Dad killed his pregnant wife after learning their unborn baby's gender
A US dad fatally stabbed his pregnant wife and then tried to kill his two young daughters because he was angry he wasn't going to have a son, it has been claimed.
Drew Garnier, 33, admitted to repeatedly stabbing his five-months-pregnant wife, Samantha Garnier, 29, and their children, Izzie, 6, and Adelina, 9, in the bloodbath at the family's home in upstate New York on September 4 last year.
His wife and their unborn child both died in the attack, which was just weeks before the mum turned 30.
While the young girls are recovering from 'significant injuries,' the New York Post reports.
Now Samantha's grieving father, Gregory Vernagallo has claimed Garnier killed in anger as he was furious that his wife was pregnant again with a girl.
'He wanted a boy,' Mr Vernagallo told the court during a victim impact statement at sentencing.
Garnier pleaded guilty last month to first-degree manslaughter and two counts of first-degree assault — both class B violent felonies.
He was sentenced last week to 30 years in prison — with 15 years of post-release supervision — as part of the plea deal aimed at protecting the surviving daughters from the trauma of a trial.
'We were able to secure this conviction without forcing two young children to testify about the horrific things they witnessed,' District Attorney Shawn Smith said of the sentence being lighter than he wanted.
The killer dad has also been forbidden from seeing his daughters until 2056 — the maximum allowed — which only the girls can overrule if they eventually want contact.
'You took a life and injured your children. They had a right to expect protection from you,'
Judge John Hubbard told the dad of the decades-long no-contact order.
Samantha Garnier was due to give birth in February.
Her daughters are still recovering from their injuries — and have been adopted by their maternal grandfather.
'I am their father now,' Mr Vernagallo said at sentencing. 'I will protect them.'
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