Tradie’s chilling act after killing wife
Written by admin on May 31, 2024
Warning: Graphic details
A tradie who murdered his pregnant wife four months into their marriage and doused her body in acid later had a chilling conversation with a friend where he laughed about killing the young woman.
Meraj Zafar, an apprentice builder, has pleaded guilty to murdering Arnima Hayat, 19, in their apartment in North Parramatta in Sydney’s west on January 29, 2022.
Before her death, Ms Hayat, an aspiring doctor and medical student at Western Sydney University, had expressed regrets about marrying then 20-year-old Mr Zafar to a friend.
The couple had wed in a secret Islamic ceremony in October 2021.
On the night of January 29, Ms Hayat desperately texted a friend from university.
“I have nobody except you,” Ms Hayat wrote.
“You have got no choice. You have to stay with him,” the friend replied.
In her final message at 9.10pm, she wrote, “No, I hate him.’’
45 minutes later, she was dead.
The facts of the case, tendered to the NSW Supreme Court this week, revealed Mr Zafar killed Ms Hayat “by applying compression to her neck and/or smothering her”, as per The Daily Telegraph.
The day after the murder, Mr Zafar drove to Bunnings in Northmead on two occasions and bought a total of 100L of hydrochloric acids.
After returning home, he poured the hydrochloric acid into the bathtub and moved Ms Hayat’s body into the tub “in an attempt to dispose of Ms Hayat’s remains”, facts revealed.
On January 30, the tradie made five internet searches including: “Can hydrochloric acid burn through skin?” and “how many years do you get in Sydney for murder”.
That day, he rang his mother and told her Ms Hayat was not breathing.
She advised him to call an ambulance, but he refused, telling her: “The police will get me and they will put me in jail”.
During the conversation, Mr Zafar asked her how much an overseas ticket would cost.
His mother called emergency services, leading police to force entry into the apartment.
Ms Hayat’s naked body was discovered in the bathtub, where the acid had decomposed her body so severely her immediate family could not recognise her.
“Ms Hayat was lying face down with her face hidden and contorted in half,’’ the facts state.
“There was a strong chemical odour in the air which was overwhelming, and police evacuated the apartment due to the hazardous quality of air emitting from the enclosed confined bathroom.’’
A day before his arrest, Mr Zafar was driving when he told a friend: “I just killed someone, I swear to God that I killed someone” and laughed, according to the facts.
He later handed himself into police on January 31.
It was not the first time Mr Zafar had been violent towards his wife.
Ms Hayat had previously complained to friends about her husband’s violence, but she did not report it to police, The Age reports.
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In May 2021, Ms Hayat became unconscious when Mr Zafar put his hands around her neck.
Ms Hayat suffered bruising around her throat, chest, left wrist, left arm and thigh.
Mr Zafar will return to court on August 5 for sentencing.
