A man has been jailed for life for brutally assaulting and throwing a woman from a car, following a Met Police investigation

A judge at the Old Bailey on Tuesday, 14 April sentenced Duane Owusu, 36 (17.10.1989), to a minimum of 16 years and six months in jail for the murder of Zahwa Mukhtar, 27, in Chadwell Heath on Saturday, 16 August.

A jury at the same court found Owusu, of Althorne Way, Dagenham, guilty of murder on Thursday, 5 March.

Detective Chief Inspector Phil Clarke, from Specialist Crime North, said: "The sentence in this case reflects the severity of Owusu's offending and our thoughts remain as always with Zahwa's family and friends.

"Using CCTV evidence, the investigation team was able to quickly identify Owusu as the killer. Their dedication to this detailed work to trace and examine key footage from the time of the incident was crucial in securing Owusu’s conviction."

Zahwa met the defendant in the early hours of Saturday, 16 August, while he was out with a group of people in Hackney. She joined the group, ultimately ending up in a car with them.

Around 04:30hrs there was a dispute and Owusu threw Zahwa out of the car at Chadwell Heath Lane. Owusu then got out and attempted to kick Zahwa in the head twice before punching her. He got back in the car and fled the scene – leaving Zahwa unconscious by the roadside.

Shortly afterwards, police pulled the car over for a routine stop. A small quantity of drugs was recovered from the vehicle, and Owusu was caught on body-worn video behaving aggressively.

Officers decided to allow the car to go, although the driver was to be invited for interview at a later date.

Passers-by then alerted the officers that a woman was injured by the roadside nearby. Police attended and commenced CPR on unconscious Zahwa. Sadly, she was pronounced dead by paramedics shortly after.

Having linked the car that was stopped earlier in the night to Zahwa's death, the investigation team sought to trace the movements of the passengers.

They obtained graphic CCTV footage of the fatal assault, showing Owusu throwing Zahwa from the car, then attacking her.

Further CCTV footage showed Owusu and a passenger who had been in the car waiting for a taxi. Owusu was heard berating the other man for wanting to turn around and help Zahwa, referring to him as a "weak link".

Owusu was arrested on Sunday, 17 August, and taken into police custody, where he gave a no comment interview. He was charged on Monday, 18 August.