AN "OBSESSED" man allegedly murdered his girlfriend with a face mask and dumped her body in a suitcase, a court heard.
Hina Bashir was studying at Coventry University's London campus when she went missing after meeting up with her boyfriend in July 2022.
The 21-year-old's body was tragically discovered inside a suitcase which had been dumped down a ditch in Upminster, East London.
Her boyfriend Muhammad Arslan, appeared at the Old Bailey in January this year charged with Hina's murder.
Now, before his trial on Tuesday, June 13, the 27-year-old pleaded guilty to her manslaughter but denied murder and perverting the course of justice by concealing her body.
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The court heard the defendant had grown up with Hina in Pakistan and became "obsessed" her.
He followed her to the UK just five months before her death, after she moved to study business management in November 2021.
Prosecutor Gareth Patterson KC said she went to Arslan’s home and picked up some items on the evening of July 11.
But, the court heard she did not leave the house alive.
Mr Patterson told the jurors: “The next morning, the defendant set off from his house, dragging behind him a suitcase containing Hina Bashir’s dead body.
“He got a lift from a taxi driver who lived in his house and travelled to an industrial estate by the M25 near Upminster, near a business where he was employed as a warehouse worker.
“He got out of the taxi and dragged his suitcase to the side of a lane where he hid it in some undergrowth.
"He left the suitcase concealed there in the days that followed.”
Hina's dad raised the alarm three days after she failed to turn up to work or answer her front door.
Police discovered her body in a suitcase on July 17 in a remote area of Upminster.
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“On examination, the pathologist found that a facemask had been pushed inside her mouth. It was found there balled up", Mr Patterson continued.
“As for the cause of her death, Hina Bashir had been killed through asphyxia.
"The face mask that was forced into her mouth had stopped her from breathing.”
'WEALTH OF EVIDENCE'
It was argued by the prosecution that a "wealth of evidence" indicated Arslan was involved in the killing.
The court heard Hina's blood had been discovered on the defendant's bed and sheets.
There were also matching facemasks found in his property.
Further evidence revealed Arslan had the victim's phone and was pouring through her messages and photographs after her last visit to his home.
A taxi driver recalled driving the defendant with a heavy suitcase to the scene the following morning, the court was told.
Mr Patterson told jurors that Arslan was also spotted on CCTV leaving his house with the suitcase - and dragging it along the same path where it was ultimately discovered.
Not only this, his DNA was found on the suitcase handle and soil from the ditch where Hina was discovered was traced on his shoes.
The prosecution said: “All the evidence proved what the defendant has finally accepted today – that he was responsible for the killing.”
The court heard how the defendant had previously tried to deny a relationship with the victim.
However, Mr Patterson told jurors that police were able to find messages on his phone in which he told Hina he was in love with her and wanted to marry her.
But, when he discovered she was engaged to another man, he felt he had been cheated on, the court heard.
According to the prosecution, Arslan pretended to be a woman in order to contact Hina.
Mr Patterson said: “The police also found on his phone a very large number of photographs of Hina Bashir, some of them having been ‘photoshopped’ or altered using software or apps.
“They found pictures of her on which love hearts had been added and they found collages that had been created of her image. The evidence suggests that he was obsessed with her.”
After following her to the UK, he referred to her as his fiance, the court heard.
“However, it appears Hina Bashir did not want to be with him and in fact had a relationship after she came here with another young man", added Mr Patterson.
The trial is expected to continue for two weeks.
