A man who killed a deaf aspiring accountant by punching her to the ground after ejecting her from a car has been sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of 16 years and six months.
Duane Owusu, 36, inflicted a fatal head injury on 27-year-old Zahwa Mukhtar in the early hours of 16 August 2025 in Chadwell Heath, east London. The court heard that the pair, along with friends, had been at a rave and were travelling in an overcrowded car when an argument broke out. Owusu grabbed Ms Mukhtar’s phone, threw it from the vehicle, and then forced her out onto the pavement.
He then attempted to kick her twice before delivering what Judge Richard Marks KC called a “forceful blow for which there was absolutely no justification,” punching her in the neck and causing her to fall. CCTV footage captured the incident, and witness Paige Allen described seeing Ms Mukhtar pleading with Owusu to stop, saying he “looked like a monster.” Despite pleas from others in the car to help the seriously injured woman, Owusu dismissed them, stating “no-one cares about her” and berating a passenger as a “weak link” for wanting to turn back. The group drove away, leaving Ms Mukhtar, who was deaf, lying alone at 4.30am.
Judge Marks condemned Owusu’s “callous and selfish” behaviour, noting he was “content to leave her there, flat out on her back on her own.” The court was told that Owusu, who was nicknamed “Nasty,” was on bail for an allegation of drug supply at the time of the murder and had a previous conviction for conspiracy to rob from 2010, for which he served eight years. In mitigation, his defence described him as a man with a “decent moral compass,” and Owusu expressed “deep sorrow and regret” to the victim’s family.
Zahwa Mukhtar, who worked as a finance assistant at the Young Vic Theatre, had become deaf at age three after contracting meningitis. Her brother described her as a “remarkable young woman” with a “vibrant personality” who never let her disability hold her back. An aspiring accountant, she had dreamed of one day opening a school for deaf children.
‘We are watching’: Blackmail campaign that ended in tragedy
In a separate case that caused profound suffering, a cruel six-month blackmail campaign orchestrated against an elderly couple left one victim hospitalised and contributed to the death of the other.
Charlotte Brown, 28, and Bradley Johnson, 52, from Brentwood and Upminster respectively, sent a series of anonymous threats beginning in June 2022, demanding payment of a fictitious £8,000 debt Brown claimed was owed to her deceased father. The first letter demanded £10,773. Their elderly targets received letters bearing menacing phrases like “we are watching” and “action will be taken,” along with videos of their home sent from an unknown number. The harassment continued with a chilling Christmas card that read: “You think this has gone away because you went to the filth. Your time will come you robbing c***. Happy Christmas.”
The impact on the victims, aged 74 and 77, was devastating. Their son told the court the unrelenting threats caused his mother to be hospitalised with a stress-related illness. His father died suddenly from a ruptured stomach ulcer, a death the family directly linked to the torment inflicted by Brown and Johnson.
Brown compounded her crimes with an elaborate deception, forging doctors’ letters claiming she had terminal cancer. She maintained this lie throughout what was described as a “toxic” affair with the married Johnson, who was led to believe her story and even drove her to hospital for supposed chemotherapy treatments. She continued the pretence in a bid to secure a lesser sentence, leading to an additional charge of perverting the course of justice. Brown, who was diagnosed with an emotionally unstable personality disorder, was apprehended at Stansted Airport. Both defendants expressed deep remorse.
At Inner London Crown Court, Brown was sentenced to four years in prison for blackmail and perverting the course of justice. Johnson received a sentence of two years and four months for blackmail.
Bookmaker robberies that ‘devastated lives’
Also sentenced this month was career criminal Harvinder Bhakar, 46, whose violent robberies at two Romford bookmakers left female employees terrified for their lives.
On 15 March 2025, Bhakar entered a William Hill shop and threatened a female employee who was emptying gaming machines. Gesturing to his pocket, he told her: “I will use what I have in my pocket if you don’t give me the money.” The following day, he targeted a Paddy Power shop around 10pm, hurrying to the counter with what appeared to be a double-barrelled shotgun concealed up his sleeve—later confirmed to be an imitation firearm.
He threatened the woman behind the counter, stating: “Don’t move or I’ll shoot, I have a gun and I’ll finish you.” The employee, terrified for her life, bravely activated a panic button around her neck and retreated to a secure area. Bhakar managed to reach under a security screen to grab £21 in coins before fleeing. He was arrested in Romford the next day.
Sentencing him to an extended prison sentence of 10-and-a-half years, the judge told Bhakar he was a “thug” who had “devastated the lives of two women who, unlike him, are useful members of society.”
