Tonight:
5°c
Motorway body blaze murderer jailed
25 Nov 2009- No movement in independence talks
- Woman in court over stabbed girl
- No assurances offered over Qatada
- Banks 'must change or be broken up'
- Rangers staff 'not cut immediately'
- Extradition date for retired Briton
- Student loan penalty plan 'ditched'
- Implant clinics 'referring to NHS'
- Nestle spends £500m on UK growth
- Pay call over Whitehall tax issue
A man who killed his girlfriend and set her dismembered body on fire at a motorway lorry stop has been jailed for 20 years.
Jamal Bakhita, Ugandan of no fixed abode, murdered Rahmona Ahmedin with a large kitchen knife after she attempted to move out.
The 25-year-old concealed her body for days before cutting it into three pieces with a power saw and placing it in two suitcases, Snaresbrook Crown Court in east London was told.
The former supermarket worker then dumped the suitcases at an overnight lorry stop off the M11 in Cambridgeshire and set fire to them.
Bakhit was convicted of murder, sentenced to life and ordered to serve at least 20 years.
Investigators became suspicious after Bakhit reported Miss Ahmedin, 23, a Swedish national of Ethiopian descent, missing in June last year. He told police she left her home in Peabody Square, Islington, north London, on June 6 to visit a friend in Bristol and had not returned or made contact. But a forensic examination of the flat revealed a large amount of blood had been cleaned up and a murder inquiry was launched.
Police said Bakhit, a former criminology student, stabbed Rahmona through the chest before dismembering her body. Her burnt body was found in a lay-by on the A1301, close to Junction 9 of the M11 at Hinxton, Cambridgeshire, after a lorry driver noticed flames. Police said Bakhit even sent text messages from his victim's phone in a bid to cover up his actions.
In a statement, members of Miss Ahmedin's family said the "senseless" murder has had a devastating effect on their lives.
They said: "By taking Rahmona from us, he has deprived a loving mother, father, sisters and brothers of the happy life we shared together. We want him to understand the pain he has caused our family and for him to realise that we will carry this grief with us for the rest of our lives."
Detective Chief Inspector Phil Rickells, who led the inquiry, said on Tuesday: "This was a horrific act of violence committed against a young woman. During the course of the investigation, Jamal Bakhit has never disclosed to police why he stabbed Rahmona, dismembered her body and later disposed of her remains close to the M11 motorway. I would like to thank Rahmona's family for the dignity they have shown throughout the trial. I hope today's verdict can provide some solace in their time of distress and assist them as they try to move forward with their lives."
