University dropout murdered woman in 'brutal revenge' at Airbnb after she rejected him

University dropout murdered woman in 'brutal revenge' at Airbnb after she rejected him Deepak Sandhu, 24, murdered 39-year-old Xiaoqing Ke after she ended their brief relationship upon discovering he had stolen £500 from her handbag and lied about being a model A failed student has been jailed after murdering a woman as "brutal and fatal revenge" at an Airbnb after she rejected him. University dropout Deepak Sandhu, 24, bought knives in Asda before travelling to Earl’s Court in West London, where he killed 39-year-old Xiaoqing Ke and fled the scene. Ms Ke was found face down on the bedroom floor of the bedsit on December 10 last year with a deep stab wound to her neck. Police searched her phone and found messages between Ms Ke and Sandhu, who had become obsessed with her after she ended a brief relationship. Blood samples taken from the scene turned up a match for Sandhu, and he was arrested on December while travelling on a National Express coach from Southampton to Birmingham Airport. Sandhu denied killing her, claiming she was alive when he left her flat. On Thursday, a jury at the Old Bailey unanimously found him guilty of murder and perverting the course of justice by attempting to flee the country. He was sentenced to was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 28 years in prison this afternoon. During the trial, prosecutor Caroline Carberry KC told the court Sandhu was a “fantasist” who had made false claims about his life, and had stolen £500 from Ms Ke. She told jurors: “Xiaoqing Ke was murdered that evening by Deepak Sandhu who had become an obsessed, manipulative young man who could not accept her rejection of him and carried out a brutal and fatal revenge attack on her before attempting to leave the country.” The court heard how Sandhu, an Indian national, had entered the UK in September 2024 on a student visa. This was revoked six months later when he dropped out of university in Southampton. Chinese national Ms Ke arrived in the UK on a standard visitor’s visa around the same time, and the pair began a secret relationship by communicating via a translation app. Ms Ke was working at a brothel in Southampton and Sandhu was a customer, the court heard. They remained in contact after she moved to London until Ms Ke discovered he had stolen £500 from her handbag, and had falsely claimed to be a model and actor. Ms Carberry said: "He claimed to be living with his sister in Southampton even though she was in India. He portrayed himself to her as a model and actor and he fabricated a trip to the United States for an audition. He told Ms Ke that he would be attending his graduation ceremony in Southampton Solent University. There was no such ceremony. In reality he had been removed from his course months earlier because of poor attendance." He admitted taking money from Ms Ke but invented another story to try and explain why, telling her he was robbed of £3,500 at gunpoint in the US, and had a job at a bank paying £6,000 a month. She called him out as a “liar” and demanded he pay her back, telling him: “Don’t come see me. I’m clear, I’m not a fool.” Sandhu told her former brothel boss that she “will regret what she has done”. In messages on WhatsApp, Sandhu vented his anger and asked a friend: “Do you think I have to take my revenge on her?” But he pleaded with Ms Ke to give him a second chance, claiming he could give her back the money and that he could get her British citizenship through a contact. Doorbell camera footage from Ms Ke’s Airbnb bedsit on the day of the murder showed him arriving with his face covered and wearing a baseball cap, leaving after about 90 minutes. After the killing, Sandhu phoned his sister in India and booked a flight from Birmingham to Mumbai. Following his arrest, he attempted to maintain his innocence by claiming he had been in another room when Ms Ke was attacked, and did not see the killer. Sandhu claimed to jurors that when he saw Ms Ke, she told him to leave, adding: “I am not a dangerous man. I am not capable of killing.“ Shikha Varma, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Xiaoqing Ke saw through Deepak Sandhu’s many lies and, when she rejected him and ended their relationship, he reacted by taking her life in a calculated and brutal attack. The CPS remains committed to ensuring perpetrators like Sandhu, who commit such horrific violence against women and girls, are robustly prosecuted and face the full force of the law. “Despite his repeated denials and efforts to evade justice, prosecutors were able to unravel his lies and present extensive evidence to the court of his anger towards Ms Ke and his presence at the scene, and the jury found him guilty of murder. Our thoughts remain with Ms Ke’s family and friends at this incredibly difficult time. We hope his conviction and sentence bring them some measure of justice.” Met Police Detective Chief Inspector Wayne Jolley said: “Xiaoqing's family have been through an unimaginably painful time, and our thoughts remain with them. Our team uncovered vital evidence which showed Sandhu had become fixated on Xiaoqing and had subjected her to a tirade of controlling and abusive messages before ultimately deciding to end her life. “Xiaoqing should never have had to endure what happened to her either in the months before her death or in the final moments of her life. Tackling violence against women and girls remains one of our key priorities, and we will do everything to identify those who carry out these offences and bring them to justice.”