A Belfast man who beat his heavily pregnant partner to death in a sustained attack in her own home must serve at least 20 years in prison.

Zak Hughes, 29, of Ardglen Place in the Ardoyne area of north Belfast, was given a life sentence after pleading guilty in June to the murder of Sarah Montgomery, 27, and to child destruction over the death of her unborn son. On Friday, 6 November 2026, Madam Justice McBride set the minimum term at Belfast Crown Court.

Ms Montgomery, a mother of two young daughters, was 32 weeks pregnant when she was killed in her flat in Elmfield Walk, Donaghadee, County Down, on Friday, 27 June 2025. Her unborn son, whom the family had named Liam Arthur, also died.

A nineteen-minute attack

The court heard that Hughes, the father of Ms Montgomery's two daughters and her unborn child, arrived at the flat to collect one of their children for the weekend. After Ms Montgomery confronted him about his lies and deception, he launched an attack that lasted about 19 minutes.

A post-mortem examination found at least 59 applications of blunt trauma. The judge told Hughes: "You are guilty of the brutal, completely unjustified murder of a defenceless, heavily pregnant mother."

One of their young children was sitting in a car nearby while the attack took place inside the flat. Hughes was arrested on 28 June 2025 at a relative's address in Ballyhalbert, where injuries to his right hand were noted. He initially denied involvement before later admitting what he had done.

Femicide is a real issue

Passing sentence, Madam Justice McBride said Ms Montgomery's children would have to live with the devastating impact of losing their mother, knowing she was murdered by their own father.

The court also heard comparisons with the murder of Natalie McNally, a pregnant woman killed by her partner in County Armagh in 2022, and the judge observed that femicide is a real issue in Northern Ireland.

Detective Sergeant Jennifer Stevenson, of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, said: "Sarah Montgomery was a loving mother of two young children and was 32 weeks pregnant with her third child when she was murdered in her Donaghadee home on Friday 27 June in 2025. Today, Zak Hughes has been held accountable, and will now face the consequences of his actions."

Members of Ms Montgomery's family, including her grandfather Arthur Arbuckle, were in court as the sentence was passed. Hughes, wearing a white T-shirt and black glasses, showed no emotion in the dock.

He will have to serve every day of the 20-year minimum term before he can be considered for release by the Parole Commissioners. He received a concurrent 20-year term for child destruction.

[Source: Q Radio](https://www.qradio.com/news/q-radio-local-news/man-jailed-for-20-years-for-murder-of-heavily-pregnant-mother-of-two/) | [Source: Farming Life](https://www.farminglife.com/news/courts/sarah-montgomery-zak-hughes-sentenced-over-callous-and-deceitful-murder-of-pregnant-mother-of-two-9334754)