Man who shot his heavily pregnant ex-wife with crossbow in 'brutal and evil' revenge attack jailed for 33 years
A man has been jailed after he shot dead his heavily pregnant ex-wife with a crossbow in what was described as a "brutal and evil attack". On November 12, 2018, 35-year-old Sana Muhammad was shot in the abdomen by Ramanodge Unmathallegadoo at her Ilford residence, according to a BBC report.
The Old Bailey court heard how 51-year-old Unmathallegadoo hid in the shed of his former wife's garden armed with a pair of crossbows, bolts, a knife, duct tape, cable ties, and a hammer. He was subsequently sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 33 years.
Fortunately, Sana's son survived the attack and was delivered by C-section. He is her sixth child, the court heard.
The defendant was armed with two crossbows on the morning of November 12. According to the report, he was disturbed by Sana's husband Imtiaz, who had apparently gone to the shed to store a box.
As soon as Unmathallegadoo saw the opportunity, he stormed into the house and shot his ex-wife with an 18-inch arrow. The victim had tried to flee her attacker by running upstairs but in vain.
The killing was described by Judge Mark Lucraft QC as "brutal and evil". He told the court Unmathallegadoo would have shot Imtiaz too had it not been for the presence of Sana's children.
Unmathallegadoo had been plotting the attack for weeks, jurors heard. The two crossbows he purchased were discovered near Sana's home by a neighbor in March 2018.
"You have carefully planned this attack. You had two loaded crossbows and I'm entirely satisfied you intended an attack on Sana and then on Imtiaz," the judge said.
"One can only assume that you were jealous of their life together and the fact that they had formed a loving bond between themselves and with your children." Previously, Sana's widower paid tribute to his "soul mate" who was snatched from him too soon.
"She was very friendly, talkative and always made me laugh," Imtiaz said. "She was my soul mate, my best friend, my wife, my companion, and my everything and I love her dearly."
"Ram must have been very jealous of the life Sana and I had and that we were living a happy life," he added. Sana was only 16 when she entered into an arranged marriage with the defendant, who was aged 30 at the time.
Their marriage ended in 2012 following an incident that saw Sana jump from an upstairs window and break her ankle.
After the fallout, Sana obtained a restraining ordered which banned Unmathallegadoo from going within 100 meters of her residence. At the time of the fatal attack, the order was still in place.