A Fort Lauderdale man is facing charges after authorities said he beat the pregnant mother of his unborn child with a baseball bat, killing the unborn child.
Emmanuel Prevaly, 34, was arrested last week and faces charges including attempted murder and killing an unborn child by injury to the mother, records showed.
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Broward Sheriff's Office officials said deputies had responded to the 1200 block of South Dixie Highway West around 12:40 a.m. on Feb. 23 for a report of a masked man beating a pregnant woman with a baseball bat.
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Witnesses had heard the woman's screams and ran to help as the attacker fled, but one witness caught up to him and restrained him until deputies arrived, officials said.
When the deputies arrived they took the attacker, Prevaly, into custody, officials said.
Fire rescue took the woman, who was 22 weeks pregnant, to a local hospital for treatment.
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Doctors were later unable to detect a heartbeat on the unborn child, and the unborn child was pronounced deceased.
The medical examiner determined the unborn child’s cause of death to be from multiple blunt force injuries.
According to an arrest report, the woman said she was walking to her apartment complex when a man in a ski mask approached and attacked her, beating her with a baseball bat and kicking her repeatedly in the stomach.
She said she pleaded with the attacker, telling him "stop! please! I'm pregnant!" the report said.
When the victim tried to use her cellphone to call for help, the phone fell to the ground, and the attacker took it.
As the witness stopped Prevaly, his mask came off and he pleaded to be let go, the report said.
"You don't understand, I know her. Let me go, I'll pay you man," he said, according to the report.
The victim was told at the hospital that the man who attacked her was Prevaly, and was in "complete shock," the report said.
She said she had known Prevaly since she was 8 and said they began to date when he was released from prison in 2020, the report said.
She said she told Prevaly she was pregnant with his child when she was seven weeks pregnant but she said he didn't welcome the news and told her he wasn't ready, the report said.
Despite that, Prevaly had accompanied her to her 21-week pregnancy check-up just a week before the attack, the report said.
But the day before the attack, the victim said Prevaly called her and was ranting about having to pay child support, the report said.
When he was questioned by detectives, Prevaly denied beating the victim, the report said.
Prevaly was booked into jail, where he was being held without bond. Attorney information wasn't available.
