Killer tried to fly out of the UK after ‘revenge murder’ of ex girlfriend

An obsessed illegal immigrant stabbed an ex-girlfriend to death in revenge after she ended their brief relationship, a court heard.

Deepak Sandhu, 24, bought a ticket to fly out of the UK after he arranged to meet Xiaoqing Ke, 39, and left her dead in a pool of blood in the bedroom of an Airbnb property in Earl’s Court on 9 December last year.

Sandhu, who came to the UK on a student visa which was revoked nine months before the killing, had travelled from Southampton to meet Ms Ke in London that day.

Jurors at the Old Bailey heard Ms Ke had a ‘brief relationship’ with Sandhu but quickly lost interest ‘after discovering he had stolen money from her and had lied to her.’

Prosecutor Caroline Carberry, KC, said Ms Ke suffered ‘catastrophic injuries’ after she was ‘murdered in a sustained and ferocious knife attack’.

She told jurors: ‘The prosecution case is that her killer was this defendant, Deepak Sandhu.

‘Mr Sandhu, an Indian national, had become obsessed with Ms Ke following a brief relationship.

‘She had lost interest in him after discovering he had stolen money from her and had lied to her.

‘The evidence will show he was something of a fantasist, making false claims to Ms Ke about his achievements and status.

‘In the days before Ms Ke was murdered, the defendant expressed his anger and determination to take revenge on her.

‘Ms Ke’s murder bears all the hallmarks of a planned attack.

‘The evidence you will see and hear during this trial will demonstrate that Xiaoqing Ke was murdered that evening by Deepak Sandhu: an obsessed, manipulative young man who could not accept Ms Ke’s rejection and who carried out a brutal and fatal attack on her before he tried to flee the country.’

Sandhu appeared in court wearing a striped blue and white jumper, aided by a Punjabi interpreter.

The court heard text messages show the Indian had become ‘increasingly erratic’ in the days leading up to the killing.

In one correspondence, he asked an associate: ‘Do you think I have to take my revenge on her?’, described Ms Ke as ‘selfish’, and predicted he would ‘become an evil person.’

Ms Carberry said: ‘You will also see him employing deliberate lies, claiming that he had the money he had stolen from her and that he could obtain British citizenship for her through a contact.

‘These were, the prosecution say, calculated attempts to get back into Ms Ke’s good books and, ultimately, discover where it was she was living in London so that he could visit her.’

Jurors heard just ten days before the killing Sandhu had sent her a video showing a ‘large quantity’ of £20 notes – but the prosecutor said: ‘On closer inspection, the notes are fake.

‘The purpose of the video was, the prosecution say, clearly to persuade Ms Ke that he was a man of means and in a position to return the money he owed her.’

On that same day he bought a ‘four-piece knife set’ from Southampton Asda, the court heard.

Ms Carberry said: ‘We know from her messages to him that by the time she was murdered she knew his true character.

‘She called him “a liar” in messages on many occasions. She asked him to transfer the money he had stolen from her. He didn’t. She told him “Don’t come see me. I’m clear, I’m not a fool”.’

But Sandhu continued to ‘pester’ the victim despite her texting the day before she died that ‘they cannot be together, that she cannot visit her, and he cannot sleep with her.’

CCTV shows the Indian wearing a facemask and baseball cap as he entered and left Ms Ke’s Airbnb bedsit – the ‘only lone man seen entering and leaving the building’ that day, jurors heard.

Sandhu, of Southampton, denies murder and perverting the course of justice, by purchasing a flight ticket to India and taking steps to leave the UK between 9 and 11 December last year.

Jurors heard within 45 minutes of Sandhu’s arrival at Ms Ke’s bed-and-breakfast, ‘all incoming calls to the deceased’s telephone went unanswered’.

A postmortem later revealed five stab wounds and at least 33 incised wounds to her face, neck, torso, arms, and hands – 13 of which to her back were inflicted after death, jurors heard.

Ms Carberry said: ‘Other than this defendant, no lone man entered or left the address at any time between his arrival and the time that police attended the following day, having been alerted by neighbours to bloodstaining in the communal area.’

CCTV shows Sandhu had stayed at the flat for just 90 minutes and had removed his facemask and baseball cap on his way back to Southampton.

The prosecutor added: ‘By the time he left, we know that she was dead. We know this from a voice message the defendant sent to his sister Jasmine in India.’

A transcription of the voicenote shows Sandhu had claimed Ms Ke was killed by a ‘professional’ who had brandished a gun and robbed her at knifepoint, saying: ‘What could I have done?’

But he said: ‘They will say I am also involved in this, many topics will arise.’

‘A lot of problem is arise if they put me in prison. They will put me in prison for life. I am going to move away because if they find out they will start the investigation.’

Sandhu, whose student visa was revoked after he was kicked out of Southampton Solent University over poor attendance, also admitted he was ‘living here illegally’, adding: ‘There will be a problem if I stay here.

‘All her friends know me and they will say Deepak was hanging around a lot. I will need to destroy the SIM.’

But Ms Carberry told jurors: ‘He did not call the police, he did not call the ambulance to check, as one would expect from someone who had witnessed the killing of a friend.

‘Rather than seeking help, his immediate concern was how to get away with Ms Ke’s murder.’

Sandhu returned to his cousin’s home in Southampton and announced his family had booked him a one-way ticket to India.

He was arrested on 12 December on a coach en route to Birmingham Airport, where he was found in possession of several suitcases and phones belonging to Ms Ke.

The prosecutor said: ‘The inference is those are her phones that he had stolen from her flat. Her blood, in fact, was present on the top edge of one of the mobile phones.’

He was also found with the same blood-stained jacket that he was wearing on the evening of the killing, as well as ‘women’s footwear, jeans, and a top.’

He answered no questions when interviewed by police.

Sandhu, of Southampton, denied murder and perverting the course of justice.