Duane Owusu, nicknamed Nasty, has been jailed for life at the Old Bailey with a minimum term of 16 years and six months
Duane Owusu violently assaulted Zahwa Mukhtar after throwing her from a car(Image: PA)
A ‘callous and selfish” killer has been jailed for life for fatally punching a profoundly deaf young woman in the neck and leaving her to die in the street.
Duane Owusu, nicknamed Nasty, has been jailed for life at the Old Bailey with a minimum term of 16 years and six months for the killing of Zahwa Mukhtar.
Sick Owusu, 36, was described by witnesses as looking ‘like a monster’ as he brutally assaulted Zahwa, 27, in a rage-filled attack in Dagenham, London, on August 16, 2025.
Ms Mukhtar had joined Owusu, whom she had never met previously, on a night out in the early hours that day, the Old Bailey previously heard.
Duane threw Zahwa out of an overcrowded Mercedes car and felled her with a single strike(Image: PA)
The court was told Ms Mukhtar was crammed in a car with a group of people after inhaling laughing gas, and was ejected from the vehicle by Owusu after she started an argument with one of his friends.
Jurors heard that Ms Mukhtar had pulled the hair of Owusu’s female friend and had made stabbing threats during an argument, to which Owusu responded by throwing her phone from the car as it entered Chadwell Heath.
He later ejected her as well, before jumping out and launching into a fierce, sustained attack.
The court heard that he aimed two kicks at her face while she sat on the pavement, which he followed with a punch as she tried to stand up. The punch landed as a fatal blow, with a witness describing the moment “she just fell” on the street as she desperately pleaded with her attacker.
The witness said Owusu was “just rage” after he threw Ms Mukhtar from the car, adding that she had tried to help the woman but was told to get back in the vehicle.
She told jurors: “He was just rage. He looked like a monster. His behaviour was just wrong. She just fell. I went to help her but he screamed at me to get in the car.”
The car then left the scene, but Owusu and his group were stopped and searched by police not far away from where Ms Mukhtar was thrown onto the pavement. She was pronounced dead at the scene as officers responded to reports of an unresponsive woman, while Owusu and his group were held for 50 minutes.
She was later found to have suffered a skull fracture and fatal brain injury, and Owusu denied punching her, claiming he had only pushed Ms Mukhtar to “de-escalate” the situation.
CCTV footage played to the court however captured Owusu berating another man, who he called a “weak link” for wanting to turn back and help her. He later claimed he was “traumatised” by the situation, and denied murder and manslaughter charges brought by the court.
Owusu was found guilty of murder following a dramatic trial in which a Ms Mukhtar’s brother left jurors “extremely shaken” after jumping at the defendant when he entered the witness box.
Detective Chief Inspector Phil Clarke, from Specialist Crime North, said: “The sentence in this case reflects the severity of Owusu’s offending and our thoughts remain as always with Zahwa’s family and friends.
“Using CCTV evidence, the investigation team was able to quickly identify Owusu as the killer. Their dedication to this detailed work to trace and examine key footage from the time of the incident was crucial in securing Owusu’s conviction.”
