Man Jailed For Killing Friend

21 March 2012, 12:33 | Updated: 21 March 2012, 12:58

A man who stabbed a work colleague nine times during a cannabis smoking session at his home in Milton Keynes has been jailed for at least 20 years.

David Law, 33, was attacked in the garden of his home at Lichfield Down, Walnut Tree, on the evening of Monday 5 September 2011.

Suresh Nahar, (right) from Gurnards Avenue, Fishermead, Milton Keynes attacked Law while suffering from paranoid delusions.  He has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 20 years.

An off-duty police officer was among those to raise the alarm after hearing sounds of a disturbance within a property in Lichfield Down. He climbed over a fence into the garden of David’s home, where he saw David lying on the ground and Nahar crouched down and leaning over him.

During the disturbance other witnesses described hearing David saying he had been stabbed and calling out for help.

David was taken to Milton Keynes General Hospital, but died from his injuries. A post-mortem examination found he died from multiple stab wounds.

Nahar was arrested at the scene. As he had suffered injuries to his face, he was taken to Stoke Mandeville Hospital for treatment.

Sentenced

Passing sentence on 32 year old Nahar on Wednesday 21 March 2012, Judge Richard Foster - sitting at Luton Crown Court - told him:  "No-one apart from you will ever know precisely what was the cause of events on that Monday evening.  What's absolutely clear is the evening ended about 8pm with you inflicting multiple stab wounds on David Law."
 
Though Nahar was found not to be suffering from any mental illness, it was accepted that he did suffer from paranoid delusions.
 
Judge Foster said that lowered his culpability and provided some mitigation.
 
Before sentence was passed, the court was told that Nahar had wrongly believed his friend and work colleague Mr Law was responsible for a number of misfortunes that had befallen his family.
 
Mr Nahar, of Gurnards Avenue, Fishermead, Milton Keynes, had pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Law.
 
The court heard that both he and Mr Law were regular users of cannabis and, on the evening of 5 September last year, the defendant had gone to Mr Law's home in Lichfield Down, Walnut Tree, Milton Keynes.
 
Around 8pm neighbours of Mr Law suddenly heard a commotion break out in his back garden and shouting could be heard.

The jury heard that something had triggered a sudden explosion of violence, with Nahar attacking David in the back garden and stabbing him with a lock knife.
 
Five of the wounds proved to be fatal and nothing could be done to save Mr Law.
 
Nahar was convicted of the murder late on Tuesday afternoon and Judge Foster announced he would sentence him on Wednesday morning.
 
Ann Evans, prosecuting, said the evening before, when Nahar had been led from the dock to the cells below, he had mouthed the words  "You're dead" to David Law's sister Tracy Law, who was sitting in the public gallery.
 
Mrs Evans said:  "Clearly this has caused the family added distress."
 
During his trial, Nahar chose not to give evidence from the witness box.

David, who was born in Leicestershire but who moved to the Milton Keynes area with his family in 1983, had a 13-year-old son, who he was very close to.

Police reaction

Det Insp Phil Murphy, Senior Investigating Officer, said: “David (left) has been described to us by his family, friends and work colleagues as a nice guy who never looked for trouble. He was close to his son, who he saw often.

David Law

“While we may never know Nahar’s true motive in going to David’s home that night, he appears to have at the very least intended to take advantage of David’s better nature, as we know Nahar had financial problems.

“We are pleased with the verdict returned by the jury and the fact the sentencing has taken all the circumstances into account.”

Baljit Ubhey OBE, Chief Crown Prosecutor for Thames and Chiltern Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said: “We have worked closely with the police since this murder investigation was launched.  This was a brutal crime where David Law was viciously attacked by Suresh Kumar Nahar.

“The jury spent just 90 minutes deliberating before they returned a guilty verdict of murder. The conviction means that the jury was in no doubt that Nahar killed David, despite his denials.

“David’s family sat through the trial, in dignified silence.  They will never have the satisfaction of knowing why David died, as the defendant did not give evidence.

“As a result of the hard work and diligence by the prosecution team, a just outcome has been achieved for the victim and his family and friends.  We hope that the conviction and sentence will in some way help them in their struggle to come to terms with this tragic event.  Our thoughts are very much with them at this time.”