Northolt man found guilty of killing girlfriend

A man who strangled his girlfriend on Christmas Day and dumped her body in the Grand Union Canal in Southall has today( Monday 5 August) been jailed for life after been found guilty of murder.

Manzar Juma,28, of Hexham Gardens, Northolt was convicted at the Old Bailey of murdering 23-year old Ruby Love on Sunday 25 December, 2011.

He was given a life sentence and told to he must serve a minimum of 16 years before being considered for release.

The court heard that at the time of her death Ruby, from Harrow, had been in a relationship with Juma for a number of years. They also heard that she had suffered domestic violence at the hands of Jama but had decided to restart their relationship the evening before her death.

Ruby and Juma were living apart and around 17:30hrs on Christmas Eve, 2011, Juma collected Ruby from outside her mother's home in Harrow where she was living.

Shortly afterwards, Ruby sent a text message to a friend stating that she and Juma were back together again and he was going to take her out for a meal. Ruby indicated that they planned to visit the friend's house for a drink beforehand.

The couple never arrived.

Between 01:30hrs and 01:45hrs on Christmas morning a couple living next door to Juma heard shouting from his flat.

They also heard a female voice pleading "no". Around three hours later the same neighbours were woken by Juma re-entering their block of flats before leaving again and driving away in his Vauxhall Zafira.

At 05:40hrs on the same morning CCTV captured the vehicle traveling along the Uxbridge Road in Southall before turning into Bankside, a quiet cul-de-sac which runs parallel to the Grand Union Canal.

The footage revealed the Vauxhall Zafira remained in Bankside for approximately four minutes before it drove out and back onto the Uxbridge Road.

Ruby's body was discovered by a dog walker at 11:42hrs that same day.

She was fully-clothed and floating face-down in the Canal. A post mortem examination later concluded that she had died from compression of the neck caused by a ligature.

Later that afternoon Juma drove to West Ealing where he dumped Ms Love's mobile telephone in a rubbish bin.

Juma was arrested on 27 December and his Zafira seized. Forensic evidence linked Ruby's body to the boot of his car. Despite claiming that he had driven Ms Love to a venue in Southall and had left her safe and well, Juma was charged with her murder on 29 December 2011.

Detective Chief Inspector Tim Duffield, Homicide and Serious Crime Command (HSCC), said: "Today the truth finally caught up with Manzar Jama. Not only did he strangle Ruby and callously dump her body in a canal, he then wove a web of lies to try to avoid capture.

"Our deepest sympathies go out to Ruby Love's friends and family as they try to come to terms with their loss and I hope that today's conviction provides them with some small measure of solace."

5th August 2013