Husband who put body in suitcase gets life sentence

‘Evil man’ who strangled wife for online affair and dumped her body in river sentenced to life in prison in prison.

Aminan Rahman, 46, from east London, attacked Suma Begum, 24, during a video call with her boyfriend in April, the Old Bailey was previously told.

The court heard how Rahman put her in a suitcase after strangling her, while she may still have been alive.

At the Old Bailey, Mr Justice Bennathan set a minimum of 22 years before Rahman could apply for parole.

He had pleaded guilty before his trial began to preventing the lawful and decent burial of Ms Begum’s body.

Passing sentence, Judge Bennathan said Ms Begum was a “lively and attractive young woman and a devoted mother” who dreamed of a new life with a man her own age.

After strangling his wife, Rahman had within minutes packed her body into a suitcase and thrown it into the Thames Basin, “hoping it would never be found”, the judge said.

Rahman then spun a “web of lies” claiming Ms Begum had left of her own accord, Judge Bennathan said.

The trial heard that Rahman was filmed attacking his wife during a video call with her boyfriend Shanin Miah, which was recorded on the recipient’s mobile phone.

Prosecutor Jocelyn Ledward KC said Rahman “most likely” killed Ms Begum “on the spot” in their Tower Hamlets flat on the night of April 29, 2023, but at least “incapacitated” her before stuffing her body into the suitcase and dumping it in the River Lea.

The suitcase was found by a citizen 10 days later, still containing his body, washed up on the river bank downstream.

Ms Begum had entered into an Islamic marriage over the phone in 2019, while Rahman was in London and she was living in Bangladesh, the court heard.

They had initially lived in Somerset as husband and wife, where Rahman worked as a chef, before moving to east London in April 2023 where they stayed in a Docklands flat with their two children.

Ms Begum had then begun an “intimate” online relationship with Mr Miah, a man her age who lived in the United Arab Emirates. They had “hoped to be together one day”, the trial heard.

Rahman also threatened to kill Mr Miah, the court heard.

A statement from Ms Begum’s half-brother, Abdul Amin, was read out in court on behalf of his family and her mother, Rahena Begum.

“During the trial, we heard about the abuse Suma suffered at the hands of Aminan and how he killed her on April 29, 2023,” the statement read.

“We learned about the pain Suma endured throughout her marriage to this evil man.”

Mr Amin said his sister was a “beautiful woman who loved spending time with us” but had become withdrawn after arriving in the UK.

He added: “We learned… that Suma wanted to tell us how Aminan was abusing her, but he threatened to kill her if she did.”