Deepak Sandhu, 24, a university dropout who claimed to be a model and actor, allegedly stabbed Xiaoqing Ke, 39, to death in an Airbnb in Earl's Court, west London, after she rejected him. The Old Bailey heard on Tuesday that Sandhu bought knives at Asda and traveled from Southampton to carry out the attack.
Ms Ke was found face down on the bedroom floor of her bedsit on Old Brompton Road on December 10 last year, having suffered catastrophic injuries, including a fatal deep wound to the neck.
Prosecution outlines 'obsessed, manipulative' behavior
Opening Sandhu's murder trial, prosecutor Caroline Carberry KC told jurors: “The evidence will show that he was something of a fantasist – making false claims to her about his achievements and status.
“In the days before Mr Ke was murdered, the defendant expressed his anger and determination to take revenge on her. On December 9, armed with a knife, he traveled to London Victoria from where he lived in Southampton and made his way to Ms Ke’s Airbnb bedsit.”
Ms Carberry added: “The evidence you will see and hear during this trial will demonstrate that Xiaoqing Ke was murdered that evening by Deepak Sandhu who had become an obsessed, manipulative young man who could not accept her rejection of him and carried out a brutal and fatal revenge attack on her before attempting to leave the country.”
Relationship and lies revealed
Ms Ke, a Chinese national, had arrived in the UK on a standard visitors’ visa in March 2025. Sandhu, an Indian national, entered the country in September 2024 on a student visa, which was revoked six months later.
The pair met and engaged in a secret relationship, communicating via a translation app. At the time, Ms Ke, who spoke Mandarin, was working at a brothel in Southampton, where Sandhu, a Punjabi speaker, was a customer, the court heard.
They remained in contact after she moved to London until Ms Ke discovered he had stolen £500 from her handbag and spun a web of lies. Ms Carberry outlined his “white lies”: “He claimed to be living with his sister in Southampton even though she was in India. He portrayed himself to her as a model and actor and he fabricated a trip to the United States for an audition. He told Ms Ke that he would be attending his graduation ceremony in Southampton Solent University. There was no such ceremony. In reality he had been removed from his course months earlier because of poor attendance.”
After admitting to taking money from Ms Ke, Sandhu continued to lie, claiming he was robbed of £3,500 at gunpoint in the United States and had a job at a bank paying £6,000 a month, the court heard.
Threats and final attack
By the time of her murder, Ms Ke was well aware of his “true character”, Ms Carberry told jurors. Ms Ke called him out as a “liar” and demanded he pay her back, telling him: “Don’t come see me. I’m clear, I’m not a fool.”
Sandhu allegedly reacted by telling her former brothel boss that she “will regret what she has done”. In WhatsApp messages, he vented his anger and determination to take revenge on her. He allegedly asked an associate: “Do you think I have to take my revenge on her?” In further messages, he described Ms Ke as “selfish” and predicted he “will become an evil person”.
He also allegedly pleaded with Ms Ke to give him another chance, claiming he had the money he had stolen from her and that he could get her British citizenship through a contact. Ms Carberry said these were calculated attempts to get back in her “good books” and find out where she was staying in London.
Having “pestered” Ms Ke and promised to return her money, the defendant allegedly set off from Southampton on December 9 last year armed with a knife. Doorbell camera footage from Ms Ke’s bedsit captured him arriving with his face covered and wearing a baseball cap and leaving after about 90 minutes.
Ms Carberry said: “Almost immediately upon leaving his thoughts turned to avoiding detection and to fleeing the country. He telephoned his sister in India. He falsely claimed another man had killed Ms Ke while he was there when it happened. The next day he booked a flight from Birmingham to Mumbai and he changed his phone. There was no other man. The defendant is the only lone man seen entering and leaving the building on 9 December.”
Sandhu was arrested on December 12 last year as he traveled on a National Express coach from Southampton to Birmingham Airport. He denies murder and perverting the course of justice. The trial continues.
