Guilty Plea in Disturbing Cardiff Murder Case
A London woman has admitted to perverting the course of justice in connection with the killing of missing businesswoman Paria Velsi, whose body was discovered buried in her estranged husband's garden in Cardiff.
Forty-eight-year-old Maryam Delavary from White City changed her plea to guilty yesterday at Newport Crown Court. She admitted "doing a series of acts with the tendency to pervert the course of justice" by concealing or destroying evidence and providing false information to police.
Tragic Discovery in Penylan Garden
The case began when 37-year-old Paria Velsi vanished after leaving her workplace in Cardiff's Canton area on April 12. She was reported missing to South Wales Police the following day.
Her black Mercedes GLC 200, valued at approximately £40,000, was later found abandoned on Dorchester Avenue in Penylan, about a mile from where she was last seen.
Tragically, seven days after her disappearance on April 19, police discovered Ms Velsi's body buried at a property in the Penylan area of Cardiff. A post-mortem examination revealed she had suffered stab wounds to both the neck and upper chest.
Legal Proceedings and Upcoming Trial
Ms Velsi's estranged husband, Alireza Askari, faces serious charges including murder, preventing a lawful and decent burial of a dead body, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
The court heard that police had previously attended the address where an account was provided, but returned days later to make the grim discovery of Ms Velsi's body.
Following her guilty plea, Delavary has been remanded in custody and will be sentenced at a later date. The prosecution accepted her plea, and a separate charge of preventing a lawful and decent burial will "lie on file".
Askari is scheduled to face trial for his charges on April 20, 2026, as the legal process continues to unfold in this heartbreaking case.
