A heartless and self-centered murderer has been sentenced to life in prison for fatally striking a profoundly deaf young woman in the neck and abandoning her to perish on the street.
Duane Owusu, also known as Nasty, has been handed a life sentence at the Old Bailey, with a minimum term of 16 years and six months for the murder of Zahwa Mukhtar.
Owusu, 36, was described by witnesses as appearing ‘like a monster’ as he viciously attacked Zahwa, 27, in a fit of rage in Dagenham, London, on August 16, 2025.
Zahwa had accompanied Owusu, whom she had not previously met, on a night out in the early hours of that day, as revealed in the Old Bailey proceedings.
According to court testimonies, Zahwa was in a car with a group of individuals after inhaling laughing gas and was expelled from the vehicle by Owusu following an altercation with one of his acquaintances.
Jurors were informed that Zahwa had pulled the hair of Owusu’s female companion and had made threats of violence during an argument, leading Owusu to discard her phone from the car as it approached Chadwell Heath.
Subsequently, he ejected her as well, before launching into a brutal and prolonged assault.
Witnesses recounted that he directed two kicks at her face while she was seated on the pavement, which he followed with a punch as she attempted to rise. The fatal punch struck her neck, causing her to collapse on the street as she pleaded desperately with him.
One witness stated that Owusu was consumed by rage after throwing Zahwa out of the car, and despite her attempts to aid the victim, she was instructed to re-enter the vehicle.
The vehicle departed the scene, but Owusu and his group were apprehended by police not far from where Zahwa was cast onto the pavement. While officers responded to reports of an unresponsive woman, Zahwa was pronounced dead at the scene, and Owusu and his companions were detained for 50 minutes.
Zahwa was later discovered to have sustained a skull fracture and fatal brain injury. Owusu denied striking her, asserting that he had merely pushed her to defuse the situation.
Nevertheless, CCTV footage presented in court captured Owusu chastising another individual, labeling him a “weak link” for wanting to assist Zahwa. He later claimed to be “traumatized” by the incident and refuted the murder and manslaughter charges leveled against him.
Following a gripping trial where Zahwa’s brother startled jurors by leaping at the defendant in the witness box, Owusu was found guilty of murder.
Detective Chief Inspector Phil Clarke, from Specialist Crime North, remarked, “The severity of Owusu’s actions is reflected in the sentence in this case, and our sympathies are with Zahwa’s loved ones.
“The investigative team, utilizing CCTV evidence, promptly identified Owusu as the perpetrator. Their commitment to meticulously tracing and analyzing crucial footage from the time of the incident was pivotal in securing Owusu’s conviction.”