Man sentenced to life in prison for murdering Indian origin single mother

Miles Donnelly, 35, who is accused of murdering Indian origin Usha Patel, 44, a single mother whom he met on an online dating site, has been sentenced to life imprisonment.

Miles Donnelly, 35, who is accused of murdering Indian origin Usha Patel, 44, a single mother whom he met on an online dating site, has been sentenced to life imprisonment.

Miles Donnelly attacked Usha Patel in a drunken rage, stabbing her 13 times with a large bread knife, beating her ferociously and strangling her. (Shutterstock)

Donnelly strangled Patel last year, after she had put her five-year-old autistic son to bed at her home in Cricklewood, north-west London, the Nation reported.

Donnelly attacked her in a drunken rage, stabbing her 13 times with a large bread knife, beating her ferociously and strangling her.

Having murdered Patel, Donnelly fled to the west London home of Rosie Ferrigno, 43, whom he barely knew and attacked for refusing his sexual advances.

Donnelly, who has a long criminal history, had denied murder and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

But he pleaded guilty to the charges on the first day of his trial.

Judge Rebecca Poulet QC gave Donnelly a life sentence with a 23-year minimum term for Patel’s murder and was given an 18-month concurrent sentence for the assault on Ferrigno.