A 22-year-old man convicted of killing his 14-year-old girlfriend and dumping her body in Gerritsen Beach was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Jan. 7.
Authorities say Christian Ferdinand of Maine — who was convicted of second-degree murder in December — suffocated Shaniesha Forbes with a pillow in January of 2013. Ferdinand then tried burning Forbes’ body before dumping her remains in Gerritsen Beach.
Ferdinand killed Forbes in an argument over whether she should get an abortion, when in fact she wasn’t even pregnant, according to the district attorney, who said the punishment fits the crime.
“This defendant callously and heartlessly killed this young teenager who had her whole life ahead of her, simply because he thought she was pregnant,” said District Attorney Ken Thompson. “He showed her no mercy and now must suffer the consequences of his actions.”
Forbes was at Ferdinand’s cousin’s house when the couple, who met on Facebook, began arguing about the alleged pregnancy, said Thompson. Ferdinand reportedly said, “Kill it,” before he suffocated his teenage girlfriend — but the medical examiner later found that Forbes was not pregnant.
Ferdinand was arrested for the murder in Maine in May of 2013 and convicted Dec. 2 last year.
