Thug who launched 'merciless' attack on girlfriend before falling asleep is jailed for her murder

A man who launched a "savage and merciless" attack on his partner before getting in to bed and falling asleep as she lay dead or dying alongside him has been jailed. Raj Sidpara murdered Tarnjeet Riaz in the bedroom of his home in Tarbat Road, Thurnby Lodge, Leicester, after a night out together earlier this year.

The 50-year-old tried to lie his way out of trouble by claiming Ms Riaz, 44, had been drunk and had injured herself falling over. However, the evidence presented at his trial ensured the jury did not believe him.

Sidpara admitted manslaughter before his trial at Leicester Crown Court, but the jury convicted him of the more serious charge of murder earlier this month. Today (Friday, November 29), at the same court, Judge William Harbage KC handed him a mandatory life sentence with a minimum term of 21 years behind bars.

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The judge told Sidpara: "You have hidden, I am sure, behind a false claim of having no memory of the incident. You attacked her in a savage and merciless way. Your conspicuous lack of remorse at any stage is quite remarkable."

The court heard that Ms Riaz, also known by her maiden name Chagger, suffered 64 injuries to her face, head and chest, including bruising, a brain injury and 20 rib fractures. Prosecutor Steven Bailey previously told the jury that Sidpara's savagery left her lip "torn away from the jaw".

The couple, who had been together for five months, had been on a night out together on Sunday, May 5, before leaving a bar in Lewisher Road, off Barkby Road, in the east of the city, at around 11pm. Sidpara drove them home, and Ms Riaz was “unsteady on her feet”, the jury had heard.

Once home, Sidpara “beat and kicked and stamped” on Ms Riaz in his bedroom. He then took off his “bloody shoes” and got into bed and fell asleep next to where Ms Riaz, known as Taz, lay dead or dying.

The next day, he dialled 999 and was told to perform CPR. However, the court heard, Ms Riaz was already dead.

The court was told of Sidpara’s previous convictions. His record showed that he had an "established pattern" of domestic abuse, including violence and making threats to kill a former partner, the court was told.

In a statement read to the court during today's hearing Ms Riaz’s brother, Balraj Chagger, said his sister had been the "soul" of their family. He added: "We will never know how this disgusting man took enjoyment from doing this to people and to Tarnjeet.

“If it was not Tarnjeet, it would have been someone else. This man took pleasure hurting someone weaker than himself, a vulnerable woman, one of many he has hurt before.

"His actions are vile, inexcusable, and utterly lacking in remorse. She was ripped away from us in a way so violent we cannot begin to understand."

The court heard that Sidpara has been diagnosed with alcohol dependence. His barrister, Sarah Vine KC, said: “It was quite clearly his excessive intoxication… which proved to be the gateway to this level of violence.”

The judge told the court: “I accept, on balance, his intention was to cause really serious harm, not to kill, and there is a lack of premeditation. He clearly has a number of difficulties, but I’m not satisfied they lessen his degree of culpability or responsibility.

"The evidence does not suggest he was blind drunk. The evidence in the trial was that he was capable of driving home."

Addressing Sidpara, the judge said: "Taz was visibly intoxicated and unsteady on her feet. It is clear from the evidence, not least you blowing smoke from your vape into her face, that you were irritated by her drunkenness.

"She must have suffered real physical pain before she died. She died at the hands of her partner – someone she should have been able to trust."

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