"he might even have gone to sleep while she died on the floor"
A man accused of murdering his partner allegedly beat her and then slept while she died on the floor next to his bed.
Raj Sidpara is accused of murdering Tarnjeet Riaz, also known as Tarnjeet Chagger, in the early hours of May 6, 2024, at his home in Tarbat Road, Leicester.
In October, he admitted her manslaughter but is now on trial for murder.
At Leicester Crown Court, prosecutor Steven Bailey said Sidpara caused 20 rib fractures and a brain injury to Ms Riaz.
The ferocious attack allegedly happened after a night out drinking.
Mr Bailey said: “This case is about a man who lost his temper with his partner at the end of a night out, and who beat and kicked and stamped her to death in a confined space in his bedroom.
“The injuries that he inflicted on her, and which he admits he inflicted on her, included extensive bruising to her face, to her head, to her chest, and elsewhere on her body.
“The bruising was the visible surface injuries, beneath which were found other injuries including 20 rib fractures – some ribs had multiple fractures – and bleeding on her brain.”
The cause of death was a combination of injuries to Ms Riaz’s head and chest.
Mr Bailey said Sidpara caused his partner’s lip “not just to be split but to be torn away from the jaw”.
He said: “The prosecution say that these injuries, or at least some of them, were inflicted with great force, with intensity.
“Many or most of them, the prosecution say, he is likely to have inflicted once, or while she was unconscious, or at least helpless, since the neighbours did not hear her crying out in help.
“Once he inflicted those injuries, he might even have gone to sleep while she died on the floor by the side of his bed.
“The exact time of her death is unclear. It is certain that he killed her.”
Ms Riaz regularly visited Sidpara’s home after their relationship began a few months previously.
On May 6 at 1:15 pm, Sidpara rang 999 and told the call handler that his partner had fallen over after they had been drinking at a bar which caused her to suffer injuries and bleed.
He told the ambulance service he thought she had fallen asleep in the living room the previous night and he got no response when he woke up the next morning and called out to her.
After waking up a second time, Sidpara said he found his partner on the floor by his bed “already cold”.
During the 999 call, Sidpara was instructed to perform CPR on Ms Riaz, but Mr Bailey said it failed because “by the time Mr Sidpara had called 999, she was already cold and stiff and her jaw locked shut”.
Mr Bailey said the couple were “heavy drinkers” but CCTV footage from the bar they visited before Ms Riaz’s death showed Sidpara was “far less drunk and out of control” than his partner and was able to drive himself home “without difficulty”.
He added that Sidpara may have been “angry” and “lost his temper” with his partner that evening, which led to the attack.
Defending Sidpara, Sarah Vine KC asked the jury to consider whether the defendant was “so affected by his alcohol dependency” that it caused him to behave in the way he did when he killed her.
The trial continues.
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