man has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for the murder of his wife in Ilford East London.
Muhammad Ilyas, 41, of Kingston Road, killed his wife, Maria Rafael Chavez, on May 13, 2021.
Officers attended the scene at the time, but his 32-year-old wife was soon pronounced dead.
Initially, there were no clear signs that Ms Chavez sustained obvious injuries, but after a specialist post-mortem examination, it was discovered that she had suffered compression to her neck as a result of strangulation.
Murder detectives from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command made further inquiries, which included gathering CCTV evidence and talking to neighbors.
As a result, it was determined that Ilyas had killed his wife which then led to his arrest.
He initially denied any wrongdoing, but following the post-mortem examination, a pathology report and CCTV footage, his claim was denied.
He was sentenced on July 1 at the Old Bailey.
The couple moved to the UK in 2019 and at the time of her death, Maria was attending a university course to learn English. Ilyas was working on a market stall in Stratford.