Deepak Sandhu, 24, has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 28 years after being found guilty of murdering Xiaoqing Ke, 39, at an Airbnb in west London. The university dropout was branded “controlling and manipulative” during his sentencing on Friday, October 16.
Sandhu, who reportedly claimed to be a model and actor to inflate his status, formed a relationship with Ms Ke in Southampton. He stole £500 from her handbag, and when she demanded the money back, he bought knives in Asda and travelled to Earl’s Court, where he repeatedly stabbed her in her rented bedsit. Ms Ke was found on the bedroom floor of the flat in Old Brompton Road on December 10 last year, having suffered catastrophic injuries including a fatal deep stab wound to the neck.
Brutal and premeditated revenge
Prosecutor Caroline Carberry KC said Sandhu, a failed AI student, had murdered Ms Ke to exact “brutal and fatal revenge” before attempting to leave the country. Indian national Sandhu, whose student visa had been revoked, denied responsibility, claiming she was alive when he left her flat. A jury deliberated for two hours to find him guilty of murder and perverting the course of justice.
Judge Philip Katz KC jailed Sandhu for life with a minimum term of 28 years. The judge said single mother-of-two Ms Ke had only ever been kind and thoughtful towards Sandhu, and he had repaid her by stealing money, which was a “despicable and entirely selfish thing to do”.
Judge's condemnation
The judge said: “The jury must have been stunned by the torrent of lies you told Ms Ke and everyone else. They were often manipulative, controlling and cruel. In the space of just over an hour you murdered Ms Ke in the most brutal and callous way. I’m sure you came to think that if you could not have Ms Ke then nobody else would. You took your revenge in a carefully planned and premeditated way.”
The judge added that Sandhu had shown no remorse or empathy for Ms Ke, saying: “This has always been about you and your belief you had been badly done to.”
Background and deception
The court heard Sandhu entered the UK in September 2024 on a student visa, revoked six months later in March 2025 when he dropped out of university in Southampton. Around that time, Chinese national Ms Ke arrived in the UK on a standard visitor’s visa. The two met and engaged in a secret relationship via a translation app. At the time, Mandarin speaker Ms Ke was working at a brothel in Southampton, and Punjabi speaker Sandhu was a customer.
They remained in contact after she moved to London until Ms Ke discovered he had stolen £500 from her handbag. Ms Carberry outlined his “white lies”, including claiming to live with his sister in Southampton, portraying himself as a model and actor, fabricating a trip to the US for an audition, and claiming he would attend a graduation ceremony at Southampton Solent University when no such ceremony existed. He also claimed he was robbed of £3,500 at gunpoint in the US and had a job at a bank paying £6,000 a month, none of which was true.
Final moments and arrest
After Ms Ke called him out as a “liar” and demanded repayment, Sandhu vented his anger, telling her former brothel boss she “will regret what she has done”. On December 9 last year, he set off from Southampton armed with a knife. Doorbell camera footage captured him arriving at Ms Ke’s Airbnb with his face covered and wearing a baseball cap, and leaving after about 90 minutes. After the killing, he phoned his sister in India and booked a flight from Birmingham to Mumbai. He was arrested on December 12 last year on a National Express coach from Southampton to Birmingham Airport.
Sandhu admitted lying about being an actor and model and taking £500 from Ms Ke, saying he struggled to survive on construction work and handouts from family. But he denied the killing, claiming he had been waiting in a laundry room while Ms Ke was with a “customer”. He told jurors: “I am not a dangerous man. I am not capable of killing.”
Reactions and impact
Shikha Varma, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Xiaoqing Ke saw through Deepak Sandhu’s many lies and, when she rejected him and ended their relationship, he reacted by taking her life in a calculated and brutal attack. The CPS remains committed to ensuring perpetrators like Sandhu, who commit such horrific violence against women and girls, are robustly prosecuted and face the full force of the law. Despite his repeated denials and efforts to evade justice, prosecutors were able to unravel his lies and present extensive evidence to the court of his anger towards Ms Ke and his presence at the scene, and the jury found him guilty of murder. Our thoughts remain with Ms Ke’s family and friends at this incredibly difficult time. We hope his conviction and sentence bring them some measure of justice.”
A victim family impact statement from Ms Ke’s sister said: “This tragedy has had a devastating impact on our entire family. When we think that my sister was finally approaching a time when her hardships might ease, only for her life to end in such a way, we are filled with a profound sense of injustice, regret and unbearable heartache. The only wish our entire family has is that the person responsible receives the punishment they deserve under the law. We believe that the law will deliver a just outcome, uphold justice, and provide our family with the justice our loved one deserves, bringing some measure of solace to those of us who continue to grieve her loss.”
Detective Chief Inspector Wayne Jolley, of Scotland Yard, said: “Xiaoqing’s family have been through an unimaginably painful time, and our thoughts remain with them. The sentence served on Sandhu concludes a thorough investigation by my team, which uncovered vital evidence showing how Sandhu had become fixated on Xiaoqing and had subjected her to a tirade of controlling and abusive messages before ultimately deciding to end her life. Xiaoqing should never have had to endure what happened to her either in the months before her death or in the final moments of her life. Tackling violence against women and girls remains one of our key priorities, and we will do everything to identify those who carry out these offences and bring them to justice.”
