





Boyfriend of psychology student appears in court charged with murder
The boyfriend of a City University student found dead in student housing appeared in court today charged with her murder.
Tunisian national Maher Maaroufe, 22, is accused of killing 19-year-old psychology undergraduate Sabita Thanwani at her accommodation in Clerkenwell. He is also charged with assaulting a police officer.
Miss Thanwani was found dead in the halls of residence in Sebastian Streel at 5.10am on Saturday after police and paramedics were called. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
A post-mortem carried out at Whittington Hospital concluded the cause of death to be ‘sharp force trauma to the neck’.
Maaroufe, of no fixed address, was arrested following a police appeal to trace him. He appeared in the dock at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court this morning wearing a full grey tracksuit.
The suspect spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth and address during the two minute hearing. There was no application for bail.
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Sabita Thanwani, a City University student, was found dead at Unite student accommodation on Sebastian Street in Clerkenwell, London shortly after 5am on Saturday
- Mohammed Zeb, representing Maaroufe, requested that his client is assisted by an Arabic interpreter when he next appears in court.
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The murder suspect, who police said had been in a relationship with Miss Thanwani but was not himself a student, was remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey on Thursday.
In a statement issued through the police, Miss Thanwani’s described the 19-year-old as ‘an angel’ who ‘was pure and did not see bad in anyone’.
Detectives from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command are investigating and continue to provide support to Miss Thanwani’s family.
The family said: ‘Sabita Thanwani was our daughter. Our angel. Her life, that we hoped would be long, was cut tragically short. She was ripped away from those who loved her so very dearly; her mum, dad, brother, grandparents, extended family and friends.
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‘Sabita was the most caring and loving person we have ever known. She inspired us every day of her precious 19 years of life. Her mission was to help everyone.
‘She was studying psychology at City University to make this happen. Her whole life was ahead of her, a life where her radiant smile and incredible heart could only spread warmth and kindness.
‘In her short life, she helped so many. Sabita was pure and did not see bad in anyone, because there was no badness in her own awesome heart. We will never ever stop loving or missing our beautiful, irreplaceable Sabita. The girl that was an angel upon the earth is now an angel in heaven.’
They added: ‘We can only pray that lessons will be learnt and that somehow, there will come a day when girls and women are safe.
‘We will never be able to thank the Metropolitan Police enough for their dedication and tireless work in finding justice for our Sabita. From our hearts, we thank everyone for their love and support.
‘We ask that our privacy is respected and as a family we can quietly grieve.’
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Reference: Jack Wright For Mailonline