Man Murdered His Girlfriend And Left Her In The Bath Before Dying In A Car Crash
The body of a woman who was murdered by her cocaine and gambling addict boyfriend was discovered three days after he died in a high-speed car crash.
28-year-old Jay Dawes strangled his girlfriend Amani Iqbal, who was a marketing manager for Sainsbury's, with a dressing gown and dumped her in a bathtub, an inquest heard. Ms Iqbal, 28, was last seen on CCTV crying as her boyfriend closed the curtains at their flat at around 9pm on New Year's Eve 2020.
Within an hour of killing her, Dawes was texting his drug dealer Brian Alexander saying he "got rid" of Amani and had found another girlfriend, claiming he was "happy and upbeat."
Dawes shared around 60 text messages with Alexander and met him three times prior to the fatal car smash. During this time he bought pizzas using her bank card, withdrew £750 cash, and drove around in her Fiat 500.
On January 2, Dawes smashed his car into a heavy goods vehicle that was parked in a layby near Saffron Walden, Essex. The strangled body of Ms Iqbal was discovered at their flat in Walthamstow on January 3.
During the inquest, Samina Iqbal, Amani's mother, said that she believed the texts she received wishing her a Happy New Year were sent by someone else due to the number of spelling mistakes.
When talking about Amani's relationship with her daughter, Samina Iqbal said: "I saw him undermining her friendships. He was not a good influence on her."
Nadia Persaud, the coroner, recorded a conclusion of unlawful killing of Ms Iqbal.
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