A 48-year-old Indian-origin man has been sentenced to 18 years of jail by a UK court for stabbing his wife to death at her workplace here when she chose to start a new life after 20 years of domestic abuse.
Thaker Ramanlal, a call centre worker, slit the throat of Varsha (43), mother of his two children, at a storeroom in Peacocks clothing store in Mitcham on February 13, the Old Bailey heard on Tuesday.
It took the jury just 90 minutes to find him guilty and rejected his diminished responsibility claim.
"After over 20 years of marriage, during which she put up with his bullying, his abusive and controlling behaviour, Varsha Champaclal summoned up the courage to make a new life for herself and her two daughters," Peter Finnegan QC, prosecuting, told the court.
Varsha, an assistant manager, had reportedly predicted six months before her death that she would be killed by her husband.
This was after Ramanlal got a non-molestation order and was barred from the family home in Kingston for chasing out his wife with a hammer.
An order was aimed at preventing Ramanlal from using or threatening violence against Varsha or their children.
"Without the non-molestation order, I am certain me and my daughters' lives will be in danger. I am sure our next encounter with him will, for sure, be our deaths," Varsha had said in a statement during the application for the order.
A jury found him guilty of murder after rejecting a plea of diminished responsibility. He will serve at least 18 years, the local media reported.
