Christmas Day murder: Manzar Juma jailed for Ruby Love killing
A man has been jailed for life for murdering his girlfriend and dumping her body in a canal on Christmas Day.
Manzar Juma, 28, from Northolt, north-west London, killed mother-of-three Ruby Love, 23, from Harrow, in 2011. He must serve a minimum of 16 years.
The Old Bailey heard he strangled Ms Love at his home and then drove to Southall, west London, to dump her body in the Grand Union Canal.
The pair had been in a relationship for a number of years.
The court heard that by Christmas 2011, Ms Love and Juma were living apart and she had moved in with her mother in Harrow, north-west London.
Jurors were also told she had suffered domestic violence at the hands of Juma but had decided to restart their relationship the evening before her death.
'Web of lies'
On Christmas Eve, Juma collected Ms Love from her mother's house, the court heard.
Shortly afterwards, she sent a text message to a friend stating that she and Juma were back together again and he was going to take her out for a meal.
Ms Love had told the friend they would visit for a drink beforehand, but when the couple never arrived she called Juma.
He claimed he did not know of any plans and that he had not had any contact with Ms Love since they had split.
The court heard that in the early hours of Christmas Day, neighbours heard loud voices, including a woman saying "no".
Juma was caught on CCTV driving to the canal and then back on to the Uxbridge Road minutes later.
Det Ch Insp Tim Duffield said after the hearing: "Today the truth finally caught up with Manzar Jama.
"Not only did he strangle Ruby and callously dump her body in a canal, he then wove a web of lies to try to avoid capture."