Indian-origin man jailed for life over 30-year-old UK murder

February 17, 2024 17:45

An Indian-origin man has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a court here for murdering a woman 30 years ago after he was connected to the brutal killing through his strand of hair found at the crime scene.

Sandip Patel, 51, was found guilty of the murder of Marina Koppel by stabbing her at least 140 times at her flat in the Westminster area of London in 1994 and sentenced at the Old Bailey court in the city on Friday.

The Metropolitan Police said innovative work by its forensics team on his hair found on a ring worn by Koppel finally brought Patel to justice all these years later.

This was a great team effort with the forensic scientists, fingerprint experts, the forensic manager and the investigating team all playing their part in solving Marina's murder, said Dan Chester, operational forensic manager and the Met Police's Forensic Lead for Cold Case Homicide Investigations.

"Forensic techniques and technologies are constantly evolving, and the police will continue to review serious unsolved cases and, where possible, pursue new opportunities to enable both the prosecution of those responsible and to exonerate the innocent. This includes cases specifically related to violence against women," he said.

Marina, who was 39 at the time of her death, lived and worked in her flat during the week and spent time with her husband in Northampton during the weekend.

It was an unconventional relationship as Marina worked as a masseuse and occasional sex worker, but the two were happily married, the court heard. She was described as a loving mother and worked hard to send money home to her family in Columbia, including her two children who were being cared for by her family there. -- PTI

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