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'I AM LOST WITHOUT HER'

Pardeep Kaur’s husband in agony as they were planning more kids before she was murdered under bridge by Latvian drifter allowed in UK despite convictions in homeland

Vadims Ruskuls is facing life behind bars for killing Pardeep Kaur during violent sex attack

THE husband of a murdered hotel housekeeper had told of his agony at losing his "life partner".

Latvian drifter Vadims Ruskuls, 25, was found guilty at the Old Bailey of murdering Pardeep Kaur as she walked to work in October last year.

Pardeep Kaur death
Housekeeper Pardeep Kaurwas found dumped in a waste ground five days after she was reportedCredit: PA:Press Association

He had fled his homeland following a string of criminal convictions before he raped and murdered the 30-year-old mum.

He husband Rachpal Singh said: "Vadims Ruskuls not only killed Pardeep but destroyed our whole family.

"All our dreams are shattered. I have lost my life partner.

"I am lost without her.

"It has been six months since Pardeep was murdered and I have not forgotten her for even six seconds and always think what Pardeep must have gone through on that dark morning when she was killed.

 Vadims Ruskuls was found guilty of murdering Pardeep Kaur as she walked to work in October last year
Vadims Ruskuls was found guilty of murdering Pardeep Kaur as she walked to work in October last yearCredit: Met Police

"Our daughter, who is only six years old can't comprehend what's happened, despite being told that Pardeep has passed away, our daughter still says "my mum is missing, has she been found yet?"

Singh was caught on chilling CCTV footage stalking Pardeep as she approached Harlington Bridge in Hayes, west London.

It's thought the Latvian was sleeping rough with his mother beneath the bridge crossing the M4 when he pounced.

They disappeared from view for 25 minutes before his shadowy figure emerged dragging Pardeep's partly naked body on to waste ground, where she was hidden beneath branches and an old sleeping bag.

Prosecutor Crispin Aylett QC told jurors that Pardeep had scratched Ruskuls' face in a desperate attempt to get away but her screams were drowned out by the traffic.

The rough ground where her body was dumped was a "bleak spot" used by rough sleepers, drunks and drug addicts, he said.

Her badly decomposed body was discovered almost a week later by a visiting Norwegian Detective Chief Inspector Kenneth Berg who spotted a human foot sticking out.

Ruskuls was caught after local Pc Richard Lewis recognised the stooped figure in the CCTV footage as the man he had spoken to the day after Mrs Kaur's disappearance.

In the early hours, the constable had been called to a house in Hayes to a report of a "stoned" man trying to open the front door looking like he had been "dragged through a hedge".

 Vadims Ruskuls was found guilty at the Old Bailey
Vadims Ruskuls was found guilty at the Old BaileyCredit: PA:Press Association

The officer found the suspect walking barefoot with scratches to his left cheek and neck, the court heard.

Following his arrest for the murder of Pardeep, Ruskuls' DNA was compared with samples taken from her body.

It was matched to DNA from her ankle, sock and the left cup of her bra with a probability of "one in a billion", jurors were told.

 Chilling CCTV footage showed how he stalked the 30-year old mum
Chilling CCTV footage showed how he stalked the 30-year old mum

DNA from the victim's fingernails was also found to be a match, the court heard.

A post-mortem examination failed to establish how she died but Mr Aylett said it was obvious from the way she had been found that it was murder.

Jurors were told that Pardeep had come to live in Britain in 2011 with her husband, Rachpal Singh.

She worked at the Sheraton Skyline Hotel in Harlington while Mr Singh had a job at Fresh Foods in Hayes.

They both worked six days a week to send money to their five-year-old daughter who lived with her grandparents in India.

Pardeep Kaur death
CCTV of Pardeep Kaur from the day she was last seen alive in Harlington High Street, west LondonCredit: PA:Press Association

When Pardeep was reported missing, police initially suspected the husband because he lied saying he had seen her that morning when he had yet to return from a night shift.

The court heard he had feared they would discover he was working without a permit.

It was only after he came clean, that the investigation "quickly moved on", Mr Aylett said.

The defendant, who denied murder, refused to make any comment in police interviews and declined to give evidence in court.

The court heard it was unclear when Ruskuls first arrived in Britain from his home country where he had four previous convictions for burglary and criminal damage.

He had a short-lived marriage to a woman who lived in Feltham, west London, but otherwise appeared to live in a number of different places.

Outside court, Detective Sergeant Nick Miller, of Scotland Yard, said Ruskuls sexually assaulted Pardeep and "effectively stubbed her life out" and then refused to explain his actions to police or the court.

He said: "The jury has today reached a unanimous verdict that Ruskuls is responsible for the murder of Pardeep Kaur.

"While the lives of her husband and daughter will forever be deeply affected by their terrible loss, it gives them some solace that justice has been done and Vadims Ruskuls will serve a life sentence for this senseless killing."


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