An Indian-origin hotel housekeeper whose body had been discovered in a wasteland near Heathrow airport in west London last November was raped and murdered by a homeless stranger, a UK court was told on Wednesday.
Pardeep Kaur had been reported missing on October 17, 2016, by a relative after she did not come home from work. Kaur’s body was discovered decomposed and hidden under a sleeping bag and branches five days later.
The Metropolitan Police's Homicide and Major Crime Command arrested and charged Vadims Ruskuls, a homeless man from Latvia, for Kaur's murder and preventing her lawful burial.
The murder trial opened at the Old Bailey court in London this week, where the jury was told that Ruskuls "pounced" on Kaur as she walked to work, 'Evening Standard' reports.
"The defendant must have pounced on Pardeep Kaur at some point on that ramp, he must have then sexually assaulted her and murdered her. There is some evidence that Pardeep Kaur must have fought back. A day after the incident, it was noticed he had a number of scratches on his face," Prosecutor Crispin Aylett told the court.
The court heard suspicion at first fell on Kaur's husband Rachpal Singh who reported her missing on the same day but lied to police because he was working in the UK illegally.
However, he was swiftly ruled out as the killer. Ruskuls denies murdering Kaur.