A MAN who bludgeoned his flatmate to death, then dumped his body next to a Warwickshire motorway and set fire to it, has been found guilty of murder.
Afghan immigrant Irshad Wali, 52, faces a life sentence for killing 60-year-old businessman Sher Khan.
An Old Bailey jury took just an hour to reject Wali’s claim that a mystery man killed Mr Khan before forcing him to dispose of the body.
The charred remains of the father-of-seven were discovered by the side of the M45 near Dunchurch, on December 30 last year, after a passing motorist spotted the fire.
Wali - also a father of seven - was also convicted of perverting the course of justice.
Jurors heard he killed Mr Khan by striking him repeatedly at their home in Plaistow, east London, then wrapped his body in a sheet and drove north.
Afterwards, Wali attempted to clean up the murder scene and started a deception that the dead man was in fact still alive and well, by withdrawing £300 from his accounts.
Jeremy Donne QC, prosecuting, said: “If the body was not identified and if the victim had not been reported missing because people thought he was alive and well, then this defendant would quite literally have got away with murder.
“Unfortunately for him a thorough and painstaking police investigation did uncover the identity of the dead man and uncover the evidence that points conclusively to the defendant’s guilt.”
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