, told Arizona authorities that she and the defendant, 43-year-old J. Necker, were expecting the child and had been looking forward to the pregnancy. According to law enforcement and court documents, the couple got into an argument several days after learning about the pregnancy.

During that confrontation, the woman told police she and the defendant began to fight, and he became angry. She said he told her he would give her an abo rtion and physically restrained her. The victim said the defendant then repeatedly stomped on her beIIy in a vioIent attack that led her to seek immediate medical treatment. She was transported to a hospital, but the unborn baby did not survive. Medical professionals later reviewed her records but were unable to determine conclusively whether the baby had died before the assault or as a result of the injuries sustained during the incident.

Investigators from the local police department and the Sheriff’s Office treated the case as a serious criminal assault due to the nature of the injuries and the victim’s account. Arizona law treats the unlawful killing of an unborn child at any stage of development as equivalent to the killing of a young child, and that legal standard formed the basis for the attempted second-degree murder charge against the defendant. Prosecutors argued that the man’s expressed belief that the baby was alive and his deliberate actions in assaulting the victim supported the elements of attempted murder under state statutes.

As part of the investigative process, law enforcement officers interviewed the victim at the scene and later obtained a detailed account of the events leading up to the assault. The victim’s statements were key pieces of evidence in the case, detailing her interaction with him before, during and after the attack. Detectives also gathered physical evidence from the residence and patterns in medical treatment to build a comprehensive picture of what occurred that day.

Throughout the investigation, Arizona authorities noted that decisions about charging and prosecution were guided by Arizona’s legal protections for unborn children. Officials emphasized that the law provides for serious consequences when an unborn child is believed to have been alive at the time of an assault, and prosecutors urged state lawmakers to consider further strengthening penalties for similar offenses. Statements from the county attorney reflected concern over the violent nature of the incident and a desire for deterrent measures against such severe domestic violence cases.