Telford father found guilty of murdering daughter

A Telford father was today jailed for life after being found guilty of murdering his 24-year-old daughter at their family home.

Gurmeet Singh Ubhi was told he would spend at least 15 years behind bars for killing Amrit Kaur Ubhi.

The 54-year-old was found guilty at the end of a week-long trial at Leicester Crown Court. The jury took eight hours to return a unanimous verdict.

Ubhi, who worked at Sainsbury's on Telford's Forge Retail Park, strangled his daughter on September 7 last year and left her lifeless body on the dining room floor at the family home in Berberis Road, Leegomery.

He claimed they had argued about the volume of the television. But friends and family said he had threatened to kill her before and had verbally abused her.

Sentencing Ubhi, the judge, Mr Justice Brian Keith, said: "I have no doubt that when your hands were around Amrit's throat and you were throttling her, you by then were intending to kill her.

"The length of time which it must have lasted for, and also the force which you used, allow me to reach no other conclusion."

Ubhi slumped forward as the verdict was announced before putting his hands to his head and staggering from the dock.

Family members in the public gallery included Miss Ubhi's brother Harmeet and her boyfriend Stuart Loakes.

Addressing Miss Ubhi's family and friends, the judge said: "I have taken into account the devastating effect Amrit's death must have had on your lives. I hope that this trial will at last give at least a measure of closure for you."

Acting Detective Inspector Billy Scott, of Telford police, who led the murder probe, said: "During his time at the police station, Ubhi showed no remorse. After taking his daughter's life with his hands, he calmly tided up the room."

By Danny Carden and Kirsty Smallman