Deepak Sandhu, a 24-year-old university dropout who posed as a model and actor, has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 28 years for the murder of Xiaoqing Ke, 39, at her Airbnb bedsit in Earl's Court, west London. The killing occurred after Ms Ke rejected his advances and demanded the return of £500 he had stolen from her handbag.
Judge Philip Katz KC handed down the sentence at the Old Bailey on Friday, describing Sandhu as a "controlling and manipulative" fantasist. The judge noted that Ms Ke, a single mother of two, had shown nothing but kindness towards Sandhu, who repaid her by stealing her money — a "despicable and entirely selfish thing to do."
Brutal and premeditated attack
Prosecutor Caroline Carberry KC stated that Sandhu, a failed AI student, killed Ms Ke to inflict "brutal and fatal revenge" before attempting to flee the country. The court heard that after Ms Ke discovered the theft, Sandhu purchased knives from Asda and travelled to Earl's Court, where he repeatedly stabbed her inside her rented bedsit on Old Brompton Road.
Ms Ke was discovered lying face down on the bedroom floor on 10 December last year, having sustained catastrophic injuries, including a fatal deep stab wound to the neck. Doorbell camera recordings from the Airbnb property showed Sandhu arriving with his face concealed and wearing a baseball cap, then departing after roughly 90 minutes.
Web of deception unravelled
The court was told that Sandhu entered Britain in September 2024 on a student visa, which was revoked in March 2025 after he withdrew from his university course in Southampton. Ms Ke, a Chinese national, arrived in the UK on a standard visitor's visa around the same period. The pair met in Southampton, where Ms Ke worked at a brothel and Sandhu was a client, communicating through a translation app.
Ms Carberry detailed Sandhu's "white lies," including claims that he was living with his sister in Southampton when she was in India, that he was a model and actor, and that he had fabricated a trip to the United States for an audition. He also told Ms Ke he would attend his graduation ceremony at Southampton Solent University, but no such ceremony existed — he had been removed from his course months earlier due to poor attendance.
After admitting to taking the money, Sandhu claimed he had been robbed of £3,500 at gunpoint in the US and had secured a bank job earning £6,000 monthly, neither of which was true. Ms Ke confronted him as a "liar" and insisted on repayment, stating: "Don't come see me. I'm clear, I'm not a fool."
Revenge and arrest
Sandhu expressed fury at Ms Ke's rejection, warning her former brothel employer that she "will regret what she has done" and asking an associate: "Do you think I have to take my revenge on her?" After pestering Ms Ke for another chance and vowing to return her funds, he left Southampton on 9 December carrying a knife.
Following the murder, Sandhu contacted his sister in India and booked a flight from Birmingham to Mumbai. He was arrested on 12 December while travelling on a National Express coach from Southampton to Birmingham Airport. Sandhu, of Newlands Avenue in Southampton, admitted deceiving Ms Ke about being an actor and model and confessed to taking the £500, explaining he struggled to survive on construction work and family support. However, he denied murder, claiming he had been in a laundry room while Ms Ke was with a "customer," and told the jury: "I am not a dangerous man. I am not capable of killing."
A jury took just two hours to convict Sandhu of murder and perverting the course of justice. Judge Katz remarked that Sandhu had shown neither remorse nor empathy, stating: "This has always been about you and your belief you had been badly done to."
Justice and family impact
Shikha Varma, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "Xiaoqing Ke saw through Deepak Sandhu's many lies and, when she rejected him and ended their relationship, he reacted by taking her life in a calculated and brutal attack." She added that prosecutors were able to unravel his lies and present extensive evidence of his anger and presence at the scene.
In a victim impact statement, Ms Ke's sister expressed the family's devastation: "This tragedy has had a devastating impact on our entire family. When we think that my sister was finally approaching a time when her hardships might ease, only for her life to end in such a way, we are filled with a profound sense of injustice, regret and unbearable heartache."
Detective Chief Inspector Wayne Jolley, from Scotland Yard, commented: "Xiaoqing's family have been through an unimaginably painful time, and our thoughts remain with them. The sentence served on Sandhu concludes a thorough investigation by my team, which uncovered vital evidence showing how Sandhu had become fixated on Xiaoqing and had subjected her to a tirade of controlling and abusive messages before ultimately deciding to end her life."
