UK: Indian-origin man gets life term for 1994 murder
What's the story
Sandip Patel, an Indian-origin man, was sentenced to life imprisonment by a London court on Tuesday for the murder of a woman that occurred 30 years ago. The 51-year-old was found guilty of brutally stabbing sex worker Marina Koppel over 140 times in her apartment in London in 1994. The case remained a mystery for almost three decades until a 2022 review implicated him in Koppel's murder.
Probe details
Patel's hair and footprint found at crime scene
Earlier in the trial, investigators had connected Patel to the crime through a strand of hair found at the scene and a bloody footprint on a skirting board in Koppel's flat. The DNA from the hair matched that of Patel, and his connection to the footprint was also confirmed. Police stated that during the attack, Patel reportedly managed to figure out Koppel's bank card PIN and subsequently utilized it to withdraw funds from her account.
Statement
Patel denies knowledge of Koppel
Despite the evidence presented against him, Patel denied the allegations of killing Koppel, claiming that he had no recollection of her or the incident. He told the police, "I continue to have no recollection of [Koppel]...her address or this incident. I have no idea how my fingerprint came to be on this carrier bag or how a hair of mine was present." Patel was arrested again in 2023, a year after being charged when his footprint was identified.
What happened in 1994
Koppel's body was discovered by husband
In August 1994, Koppel's corpse was discovered by her husband inside their apartment in Marylebone, Central London. Her husband, who lived in Northampton, "did not necessarily approve" of her work but "accepted it." The BBC reported that Koppel's husband drove to London because she was not answering her telephone. He found her body lying on the floor of her bedroom. Her husband died in 2005, never having discovered who murdered Koppel.
3-decade investigation
Patel was only 21 when he stabbed Koppel
Patel was only 21 years old when he committed the heinous crime. Back then, he used to run errands for his father's newsagent Sherlock Holmes News on Baker Street in Central London. Although the police had found Patel's finger marks on a carrier bag kept in Koppel's kitchen, they did not identify him as a suspect at the time.