Ex-husband convicted of killing Indian woman in UK arrow attack

London: A 51-year-old man, who was on trial for killing his heavily pregnant Indian-origin ex-wife by firing a crossbow at her, has been convicted of her murder by a court here on Friday.

Ramanodge Unmathallegadoo, originally from Mauritius, planned the attack on his 35-year-old ex-wife Devi who was eight months pregnant in November last year, the Old Bailey court was told.

Armed with two crossbows, Unmathallegadoo had hidden himself inside the shed at the end of the garden of the east London home where Devi lived with husband Imtiaz and five children as Sana Muhammad after converting to Islam.

An arrow, which measured 18 inches, entered the victim in her hip and travelled up through her body.

It missed the unborn baby, a boy delivered by emergency Cesarean section in hospital later.

"The injuries suffered by Sana as a result of the arrow penetrating 14 inches into her body were catastrophic," said Detective Sergeant Amjad Sharif, who led the murder investigation for Scotland Yard.

"The force of the crossbow bolt caused damage to her intestines, stomach, liver and heart. It is clear the crossbow used to kill Sana, which was legally bought and owned by Unmathallegadoo, was intended to be used as a lethal weapon. He had in fact bought a number of crossbows in recent years and appeared to be building up his arsenal of weaponry in the months before Sana was killed," he said.