Deepak Sandhu sentenced to life for killing Xiaoqing Ke
Deepak Sandhu, a 24-year-old from India, has been sentenced to life in prison for killing Xiaoqing Ke, a 39-year-old Chinese national, in the UK.
The two met at a Southampton brothel, but things fell apart when Ke found out Sandhu had lied about his job and stolen £500 from her.
After being found guilty of perverting the course of justice, Sandhu will serve at least 28 years behind bars.
Sandhu lured and attacked Xiaoqing Ke
Sandhu pretended to be a model and used Google Translate to talk with Ke. Their relationship ended in August 2025 after she uncovered his lies and theft.
He then tricked her into meeting him under the promise of returning the stolen money, but attacked her instead.
Doorbell camera footage from Xiaoqing's Airbnb captured him arriving with his face wrapped in a scarf and leaving after about 90 minutes before the murder.
Afterward, he tried to escape by booking a flight to Mumbai but was arrested on his way to Birmingham Airport on Dec 12.
A postmortem confirmed Ke died from stab wounds.