Homeless man faces life in prison after Sheraton Skyline Hotel worker raped and murdered

A homeless man faces life in prison after snatching a hotel worker from under a motorway bridge in west London, before killing her in a violent sex attack.

Vadims Ruskuls, 25, was on Tuesday (11 April) found guilty of murdering Pardeep Kaur as she walked to work at the Sheraton Skyline Hotel next to Heathrow Airport.

Kaur, described as a "loving" wife and mother, made the same walk from her home in Hayes to work for four years, but was preyed upon by Ruskuls on the morning of 17 October 2016.

CCTV footage played at the Old Bailey showed Ruskuls stalk his victim as she walked under the Harlington Bridge, which passes over the M4.

They then disappeared from view for 25 minutes before Ruskuls's figure emerged dragging Kaur's partially naked body to a waste ground where she was hidden.

Her husband reported her missing that evening she was discovered four days later in a location that was described by investigating officers as a "bleak spot" used by rough sleepers, drunks and drug addicts.

The court heard Kaur cried for help and desperately clawed at Ruskuls's face during the attack, but her screams were drowned out by the morning traffic.

Ruskul's was only brought to justice because PC Richard Lewis recognised the figure seen in the grainy CCTV footage of the incident.

PC Lewis had attended a call out on the day after the rape with reports of a male, who was barefooted and had scratch marks on his face, acting suspiciously.

When Ruskuls's identity was established, wanted posters were circulated and he later handed himself into a Slough police station.

In a statement released after a jury found Ruskuls guilty of murder, Detective Inspector Jamie Stevenson, of London Metropolitan Police's Homicide and Major Crime Command unit, said: "This has been a truly shocking and horrendous case and Ruskuls has proved himself to be a violent and dangerous rapist and murderer.

"Pardeep was walking to work, as she did every day, when she suffered a horrific fate at the hands of Ruskuls, who sexually attacked and killed his defenceless victim before leaving her body in woodland. It is everybody's worst nightmare.

"Enquiries quickly led police to Ruskuls, and one of my officers was able to identify him from blurry CCTV footage of the attack taken from a distance.

"Ruskuls now faces a significant period behind bars, and I hope that this verdict allows Pardeep's family to grieve and eventually come to terms with what has happened to this loving wife and mother."