Husband jailed for murder of 'loyal' wife

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A cheating husband who had his "loyal and loving" special constable wife killed so he could start a new life with his mistress was today jailed for life.

Fadi Nasri, 34, was told he must serve a minimum term of 20 years for arranging the murder of Nisha Patel-Nasri in May 2006.

The 29-year-old bled to death after being stabbed with a 13-inch kitchen knife at their home in Wembley, north London

Her husband wanted her dead to pay off spiralling debts of more than £100,000 with the couple's £350,000 life insurance policy.

The Lebanese-born limousine hire boss was secretly leading a double life and "spending money like water" on his Lithuanian mistress Laura Mockiene.

On the day after he and his wife's third wedding anniversary, he left her at home alone to meet her violent end while he went out to play snooker.

She was stabbed by feared, powerfully-built nightclub bouncer Jason Jones, who was given the job by Nasri's friend, drug dealer Rodger Leslie.

Judge Peter Beaumont, the Recorder of London, told Nasri he had betrayed the trust he owed Nisha.

"She was a loyal, loving and supportive wife," the judge said.

Leslie and Jones were also both jailed for life with minimum terms of 18 years and 20 years respectively.

Nasri, 34, of Alderman Court, Barnet, north London, Leslie, 38, of Chesterfield Flats, Bells Hill, Barnet, and Jones, 36, of Hathaway Crescent, Manor Park, east London, were all found guilty of murder by an Old Bailey jury last month.

Miss Mockiene watched proceedings from the public gallery.

Nasri showed no emotion as he was sentenced while Leslie and Jones had earlier walked out of the dock and refused to return.

The judge said Nasri left his wife "defenceless in her home as he exercised the alibi he had constructed for himself"

He told Nasri: "There was a significant degree of planning and premeditation. That night she was vulnerable."

It was a "gross abuse of the trust he owed her as her husband".

The judge said he could not be certain from the jury's verdict that the murder was a contract killing organised for financial gain, so the starting point for the minimum terms in jail was 15 years rather than 30 years.

The victim's brother Katen Patel, who was in court, described the murder as a "brutal, savage and vicious attack".

"There are no words that can describe the pain I suffer in losing my little Nisha," he said in a victim impact statement read out by prosecutor Michael Worsley QC.

His sister was a "strong-minded and determined person" who "achieved so much in such a short time".

She had become a special constable through "lots of hard work and sheer determination", he said, and he was "so proud" when she passed her training.

"She used to come home and say to me 'How do I look?'. She was so proud to be wearing the uniform."

Mr Patel added: "The attack which the defendants carried out on defenceless Nisha was barbaric.

"They showed her no mercy and have shown absolutely no remorse since."

Outside court he said he was "distraught" over claims published since the end of the trial that she lived a double life as a "secret vice madam".

It emerged that she had been disciplined for using her warrant card to help her husband collect debts in his former escort agency business.

Mr Patel said: "Before she had met Fadi, her record was squeaky clean.

"I believe Nisha had a lapse of judgment and was pushed by a malicious man with a strong influence.

"Details of the incident should not overshadow her work as a special constable.

"The reputation Nisha had with friends, colleagues and family is one of a hard-working, loving individual who gave her time for the good of the community, and it is for this I believe she should be remembered."