A ‘SELFISH’ husband who strangled and stabbed his wife after she started divorce proceedings has been convicted of her murder.
Harminder Mattu, 51, killed Paramjit Kaur, 46, at their home in Oldbury, West Midlands, on March 30 last year.
Mattu attended West Bromwich Police Station the following morning to report he had killed Mrs Kaur, who was also known as Soni to loved ones.
Officers quickly visited the address and sadly found the body of Mrs Kaur.
Mattu was subsequently charged with murder, which he denied, and faced trial.
But the 51-year-old is now due to be sentenced on April 2 after a jury found him guilty on Tuesday.
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Detective Sergeant Paul Parham said it appeared Mattu was trying to punish his wife for wanting to leave him.
Mrs Kaur was in the process of leaving Mattu, having filed for divorce about two months earlier, citing the irretrievable breakdown of their marriage of 10 years.
Speaking about the night she was killed, Mattu initially tried to claim Mrs Kaur was drunk, and that she had hit him.
He even told West Midlands Police Mrs Kaur was the one who had initially been armed with a knife.
The killer claimed he had managed to take it from his wife in an exchange in which she was stabbed.
But cops said their investigation subsequently uncovered the real circumstances leading to Mrs Kaur’s death.
A postmortem examination showed she died as result of pressure on her neck, rather than stab injuries.
These wounds most likely occurred after she was unconscious, police said.
Police said Mattu had previously slapped Mrs Kaur across the face, twisted her leg and broken her phone while drunk in December 2024, but she had not wanted to pursue criminal charges.
A further incident, unreported at the time but later shared with others, saw him grab her by the throat, causing her to briefly lose consciousness, police stated.
She later confided in others about the assaults.
At the end of 2024, she had briefly moved from the marital home but temporarily returned after Mattu expressed suicidal feelings.
In tribute, Mrs Kaur’s family said: “We feel a huge loss to our family, my sister was a loving and active member of our family who cared for and looked out for us all.”
He said: “It wasn’t self-defence, but the selfish actions of a man who didn’t want his marriage to end.
“Instead, he robbed Paramjit of the new future she was looking for.
“She tragically lost her life, and our thoughts remain with her loved ones.”
Mattu is due to be sentenced on April 2.
