Man jailed for crossbow murder of pregnant ex-wife

Ramanodge Unmathallegadoo shot Sana Muhammad at her home in east London last year

A man has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 33 years for the crossbow murder of his heavily pregnant ex-wife.

Ramanodge Unmathallegadoo, 51, killed Sana Muhammad, 35, at her home in east London on the morning of 12 November 2018. He burst in and fired an arrow into her stomach as she tried to flee upstairs. Muhammad, formerly known as Devi Unmathallegadoo, sustained catastrophic internal injuries and died while her unborn son - her sixth child – was delivered by caesarean section and survived.

A jury at the Old Bailey rejected the defendant’s claim it was an accident and found him guilty of murder after four hours of deliberations last week.

Passing sentence on Friday, the judge Mark Lucraft QC said it was a “brutal and evil attack” and were it not for the presence of Muhammad’s children, he would have shot her new husband too.

He told the defendant: “You have carefully planned this attack. You had two loaded crossbows and I’m entirely satisfied you intended an attack on Sana and then on Imtiaz. One can only assume that you were jealous of their life together and the fact that they had formed a loving bond between themselves and with your children.”

The judge said the crossbows and bolts the defendant acquired did not require a licence and could be bought online. “As is shown by events that followed, they can be used to devastating effect to kill,” he said. “Many, I am sure, will find the ease with which some items are available deeply concerning. It is for others to consider whether these items should be controlled and require a license for ownership.”

Unmathallegadoo took up position in the garden shed armed with two crossbows, bolts, a knife, duct tape, cable ties and a hammer. He was discovered by the victim’s husband who called for his wife to run as he was chased into the house.

Muhammad had an arranged marriage to the defendant, who was 30 at the time, in Mauritius on her 16th birthday, the court was told. Their relationship broke down in 2012 after an incident in which Muhammad jumped out of an upstairs window and broke her ankle. She told the police that Unmathallegadoo had stared at her as he sharpened knives in the garden.

In 2013, Unmathallegadoo was cleared of attacking Muhammad and acquitted on the judge’s direction of a charge of attempted strangulation under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861.

Muhammad successfully filed for an emergency non-molestation order, which barred the defendant from coming within 100 metres of the family home in Ilford. The order was still in place at the time of killing.

Muhammad went on to marry Imtiaz Muhammad, a builder, and the couple had two children together and were awaiting the imminent arrival of their third.

Unmathallegadoo started to plot revenge after the divorce, the court was told. He bought two crossbows online for around £250 each, which were discovered stashed near his ex-wife’s home by a neighbour in March 2018. Unmathallegadoo replaced the crossbows and organised surveillance on the house.

Imtiaz Muhammad paid tribute to his outgoing and bubbly wife. He said: “She was very friendly, talkative and always made me laugh. She was my soulmate, my best friend, my wife, my companion and my everything, and I love her dearly. Ram must have been very jealous of the life Sana and I had and that we were living a happy life.”

He said his wife had been scared of the defendant. “She would always say Ram does not forgive and forget, he likes to create trouble no matter if he loses everything.”

He added: “She was a very loving mother and we did everything together. Ram has finished everything. We all feel lost now. The kids are missing their mum too much.”

The victim’s mother, Ellemah Sutharamandoo, said: “I always treated Ramanodge as my own son, I always thought of him and his wellbeing after the separation. It brings me so much pain to know that he could be capable of something so hateful and so calculated. I cannot forgive him.”