Man jailed for life for Warwickshire burning body murder
The mystery surrounding an unidentified burning body on a motorway hard shoulder was ended today when the man's killer was jailed for life.
Police were faced with a puzzle when charred remains with nothing to identify them were found by the M45 near Rugby, Warwickshire, on December 30 last year.
But using CCTV technology officers were able to track down his killer and arrest him just days later, nearly 100 miles away in Plaistow, east London.
Dental records confirmed the identity of the victim as 60-year-old Pakistani businessman Sher Khan, a father of seven and respected community figure.
His flatmate, Afghan immigrant Irshad Wali, 52, had battered him at least 20 times in the hallway of the house they shared with four other men in Plaistow.
He wrapped the body in a sheet and drove north in Mr Khan's car, stopping on the way for petrol which he used to douse the corpse before setting light to it.
Wali was found guilty of murder and perverting the course of justice by an Old Bailey jury and jailed for life today with a minimum term of 18 years.
The court heard that his deadly attack was so brutal that it fractured his skull and two vertebrae.
Judge Martin Stephens said the victim, who was held in "respect and affection by members of his community", had been "kind and trusting" towards Wali.
He condemned the killer's actions in setting fire to the body - an act described by the victim's family as a "humiliation".
