Husband who stabbed his estranged spouse to dying earlier than burying her physique in makeshift grave in backyard is jailed for 26 years

A husband who stabbed his estranged ex-wife to death before burying her in his back garden in a makeshift grave has been jailed for 26 years.

Alireza Askari, 42, admitted he stabbed Paria Veisi, 37, to death at the home they had shared in Penylan, Cardiff, in April last year.

Ms Veisi, a glamorous hairdressing company director, had recently separated from him and moved out earlier that month, Cardiff Crown Court heard on Thursday.

But Askari lured her back to their former marital home, into the hair salon she ran from their conservatory, to kill her, prosecutor William Hughes KC said.

Police would later find her body in a ‘makeshift grave’ in the back garden. 

She was buried under a flower bed, patio slabs and soil with the help of Askari’s aunt Maryam Delavary, 48, the prosecution said.

Highly corrosive chemicals were found with Askari when he was arrested, which ‘were to be used in the destruction of Paria’s remains’, Mr Hughes said.

Mrs Justice Stacey sentenced Askari to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 25 years and 37 days on Friday for the ‘cold-blooded murder’ of Ms Veisi.  

Askari and Ms Veisi had moved to the UK from Iran in 2010 and got married. But by April last year, the couple had split up. 

Before the murder, police found he had been texting another woman in Iran, thought to be his girlfriend. 

In one message, he told her: ‘I’m planning for them to kill her in Iran.’ 

Askari, of Penylan, Cardiff, previously pleaded guilty to murder and preventing the lawful and decent burial of a body at Cardiff Crown Court.

A further charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm was ordered to lie on file.

Addressing Askari, Mrs Justice Stacey said: ‘She was in the prime of her life, her death has destroyed her family’s happiness, as you knew it would.

‘You subjected Paria to abuse at home and [she] was fearful of you, Paria confided to her friends how scared she was of you.

‘You recruited your aunt, the second defendant, immediately… 

‘You did everything in your power to cover up the murder, to destroy evidence and to hinder the South Wales Police investigation.

‘You killed your ex-wife because she wanted a divorce and had left you less than two weeks earlier.

‘You would not allow her to have her own life and you were jealous and resentful.’  

‘Your hypocrisy was staggering – at the same time you wanted [Paria] out of the way so you could take up with your girlfriend in Iran.’

The judge also said he was ‘jealous’ of his successful businesswoman wife, who was ‘strong, confident and attractive’. 

‘It has been put forward your jealousy of your ex-wife’s car was also a factor in you wanting to kill her as you were so angry when she refused to give it to you,’ Mrs Justice Stacey said. 

‘You murdered your ex-wife in a premeditated plan hatched at least a month earlier.

‘She was taken by complete surprise and had no chance to defend herself.

‘She was dumped in the pond in the garden, covered with patio stones and with compost and plants on top.

‘You attempted to lay a false trail to avoid her absence being discovered by sending messages to her friends and family from her mobile phone.’

Delavary, of Australia Road, White City Estate, west London, previously pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice.

She was sentenced to five years and six months imprisonment, also on Friday. 

Askari went out to buy a set of kitchen knives from Tesco and came back home on April 12 last year. 

These knives are suspected to have been used as the murder weapons.

Mr Hughes said: ‘It is the prosecution’s case that the first defendant, Alireza Askari, murdered Paria Veisi at around 4.30pm on April 12 in the conservatory of his home address. 

‘After Alireza Askari had murdered Paria Veisi, he prevented the lawful burial of her body by placing her remains in a makeshift grave in the garden.’

After the brutal murder, Askari drove to a David Lloyd leisure centre to take a shower.

Later that afternoon, he rang his aunt Delavary, who came all the way from London to Cardiff in a taxi. 

After their call, he then made another trip to the Sainsbury’s and B&Q, where he bought bleach, compost and plants.

Mr Hughes said: ‘The prosecution’s case is that, on arrival, Maryam Delavary was to assist in the covering up of Paria’s murder.’

A concerned friend called South Wales Police the day after the murder, telling them she was ‘being kept against her will by her ex-husband’. 

The last time she had been seen alive was when leaving her workplace in her £40,000 Mercedes.

A missing person investigation was launched and Askari was arrested three days after the murder on April 15. 

He was apprehended while driving back to Cardiff from Birmingham with canisters containing highly corrosive caustic soda. 

Mr Hughes said: ‘These chemicals, say the prosecution, were to be used in the destruction of Paria’s remains.’

Cops searched his property and discovered Ms Veisi’s body in the back garden beneath patio slabs, soil and newly planted flowers on April 18.

She had been stabbed four times in the chest and neck. 

Mr Hughes added: ‘Paria’s naked body was discovered by police officers buried in the garden in the place where a pond used to be. 

‘Her body had been covered in new soil and plants. There were ongoing plans to remove the body and destroy it chemically.’

A witness had heard a scream at the time of the murder come from the former couple’s home which they ‘likened to a sound from a horror film’. 

Hiria Veisi, Ms Veisi’s sister, told the court: ‘This horrific and sudden loss of Paria has shattered our family.

‘It hurts us so deeply as a family to know that (her) future was taken from (her) in an instant.

‘What happened to Paria must never be allowed to happen to anyone else. This pain will remain with us for the rest of our lives.’

This is a breaking story – further updates to follow.