A father-to-be killed his heavily pregnant girlfriend by burning her alive because he could not cope with the thought of becoming a parent, a German court heard.

Eren Toben, 20, lured his 19-year-old girlfriend Maria Peiner, who was eight months pregnant, into a wooded area in Berlin, Germany, before stabbing her with a bread knife and setting her alight.

The court heard he wanted a 'free, happy life' and brutally murdered his partner and their unborn baby so he could avoid fatherhood.

He has now been jailed for 14 years, alongside his accomplice, Daniel Mueller, 20, who helped carry out the horrific murder.

The court heard how the two men lured Miss Peiner into woods on the outskirts of Berlin to kill her.

Jud Regina Alex said Toben hatched the plot, adding: '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.'

Maria was eight months pregnant and looking forward to becoming a mother at the time, the court heard.

But in January last year, Toben lied to her that they were going shopping for baby clothes and instead drove her to a wooded area.

Once in a secluded spot, he hit her with a piece of wood, stabbed her with a bread knife and poured petrol over her before setting her alight.

'She was still conscious, it could have been 10, 20, 30 seconds - she was still moving,' the judge said.

Her body was found by a walker the next day and Toben and Mueller were arrested.

Once in custody, they began blaming each other for the killing, although Toben's fingerprints were on the handle of the knife found near her charred remains.

Both remained silent during the trial. 

Sentencing Mueller, the judge said: 'He acted for the sole purpose of taking pleasure in the destruction of another human being's life.'

Speaking after the trial, Miss Peiner's brother said: 'I hope that our family can finally have some peace.'