UK court places man under indefinite hospital order for killing teenage Indian girlfriend

A British court has granted an indefinite hospital order to a Tunisian man who killed his 19-year-old girlfriend of Indian descent by stabbing her in 2022. On March 19, 2022, Sabita Thanwani, an aspiring psychologist, was stabbed in the neck at her student residence in Clerkenwell, east London, by Maher Maaroufe, 24, according to a report from Sky News. According to the report, Sabita passed away at the scene, and a post-mortem examination revealed that a sharp force injury to the neck was the cause of death. According to the report, the Tunisian national was not enrolled in school and was romantically involved with Sabita at the time of the attack. He was suffering from schizoaffective disorder at the time and admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, the BBC reported. On Monday, Judge Nigel Lickley sentenced Maaroufe at the Old Bailey court in London to a hospital order without a time limit, the report said. An hospital order is a court order which is used to force a person to go hospital for assessment or treatment for a mental illness. “Sabita had her whole life ahead of her. You ended her life. Your actions will continue to cause enduring pain and suffering,” the judge said. He said Maaroufe had been “aggressive” and “controlling” towards Sabita during their relationship and hit her at least once. He added that Maaroufe carried out the attack during the “height” of a psychotic episode. The court heard that Maaroufe entered the UK legally on an unknown date but had overstayed and was in the process of claiming asylum at the time of the attack.