A Maryland man convicted of murdering his pregnant girlfriend, their unborn child and a convenience store clerk likely will spend the rest of his life in prison.

It’s the first time someone in Montgomery County has been convicted of killing a viable fetus.

The disturbing case began with a violent killing of a 61-year-old employee at a Maryland convenience store in December 2022. Ayalew Wondimu died after Moore shot him several times, police said.

Torrey Moore, now 34 but 31 at the time of the crime, was charged in that shooting, and a SWAT team was sent to search Moore’s apartment across the street hours later.

During the investigation, authorities made a horrifying discovery: the body of 26-year-old Denise Middleton, a pregnant woman, decomposing under a blanket.

Moore and Middleton were in a relationship, and Middleton was eight-and-a-half months pregnant. Family said she had named the unborn baby Ezekiel.

“The child turned out to be the defendant’s child,” Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy said on Friday, adding that Moore had a history of domestic violence.

Video evidence showed Moore grabbing Middleton in the lobby of the building and pushing her toward the elevator.

Prosecutors said that Moore then shot Middleton inside the apartment they shared in White Oak, and left her there for almost two months, prosecutors said.

“The story is awful,” McCarthy said in November. “There is no way to slice it. This is a terrible case.”

After shooting her, Moore left Middleton on the floor of their apartment while he traveled to North Carolina and California, prosecutors told the jury. Along the way, he searched Google on his phone and other devices for how to cover up the crime and hide the body, prosecutors said.

According to the McCarthy, Moore used the same gun in all of the murders.

Moore was convicted of three counts of first degree murder, and received a sentence of life for each of the three murders. He will also serve an 80-year concurrent sentence for a long list of other charges, McCarthy said.

Moore stayed quiet during the sentencing, offering no explanation for the violent crimes.

“I’d really like to hear why,” said Dennis Middleton, Denise’s father, at a press conference held after Moore was sentenced.