'Controlling' husband who stabbed his 19

Release time：2024-05-21 14:59:40 Source：Culture Compass news portal

A 'coercive and controlling' husband who murdered his 19-year-old wife just months after he moved from India to the UK has been jailed for life.

Sahil Sharma, 24, stabbed Mehak Sharma repeatedly in the neck in their home in Croydon, south London before dialling 999 and calmly telling the operator: 'I have killed my wife'.

During the call, he falsely claimed that Mehak had been cheating on him and was therefore 'responsible' for her own death.

Just hours before, Sharma had texted Mehak: 'Come home and see what I can do to you.'

Sahil Sharma, 24, was given a life sentence for murdering his 19-year-old wife Mehak Sharma

Mehak called the police on three separate occasions before her death about her husbands abusive behaviour and told one operator: 'I do not need anything now, but if something wrong happens to me in the future, I need people to know that he was responsible'

Officers found Mehak unresponsive with catastrophic knife injuries at the address on Ash Tree Way.

Despite the medics' best efforts, she was pronounced dead at the scene on October 29 last year.

Mehak, from a village in the Gurdaspur district of Punjab, had moved to the UK on a student visa in November 2022. Her husband Sharma, who she had married in June 2022, joined her in June 2023.

Kingston Crown Court heard during Sharma's sentencing today that he had mentally and physically abused his wife throughout the course of their marriage.

Prosecutor Julian Evans said: 'While he was still in India and Mehak was in the UK, Sahil would call her repeatedly and expect she answer each time.

'She would be admonished by her employers for being on the phone while also being abused by her husband for not answering his calls.

'If Mehak was on the phone to her mother, Sahil would ask her to send screenshots to prove this.

'He became increasingly suspicious of her and accused her of lying about her whereabouts.'

Kingston Crown Court (pictured) heard during Sharma's sentencing today that he had mentally and physically abused his wife throughout the course of their marriage

Mr Evans said things became physical when Sharma moved to the UK to join Mehak.

He explained: 'On one occasion, the defendant twisted her arm, slapped her, and smashed her phone.

'In September 2023, Mehak called her mother, highly distressed, and told her Sahil had grabbed her neck - causing her to "feel her veins".'

The court heard that Sharma had threatened Mehak - telling her that if she reported him to the police he would kill her mother and siblings.

But reports show that Mehak still called 999 on three occasions.

'On September 12, 2023, she told the operator the defendant had been torturing her,' Mr Evans said. 'She said this was mental not physical.

'On October 22, she called 999 again and repeated that he was torturing her. She said he believed she was having an affair.

'On October 23, she said he was torturing her and had slapped her.

'She told the operator: "I do not need anything now, but if something wrong happens to me in the future, I need people to know that he was responsible."

'In the background, the defendant could be heard saying: "What wrong thing could I do to you?".'

In the months leading up to her tragic death, Mehak also frequently called her mother, Madhu Bala, and said Sharma was 'harassing' her.

Mr Evans said: 'On 29 October, there was extensive telephone contact between Mehak and her mother.

'Madhu said that, that day, her daughter was very scared, very distressed. It was the first time she had really cried to her mother.

'Before, she had said she feared it was a mistake marrying Sahil but that she hoped things would get better.

'But now, she told her mother: "Sahil is not going to become a better person."

'She told her mother this was the worst day of her life because of the taunting and harassment she had received the night before.

'He said she was the problem and accused her of having an affair. There was no truth whatsoever to these suspicions.'

Kingston Crown Court heard that Mehak asked her mother if she could speak to Sharma's parents to arrange a way to reimburse them.

Mr Evans explained that Sharma's parents had financed Mehak's student visa - but later said her family, who described themselves as 'poor', would have to pay it back if she and their son separated.

While Mehak was at work on October 29, Sharma repeatedly texted and called her but she did not respond.

Mr Evans said: 'He told her: "God will punish you because you are cheating me."

'In another text, he said: "Come home and see what I can do to you".

'He continued in a series of messages: "Your lie has been caught now, sweetie.

''Sweetie, the one you are with, I know who it is. Pick up the phone now.

''Tell me, say you are a two-timer.''.'

Mr Evans said that Mehak asked her mother to keep the call running when she got home from work as she was scared.

'Ms Bala heard Sharma ask, "Who are you talking to?". She asked him, "What is wrong with you today? Why are you torturing me continuously?"

'Ms Bala then heard her daughter say, "Get away from me, let me pass." Then the call cut off.'

When Sharma called 999 at around 4:15pm, he told the operator he had murdered Mehak.

He also repeated multiple times throughout the call that she had been cheating on him.

'He said that she was responsible for her death,' Mr Evans said. 'We reject entirely the defendant's claims that Mehak was having an affair.

'These were used to minimise his culpability and tarnish her honour.'

Mr Evans also read out a victim impact statement on behalf of Mehak's mother Ms Bala.

She said: 'The person who did this to her was her husband, a man who should have protected her.

'The place he did this to her was her own home, where she should have been safe.'

Ms Bala described Mehak as 'a hard-working girl' who loved education and wanted to travel the world.

'But he took these dreams from her,' she continued.

'I am unable to eat since Mehak's death because Sahil murdered her when she was starving.

'She told me during our last phone call that there had been no food in the house and she was so hungry.

'She had bought food and was going to cook but he murdered her before she could eat.

'She will forever be hungry and therefore so will I.'

Ms Bala said that her family 'can no longer feel joy'. 'Sahil has not just murdered Mehak,' she said. 'I feel he has killed me too.'

Handing down her sentence, Judge Sarah Plaschkes KC told Sharma: 'You harassed Mehak from almost a year before her death. You subjected her to violence.

'You accused her of cheating on you. But your suspicions were the product of your own imagination. No blame or shame should be attached to Mehak.'

Judge Plaschkes said that a pre-sentencing report had deemed Sharma 'emotionally stunted' and 'mentally impaired'.

But she maintained: 'This was a heinous crime. While you have expressed remorse, this is tempered by you continuing to blame Mehak.

'You have attempted to distance yourself from your actions and minimise your culpability.'

Sharma, wearing a blue tracksuit, stared at the ground and showed no emotion as he was addressed.

Judge Plaschkes sentenced Sharma to a minimum of 14 years and 187 days in prison, after deducting the time already spent on remand.

She said that he may never be released on parole - but if he is, he will spend the rest of his life on licence.

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