British-Indian gets life in jail 30 years after stabbing sex worker 140 times

A 51-year-old Indian-origin man was sentenced to life imprisonment in London for a murder that he committed 30 years ago. Sandip Patel was found guilty of stabbing Marina Koppel, a 39-year-old sex worker, 140 times at her flat in London’s Westminster area in 1994.

Patel didn’t emerge as a suspect in the case until 2022, 28 years after Koppel’s murder.

His DNA was linked to a strand of hair found on a ring worn by Koppel that was recovered from the crime scene, according to a report by the BBC.

Additionally, investigators confirmed that the bloody footprint found at the scene matched that of Patel.

“This was a great team effort with the forensic scientists, fingerprint experts, the forensic manager, and the Investigating team all playing their part in solving Marina’s murder,” said Dan Chester, Operational Forensic Manager at the Met Police.

Marina, who had a different job as a masseuse and sometimes did sex work, was a caring mother who helped her family in Colombia. Her husband found her body when he got worried and couldn’t contact her. Even though they found Patel’s fingerprints on a plastic bag, they couldn’t solve the case for a long time.

BREAKTHROUGH AFTER 28 YEARS WITH DNA TECHNOLOGY

However, advancements in forensic techniques eventually led to a breakthrough. In 2008, a hair attached to a ring found at the crime scene was examined, but it wasn’t until 2022 that sensitive DNA analysis allowed for Patel’s DNA to be linked to the hair.

He was sentenced after a trial at the Old Bailey, The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, on February 15.

Patel, who had his DNA recorded after a prior charge of Actual Bodily Harm in 2012, was then arrested in January of last year.

Further evidence, including matching footprints to bloodstains at the crime scene and the use of Marina’s stolen bank card near Patel’s home shortly after the murder, has made the case strong against him.

Patel was charged last year after police matched his foot to a bloody print left by the sole of a bare foot on a skirting board in the room where Koppel was murdered, according to Yahoo News.

“We are so pleased that finally Marina’s killer has been brought to justice,” said Detective Superintendent Katherine Goodwin of the Met Police. Marina’s family, although saddened by her husband’s passing in 2005, expressed relief at the closure the conviction brought.

“Marina was a daughter, a sister, a mother, a loving aunt, a daughter-in-law, and a sister-in-law who was much loved by all of us,” said her sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Mary and Martin Koppel. “We have all suffered these many, many years because we lost Marina so early in life.”