A man has been convicted of murder after throwing a woman from a car and brutally assaulting her, following a Met investigation.

On Thursday, 5 March, a jury at the Old Bailey found Duane Owusu, 36 (17.10.1989), of Althorne Way, Dagenham, guilty of murder. This was in relation to the killing of Zahwa Mukhtar, 27, in Chadwell Heath on Saturday, 16 August, 2025.

Detective Chief Inspector Phil Clarke, from Specialist Crime North, said: “Our thoughts today are with Zahwa’s family, who have demonstrated great dignity and patience after losing their daughter in such horrendous circumstances.

“CCTV footage collected by the investigation team painted a damning picture of Owusu’s guilt. The evidence revealed him to be a remorseless killer, who acted with callous disregard towards his victim.

Zahwa met the defendant in the early hours of Saturday, 16 August, while he was out with a group of people in Hackney. She joined the group, ultimately ending up in a car with them.

Around 04:30hrs there was a dispute and Owusu threw Zahwa out of the car at Chadwell Heath Lane. Owusu then got out and punched her. He got back in the car and fled the scene – leaving Zahwa unconscious by the roadside.

Shortly afterwards, police pulled the car over for a routine stop. A small quantity of drugs was recovered from the vehicle, and Owusu was caught on body-worn video behaving aggressively.

Officers decided to allow the car to go, although the driver was to be invited for interview at a later date.

Passers-by then alerted the officers that a woman was injured by the roadside nearby. Police attended and commenced CPR on unconscious Zahwa. Sadly, she was pronounced dead by paramedics shortly after.

Having linked the car that was stopped earlier in the night to Zahwa’s death, the investigation team sought to trace the movements of the passengers.

They obtained graphic CCTV footage of the fatal assault, showing Owusu throwing Zahwa from the car, then attacking her.

Further CCTV footage showed Owusu and a passenger who had been in the car waiting for a taxi. Owusu was heard berating the other man for wanting to turn around and help Zahwa, referring to him as a “weak link”.

This immediately placed Owusu under suspicion. He was arrested on Sunday, 17 August, and taken into police custody, where he gave a no comment interview.

Owusu will be sentenced on Thursday, 12 March.