“He burned the face I used to kiss every night.”
Those were the devastating words of a father grieving his murdered daughter, who was killed and thrown into a bathtub full of acid by her husband.
Arnima Hayat, 19, was found dead at her Parramatta home in Sydney two years ago.
Her husband faced a sentencing hearing in the New South Wales Supreme Court today over the gruesome killing.
Meraj Zafar apologised to the family, with his lawyers arguing he’s a changed man.
Almost three years after the mother-to-be and medical student was brutally murdered by her husband, those who loved her most were still lost for words.
“As a father it’s very hard to say something about my daughter,” her father, Abu Hayat, said.
It was January 2022, when Zafar either choked or smothered his wife in their North Parramatta apartment, before he dumped her in a bathtub full of acid.
His internet searches at the time included “whether hydrochloric acid can burn through skin” and “how many years do you get in Sydney for murder”.
Her father today told the court: “He burned the face I used to talk to and kiss every night.”
“Can you imagine someone burning your child?” he said.
The couple had only been married for four months.
Zafar was worried Arnima would leave him.
Arnima’s mother broke down as she faced her daughter’s killer who appeared via video link.
“I sit by her grave every Friday, stroking the grass because I can no longer stroke her hair,” she said.
“I kiss and hug her tombstone, longing to hold her and smell her.”
Zafar’s lawyers today tried to argue for a lesser sentence, saying he’s not only remorseful for what he’s done but he’s already accepted the need to begin self rehabilitation.
They argued these are positive signs that should be taken into consideration when sentencing.
His sorrow over the crime was dismissed by the family.
“I want punished him a long, long time,” her father said.
Zafar will learn his fate next month.
