Leicester man who assaulted girlfriend then slept as she died sentenced to life | Violence against women and girls

A man who killed his girlfriend by punching, kicking and stomping on her before falling asleep and leaving her to die has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 21 years.

Raj Sidpara, 50, was convicted of murdering Tarjeet Riaz, also known by her maiden name Chagar, in Leicester the royal court last week.

The court heard Riaz was found with extensive facial trauma as well as multiple broken ribs and bleeding on the brain when she was found passed out at Sidpara’s home address.

Judge William Harbidge said Sidpara attacked Riaz “in a savage and merciless manner”.

“You were punching, kicking and pushing her in a sustained attack,” he told the defendant. “Your apparent lack of remorse at every stage was quite remarkable. You absolutely refused to explain what you did or why.’

Sidpara, who has been diagnosed with alcohol dependence syndrome, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in October but denied murder.

He was accused of attacking and killing Riaz in the early hours of May 6 after a night out and initially told police she had fallen while drunk. After the attack, he went to bed and slept until morning.

When Sidpara called 911 on the afternoon of May 6, Riaz was already dead.

The court heard that the couple had been in a relationship for about five months and that Sidpara was “prone to outbursts of anger”, the BBC reported. He had 24 previous convictions for various offences, including violence, threats to kill and harassing and assaulting previous girlfriends.

Riaz’s brother, Balraj Chagger, said: “Target, or Taz as we knew and loved her, was always there for us and yet when she needed us the most, we couldn’t help her. We had no idea how bad things were and that feeling will haunt us forever.

He added: “Raj took advantage of a woman with half his power and his cowardice and violence cost Taz his life and shattered our lives forever. There was no emotion and no remorse from Raj for his actions. To think that my sister had a relationship with this monstrous man and to think how he treated her – all Taz ever wanted was to be loved.

Directorate Emma Matts, senior investigating officer on the case, said: “Targett was killed at the hands of a man she was in a relationship with. Someone who should have supported and protected her, not someone she should have feared would brutally attack her.

“While the man responsible will now spend many years behind bars, the Targett family is left with so many questions and the overwhelming feeling of wondering if they could have done more.”