Eden Prairie man charged in stabbing death of pregnant wife

Updated May 18, 11:35 a.m. | Posted May 17, 3:58 p.m.

An Eden Prairie man has been charged with stabbing his pregnant wife to death.

Yevgeniy Savenok, 30, stabbed 23-year-old Lyuba Savenok multiple times with a kitchen knife Saturday morning, according to the Hennepin County Attorney.

When officers arrived on the scene, Lyuba Savenok was bleeding, unresponsive and noticeably pregnant, according to the criminal complaint.

A cesarean section was performed later at Hennepin County Medical Center but the child survived for just minutes after birth, the complaint said.

At about 1 p.m. Saturday, Yevgeniy Savenok arrived at United Hospital in St. Paul with the couple's two young children, court documents said. Savenok told hospital security guards that he killed his wife because the couple "had been having marital difficulties" and she drove him to do it, the complaint said.

St. Paul police took Savenok into custody. He later told investigators he had thought about killing his wife the night before he did it, court documents said.

Lyuba Savenok had called police in Illinois and Minnesota for domestic assault incidents involving her husband, according to the criminal complaint.

Yevgeniy Savenok faces two counts of first-degree murder, each of which carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Correction (May 18, 2016): An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that police officers on the scene tried an emergency cesarean section on the victim. The cesarean was performed at Hennepin County Medical Center after she was transported from the scene.