Husband who killed wife and buried her in the garden jailed for life

Warning: This article contains details that some readers may find distressing.

A man who stabbed his estranged wife to death in the conservatory of their former home and buried her body in a makeshift grave in the garden has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 26 years.

Paria Veisi, 37, disappeared from Cathays, Cardiff, on 12 April 2025 and her body was found a week later in the garden of the house she had shared with her husband in the city's Penylan suburb.

Alireza Askari, 42, admitted murdering her at a hearing in January.

In a hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Friday, Judge Mrs Justice Stacey said he did everything in his power to cover up the "cold-blooded murder".

She also criticised him for "cynically" claiming he had mental health problems.

A post mortem examination found four stab wounds to Veisi's neck and two slash wounds.

The pathologist found the wounds could have been caused by the smaller of the knives from the pack bought by Askari on the day he carried out the murder.

That knife was missing from the house and has never been recovered.

Askari's aunt, Maryam Delavary, 48, admitted perverting the course of justice by assisting him in disposing of Veisi's body.

She was jailed for five years and six months, with the judge telling her "you were in it together".

The court heard Veisi was buried in a temporary grave where a pond had previously been located, with a new flower bed put above.

Prosecutor William Hughes KC said the "ongoing plan was to move the body and destroy it chemically".

Judge Mrs Justice Stacey told Askari: "You murdered your wife in a pre-meditated plan hatched at least a month earlier.

"You lured Paria into the house where you stabbed her four times.

"She was taken by complete surprise and she had no chance to defend herself."

The court heard Veisi and Askari had been married and had recently separated and Veisi had rented another property for six months.

The prosecution said Askari had been in regular contact with a girlfriend in Iran and that he had sent messages saying that he was planning to kill his wife, but that his girlfriend had tried to dissuade him.

On 12 April 2025, after finishing her work as a hairdresser, Veisi returned to the marital home.

The prosecution said Askari murdered her within minutes of arriving at the house in Foster Drive with the kitchen knife he had bought earlier that day from a supermarket.

He called his aunt to come by taxi from Shepherds Bush in London because the prosecution said Veisi had been "murdered by her nephew who desperately needed her help".

Hughes said "on arrival she was to assist in covering up the murder and destroying evidence".

Family 'worried to death'

Within minutes of the killing, Askari had changed clothes and went to a nearby leisure centre where he showered before entering the pool.

On the way back, he stopped in a supermarket and brought strong bleach and dusters to clean up what the prosecution said was a "large amount of bloodstaining" found in the conservatory.

Askari used a jet washer in the conservatory and bought plants and soil from a DIY store to cover Veisi's body in the area where a pond had been.

He paid a waste disposal company to take away the pond lining sheet as well as hairdressing equipment from the conservatory. When this equipment was later tested, Veisi's blood was found on it.

A friend of Veisi raised concerns about her and police carried out a welfare check at the former marital home.

Askari and Delavary told the officers they did not know where she was but that she had a boyfriend in Iran.

Askari sent text messages from Veisi's phone to her boss and her family saying she was leaving the UK and her phone would be off for one to two months.

Veisi's sister in Iran replied that the family were "worried to death" about her and asked for a video call.

'Extensive' blood stains found

On 14 April, Askari had text conversations with his girlfriend in Iran about methods of what the prosecution described as the "proposed destruction" of Veisi's body with chemicals.

He was seen on CCTV driving near the Storey Arms outdoor education centre in Bannau Brycheiniog national park, also known as the Brecon Beacons, to find a "suitable location to bury and hide her remains".

The following day he went to Birmingham to purchase chemicals. On his return to south Wales he was arrested on suspicion of kidnap when he described Veisi as his carer rather than his ex wife.

The court heard he denied he knew where Veisi was, saying that she had "left".

When officers searched the house, they discovered Veisi's remains buried in the garden and "extensive bloodstaining" in the conservatory despite "extensive efforts" having been made to clear it up.

When he was arrested on suspicion of murder, Askari denied killing Veisi and said he was a "diagnosed schizophrenic" and he was "hearing voices in my head".

But the judge said she did not accept his mental health contributed to the murder and said Askari "cynically tried to play the disability card".

She said this type of action "significantly increases stigma and harmful stereotypes".

When she was interviewed, Delavary, from the White City estate in west London, denied knowing about Veisi's death and said a jet washer had been used to clean "hair dye and paint from the conservatory" ahead of a family meal.

She said she had come to Cardiff to help Askari cope after Veisi had left him.

'Irreversible suffering has been imposed on our family'

There were tears in the public gallery during the reading of a victim impact statement by Paria Veisi's sister, Heliya Veisi.

She said the death had "shattered our family" and that her sister was the "dearest and most innocent member".

She had a "broken heart that words can not describe", she added.

Heliya Veisi described her last video call with her sister, recalling "how beautiful her hair looked and not realising it was the last time I'd see her face and hear her voice".

She said "irreversible suffering has been imposed on our family".

Hughes told the court Paria Veisi was a "vulnerable victim who had no defensive injuries".

She was "taken completely by surprise" as she "walked in and then was immediately attacked", he added.

Hughes said Veisi was seen walking into the property at 16.23 BST and that Askari was calling Delavary at 16.28, giving a five minute window for the killing to happen.

Hughes said there was evidence of "pre-preparation and planning", an "immediate attempt to conceal" the killing and to "rid himself of potential forensic material" by swimming in the public pool.

Adam Sharp, representing Askari, said nothing could be said that could "undo or lessen the utter devastation" caused by Veisi's death and asked that the court consider Askari's "longstanding mental illness" when determining sentence.

When Sharp said there was "no clear rationale" for the killing, Mrs Justice Stacey reminded him that Veisi had left him less than two weeks previously and said "he would clearly rather kill her than have her leave him".

Tom Crowther KC, acting for Delavary, said she had "deep regret and profound shame" for her part in events, but when she left London to come to Cardiff, "she had no conception of the horror she would find when she got there".

Crowther said Askari had told her "if you tell anyone, you'll be speaking next to her".

Mrs Justice Stacey said "you were hand in glove with him" and you were "in it together and a willing participant".

The judge called the evidence against both defendants "overwhelming".

She said if the police had not acted so quickly there was a "real possibility Paria's body could have been destroyed or desecrated" so that it could not be identified.

Addressing Askari, the judge said Paria "was in the prime of her life, her death has destroyed her family's happiness, as you knew it would.

"You subjected Paria to abuse at home and (she) was fearful of you, Paria confided to her friends how scared she was of you.

"You killed your ex-wife because she wanted a divorce and had left you less than two weeks earlier.

"Your hypocrisy was staggering - at the same time you wanted (Paria) out of the way so you could take up with your girlfriend in Iran."

After the case, Det Chief Insp Matt Powell of South Wales Police paid tribute to the family.

"They have been deprived of many happy years with Paria, and our thoughts continue to be [with] them.

"It has become clear throughout this investigation that Paria was a much-loved lady, popular with all those who knew her, including those who had their hair cut by her. She will be sorely missed by everyone."