Former Sandwich Delivery Driver Sentenced to Life for Murder of Hannah Foster

Maninder Pal Singh Kohli, 41, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 24 years for the rape and murder of 17-year-old Hannah Foster. Kohli, a father of two, was found guilty at Winchester Crown Court on Wednesday of the A-level student's murder, rape, false imprisonment, and kidnap in March 2003.

The jury returned four unanimous verdicts after five and a half hours of deliberation. Justice Keith, in sentencing Kohli, highlighted the aggravating circumstances of the crime: Hannah's vulnerability as a young girl, the brutal ordeal she endured, the callous disposal of her body, and the immeasurable grief inflicted upon her family.

"It took a long time for you to be brought to justice, but the law caught up with you in the end," Justice Keith told Kohli. "The jury saw through your lies, and you stand there exposed as a heartless and contemptible man who abducted and raped an attractive 17-year-old girl with everything to live for, and then callously and quite premeditatedly took her life so she would not be able to point the finger of guilt at you."

During the trial, the court heard that Kohli abducted Hannah as she walked home from a night out with friends. Terrified, she called 999 hoping an operator would hear what was happening, but the call was terminated when she did not speak. The jury listened to a recording of the 999 call, in which Kohli was heard to tell Hannah "I want to fuck" before instructing her to keep her head down as his sandwich delivery van traveled out of Southampton.

Hannah was raped in the van before Kohli strangled her, fearing she might identify him. He then dumped her body beside a road in West End, Hampshire, and returned home to his wife and sons. Hannah's body was found on March 16, 2003, in brambles off Allington Lane, spotted by a 14-year-old boy.

Kohli fled the country four days after the killing, changing his name and creating a new life in his native India. The verdicts come nearly six years after the killing, during which time Hannah's parents, Hilary and Trevor Foster, traveled to India four times to pressure authorities for Kohli's extradition.

Hilary and Trevor Foster expressed "overwhelming sense of relief" at the verdict, paying tribute to their daughter. Trevor Foster stated that Kohli had shown "not one iota of remorse for his actions," adding: "Today finally justice has caught up with him."

Kohli was extradited to Britain in July 2007, claiming he had been abducted, blindfolded, and tied up on the night of Hannah's death and forced to have sex with her. He painted a picture of himself as a victim of a revenge attack orchestrated by a former colleague, claiming he owed the colleague £16,000 and had an affair with his wife. These claims were deemed "absurd" by the prosecution.

DNA belonging to Kohli was found on Hannah, and Hannah's DNA and blood were found in Kohli's van. Her mobile phone was tracked moving along the M27 and M275 in Hampshire at the same time Kohli's Transit van was spotted on cameras. CCTV footage from a garage placed his van three times in the vicinity of Allington Lane in the early hours of March 15, 2003, as he disposed of the body.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, Hannah's mother, Hilary, said she would feel guilt for the rest of her life that she was not there to protect her daughter when she was murdered. "Kohli ripped out my heart and stamped on it. When Trevor and I saw Hannah in the mortuary, I couldn't believe what I was seeing, there must be some mistake. The cold, battered and bruised body certainly looked like her, but where was the sparkle in her eyes?" she said.

Hilary added: "Our lives have revolved around our two girls, their wellbeing, personal interests and hopes for the future. On March 14, 2003, our lives changed forever."