Murderer Of 14-Year-Old Girl, Found Burned, Naked In Gerritsen Beach, Sentenced To Life In Prison

The 22-year-old man convicted of smothering a 14-year-old girl, stuffing her naked body into a suitcase, and attempting to set it on fire on the shores of Plumb Beach Channel in Gerritsen Beach was slapped with a 25-years-to-life sentence today.

Christian Ferdinand, formerly of Brooklyn, was apprehended in Maine four months after the murder, which prosecutors say was done because he believed the teen was pregnant with his child.

“This defendant callously and heartlessly killed this young teenager who had her whole life ahead of her simply because he thought she was pregnant. He showed her no mercy and now must suffer the consequences of his actions,” said Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson.

Ferdinand was convicted of second degree murder in December.

As we previously reported, Ferdinand met 14-year-old Shaniesha Forbes on Facebook, and the two began seeing each other. On the morning of January 4, 2013, the two got into a fight at his cousin’s Nostrand Avenue apartment near Avenue M. Forbes told Ferdinand she was pregnant, and when she refused to “kill it,” as he demanded, he smothered her with a pillow.

An autopsy after her death revealed that Forbes was not pregnant.

According to reports, Ferdinand stuffed Forbes’ body into a suitcase, which he stashed on his cousin’s rooftop before driving it to the end of Gerritsen Avenue, where he set the body on fire.

When he confessed to the crime after his arrest, he asked for community service.

“Do you think I can get some kind of community service?” he asked, according to the Post.