AMAN Vyas was convicted of the rape of three women and murder of a fourth in 2020 and is now in prison.
It took a decade for Vyas to be put away for his crimes, but how did he evade capture?
PAAman Vyas was seen on CCTV[/caption]
Who is Aman Vyas?
Aman Vyas is a convicted murderer and rapist.
The serial rapist was dubbed the “night stalker” but it took a decade for him to be found guilty of his crimes and be sent to prison.
His crimes covered a small area of Walthamstow, Greater London, centred around Markhouse Road.
Between March 24 and May 30 in 2009 Vyas committed multiple crimes.
His first crime took place on Tuesday March 24, 2009 when he followed a woman back to her flat and went into her property.
Vyas punched her repeatedly in the face, raped her and left.
Just a few weeks later on April 22 he approached a woman looking to buy drugs.
She agreed to take him somewhere to buy them but he pulled out a knife and forced her down an alleyway.
He then punched her, raped her and left the scene.
A week later on April 29 another woman was found injured by police.
She said she cannot remember her walk home that night.
What happened to Michelle Samaraweera?
Vyas’ last attack was the murder of Michelle Samaraweera.
Michelle was a 35-year-old widow who lived on her own in Hainault but had a boyfriend in Walthamstow.
On May 30, 2009 she was captured on CCTV at a shop in Markhouse Road before Vyas entered the same shop.
Michelle then walked along Queens Road where there is a small park.
Members of the public heard screams coming from the park at 1:30am but it was around 5.15am when a dog walker found Michelle’s partially clothed body.
A post-mortem examination revealed that she had been strangled and sexually assaulted.
PA:Press AssociationMichelle Samaraweera was murdered[/caption]
How long will Aman Vyas spend in prison?
Vyas was sentenced to life in prison.
The judge recommended he would serve 37 years for the murder of Michelle.
With time served already served in custody, both in England and in India, Vyas will serve 34 years and 312 days from the day of sentencing in 2020.
He was sentenced at Croydon Crown Court on Thursday August 20, 2020 for the murder as well as five counts of rape, causing grievous bodily harm with intent, ranging from 14 to 18-and-a-half years for each count.
How did Aman Vyas get caught?
In November 2010, 60,525 posters showing the CCTV image of the suspect from a shop in the area were dispatched to addresses in the Walthamstow area.
A man who received a poster recognised the suspect and informed police.
Vyas worked with the man’s family member.
A water bottle that the family member had drank from was given to police and used to link Vyas to the crimes.
Police found that a month after Michelle’s murder, Vyas purchased a one-way ticket to India.
A manhunt was launched to find Vyas and extradite him back to the UK.
On October 4, 2019 Met Police officers escorted him from India Ghandi Airport in New Delhi to London Heathrow.
Enquiries revealed that Vyas was staying in New Zealand and Singapore over the ten years before going back to India where he was caught.