Indian-origin man sentenced for life over 30-year-old UK murder

A court has sentenced an Indian-origin man to life in jail for the barbaric assassination of a woman thirty years ago. The man was identified as the assailant using a hair strand discovered at the crime site.

Sandip Patel, 51, was jailed at the Old Bailey court in the capital on Friday after being found guilty of killing Marina Koppel in 1994 by stabbing her at least 140 times at her flat in the Westminster neighbourhood of London.

All these years later, Patel was finally brought to prison, according to the Metropolitan Police, thanks to creative work done by its forensics unit on his hair found on a ring worn by Koppel.

"This was a great team effort with the forensic scientists, fingerprint experts, the forensic manager and the investigating team all playing their part in solving Marina's murder," said Dan Chester, Operational Forensic Manager and the Met Police's Forensic Lead for Cold Case Homicide Investigations.

"This was a great team effort with the forensic scientists, fingerprint experts, the forensic manager and the investigating team all playing their part in solving Marina's murder," said Dan Chester, Operational Forensic Manager and the Met Police's Forensic Lead for Cold Case Homicide Investigations.

At the time of her death, Marina Koppel, 39, worked and lived in her flat during the week and spent her weekends with her husband in Northampton. Despite their unusual union—Marina Koppel was a masseuse and occasionally a prostitute—the couple was told by the court to be happy. Her two children were being raised by her family in Columbia, and she was seen as a devoted mother who worked hard to bring money home to them.

On August 8, 1994, Marina Koppel's husband became worried when he could not get hold of her for some time and so travelled to her flat to check she was ok. When he arrived at the flat, he found his wife's body unresponsive and covered in blood.