UK: Boyfriend Admits Murder of Student of Indian Origin

A Tunisian man who had been accused of murdering Indian-origin student Sabita Thanwani in March of last year at her university housing in the Clerkenwell neighborhood of north London has confessed to the crime in court.

In a hearing on Friday at the Old Bailey court in this city, Maher Maaroufe, 23, admitted manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility and will be sentenced in September.

The court heard how Thanwani, 19, was discovered unconscious on March 19 of last year with a slash to her neck. Court records state that the prosecution explained how Maaroufe and Thanwani had been dating before the murder-suicide.

They were in the student housing when a neighbor heard cries and other sounds coming from the room and called 911. Thanwani’s cause of death was determined by a post-mortem study to be blunt force injuries to the neck.

The defendant had fled the premises before the police arrived at the crime scene, but the court was informed that as he did so, police saw him donning a balaclava.

Maaroufe was charged after the Metropolitan Police launched an aggressive search for him.

He participated at this week’s court via video connection from the high-security mental facility Broadmoor, and the prosecution accepted his manslaughter plea.

In addition, Maaroufe entered a guilty plea to a charge of assault by assaulting a medical professional for head-butting a police officer while being arrested the previous year. He was remanded back into jail while being aided by an Arabic interpreter in court.

Thanwani’s family referred to the girl as “our angel” and claimed she had a “radiant smile and incredible heart” in a statement issued at the time of her passing.

“Sabita was the kindest, most devoted person we had ever met. Throughout her wonderful 19 years of life, she was an inspiration to us. Her goal was to assist everyone. To do this, she was majoring in psychology at City University. They stated at the time that she had her whole life ahead of her, a life in which her brilliant smile and wonderful heart could only radiate love and generosity.