Manisha Patel gets at least 18 years for murdering her ex-lover's fiancee
A woman who stabbed, smothered and strangled her ex-lover's fiancee to death out of "pain and resentment" has been sentenced to at least 18 years.
The body of Purvi Joshi was discovered by her soon-to-be-husband Niraj Dave lying on the bedroom floor of their Kyeemagh home in Sydney on July 30, 2013.
The murderous lies of Maneesha Patel can be seen in her interview with police after she stabbed a romantic rival to death. Photo: 7 News
She had a knife sticking out of her abdomen and had been smothered and strangled by Mr Dave's former lover Manisha Patel hours earlier.
In sentencing the 32-year-old for murder on Monday, Justice Helen Wilson found she intended to kill Ms Joshi who became the focus of her "pain and resentment".
Patel, she added, thought that by killing Ms Joshi she would regain at least some of what she lost.
Patel pleaded not guilty to murder, saying she went to the apartment that morning while Mr Dave was working because Ms Joshi had demanded to know about their past relationship.
The murder weapon Manisha Patel used to kill her ex-lover's fiancee Purvi Joshi. Photo: 7 News
Once there, she said she killed Ms Joshi in self defence.
But Justice Wilson rejected this, saying "she went there instead to effect her own plan".
Patel, the court heard, had met Mr Dave on the Indian matrimonial website Shaadi.com in August 2011.
They became friends, moved in together and began a sexual relationship.
The body of Purvi Joshi was discovered by her soon-to-be-husband Niraj Dave lying on the bedroom floor in Sydney. Photo: 7 News
In early 2012, after formally ending his marriage with his wife in India, Mr Dave began talking to Ms Joshi who he told Patel was "just a friend".
Then in March 2013 Patel fell pregnant to Mr Dave following a drunken weekend in Dubai and they organised to have a termination.
"In the midst of all this Mr Dave told Patel about Ms Joshi and his plans to marry her."
During Patel's interview she repeatedly told the detective that she did not murder her ex-lover's fiancee. Photo: 7 News
Patel was "extremely distressed" about the termination and became depressed.
Just before Ms Joshi did arrive, Mr Dave asked Patel to leave his flat and hand over the keys to a black convertible they had bought together.
This, Justice Wilson said, "must have crystallised the offender's dramatic change in her own circumstances".
Ms Joshi, meanwhile, was completely innocent and had no idea she had walked into a "psycho-drama not of her own making".
Niraj Dave, (right) is giving evidence at the trial of his former lover Manisha Patel, who is accused of murdering Dave's fiancee Purvi Josh. Photo: AAP/Dan Himbrechts
It was horrible that she had come to Australia with so much hope and excitement about her new life only to find herself waking up to a brutal attack upon her, Justice Wilson said.
"At some point she must have known she was fighting for her life."
Although Justice Wilson said it was a "very serious example of murder", she found Patel had good prospects of rehabilitation, was acting "irrationally" at the time and was unlikely to reoffend.
Viral Patel, the sister of Manisha Patel who has been found guilty of the murder of Purvi Joshi, her ex-boyfriend Niraj Dave's new fiance, and is awaiting sentencing. Photo: AAP/Dean Lewins
She sentenced her to a maximum of 24 years and made her eligible for parole in August 2031.
Patel, who kept her head down throughout the sentence, waved to her sister Viral from the dock after the sentence was handed down.
