Man found guilty of killing woman who rejected him
Deepak Sandhu, 24, had claimed to be a model and actor
A man's been found guilty of killing a 39 year old woman in west London after she found out he'd lied to her and rejected him
A Met investigation uncovered messages which showed Sandhu had grown increasingly angry after Xiaoqing attempted to end their relationship, before travelling to London to carry out his fatal attack
Deepak Sandhu who's student visa had been revoked had claimed that Xiaoqing Ke was alive when he left her bedsit in Earls Court in December
But a jury took two hours to convict the 24 year old
Prosecutor Caroline Carberry KC had said that failed AI student Sandhu was a “fantasist” who had made false claims about his status and stolen £500 from Ms Ke.
She told jurors: “Xiaoqing Ke was murdered that evening by Deepak Sandhu who had become an obsessed, manipulative young man who could not accept her rejection of him and carried out a brutal and fatal revenge attack on her before attempting to leave the country.”
Outlining his “white lies”, Ms Carberry said: “He claimed to be living with his sister in Southampton even though she was in India.
“He portrayed himself to her as a model and actor and he fabricated a trip to the United States for an audition.
“He told Ms Ke that he would be attending his graduation ceremony in Southampton Solent University. There was no such ceremony.
“In reality he had been removed from his course months earlier because of poor attendance.”
Having admitted taking money from Ms Ke, the defendant claimed he was robbed of £3,500 at gunpoint in the US and had a job at a bank paying £6,000 a month, none of which was true.
Ms Carberry told jurors that by the time of her murder, Ms Ke was well aware of his “true character”.
Detective Chief Inspector Wayne Jolley, who led the investigation, said: "Xiaoqing's family have been through an unimaginably painful time, and our thoughts remain with them.
“Our team uncovered vital evidence which showed Sandhu had become fixated on Xiaoqing and had subjected her to a tirade of controlling and abusive messages before ultimately deciding to end her life.
“Xiaoqing should never have had to endure what happened to her either in the months before her death or in the final moments of her life. Tackling violence against women and girls remains one of our key priorities, and we will do everything to identify those who carry out these offences and bring them to justice.”
Following the unanimous guilty verdicts, Sandhu was remanded into custody to be sentenced by Judge Philip Katz KC at 12 noon on Friday.
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