A Brutal London Murder, An Indian-Origin Killer, And A 30-Yr Wait For Justice

Marina Koppel met her tragic end in 1994 when she was brutally stabbed 140 times by Indian-origin Sandip Patel in her flat in the Westminster area of London. Despite all the suspicion around him, Patel remained free due to lack of evidence, leaving the case unsolved in the Metropolitan Police records for 30 years. It wasn’t until 2024 that justice was served when Patel was finally found guilty of committing the barbaric act.

The evidence and suspect had been constant all these years but the lack of advanced technologies that could substantiate the police’s suspicion prolonged justice. It was years later that advanced forensic techniques such as DNA profiling allowed the police to examine the strand of hair that was recovered from the crime scene and thus, Patel was finally sentenced to life imprisonment in February 2024.

Who Was Marina Koppel?

Marina Koppel was 39 years old when she was murdered in her flat in Westminster, Central London. According to the Metropolitan Police records, she used to work as a masseuse, and was an occasional sex worker, during the week when she lived in Westminster and would spend time with her husband David Koppel in Northampton during the weekend. She appeared to have had an unconventional relationship with her husband who though “disapproved” of her work had eventually “accepted” it, reported BBC News. According to the police, the couple was “happily married”, and her family remembers her as a loving mother of two who worked hard to send money back home to her family in Columbia. 

Marina Koppel’s Murder

On August 8, 1994, Marina was found murdered in her flat by her husband. David had been trying to contact her on her phone for some time but failed to connect. Sensing something wrong, he went to check on her at her London flat. His fears turned out to be true when he found Marina lying in a pool of blood, the Metropolitan Police’s report stated. He immediately informed the police about the incident who appeared at the crime scene and gathered evidence.

Evidence Recovered From Murder Site

As mentioned in the Metropolitan Police’s report, while combing through the crime spot, the police found the ring that Marina was wearing, and a plastic shopping bag in her kitchen with another person’s fingerprint on it. A bloody footprint was also found at the scene. 

21-Year-Old Suspect Let Off Over Insufficient Evidence

As per the police report cited above, it was revealed during the investigation that Marina was stabbed more than 140 times. The fingerprints on the plastic bag matched that of a 21-year-old Indian-origin man, named Sandip Patel. Since Patel worked in the shop where the bag was from, the officers speculated that the prints could have been left on the bag since he would have handled it in the shop. Thus, this evidence was not considered strong enough and the case remained unsolved.

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David, meanwhile, died in 2005, without knowing who the culprit was. Three years later, according to the Met police’s report, the evidence recovered from the scene of crime, including Marina’s ring that had a hair strand attached to it, was further examined in 2008. 

Patel’s Arrest In 2023

With the rapid advancement in the technological realm, several sensitive techniques were developed that made it possible to establish a DNA profile. In 2022, the case was reviewed and the hair strand that was obtained from Marina’s ring was re-examined through the procedure of DNA profiling. 

As per the Metropolitan Police, it was during this analysis that authorities discovered that the hair belonged to Patel, the same 21-year-old who had escaped the law due to insufficient evidence three decades ago. This breakthrough was possible as his DNA was registered in the police database after he was involved in a case of ‘actual bodily harm’ in 2012.

This alerted the authorities and the case was then handed over to the Specialist crime detectives who gathered more evidence to support their suspicion. Fingerprint experts were brought in to examine the bloodstained bare footprints, discovered in 1994 from the crime scene.

The Metropolitan Police stated in its report that another major piece of evidence that emerged during the investigation was Marina’s bank card, which was believed to have been stolen from her apartment on the day of her murder. When the police traced the card, it was discovered that it had been used at a cash point just half a mile from Patel’s home, shortly after Marina’s murder.

Each piece of evidence that had been gathered, including the hair strand, bloodstained footprint, fingerprints on the shopping bag, and Marina’s bank card, pointed towards only one suspect — Patel. Finally, on January 19, 2023, Patel was arrested by the police.

Forensic Techniques Solved The Murder Mystery

The Metropolitan Forensics team utilised scientific advancements to review the unsolved murder of Marina Koppel. Hers was a classic case where the constantly evolving forensic techniques and technologies made it possible to catch the killer who had been right in front of the eyes for 30 years but could not be arrested due to lack of evidence.

In the Met Police report, its Forensic Lead for Cold Case Homicide Investigations, Operational Forensic Manager Dan Chester noted how unsolved historic murders could be the most complex and challenging ones for the police to solve. 

“Forensic techniques and technologies are constantly evolving, and the police will continue to review serious unsolved cases and, where possible, pursue new opportunities to enable both the prosecution of those responsible and to exonerate the innocent. This includes cases specifically related to violence against women,” the report quoted him as saying.

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Patel Sentenced To Life Imprisonment In 2024

Sandip Patel, who is now 51, has finally been punished for the barbaric act that he committed 30 years ago. He was found guilty of murder by the Old Bailey jury on February 15 and was sentenced to a minimum 19-year jail term by Justice Cavanagh, using 1994 guidelines.

The judge stated the use of and attempted disposal of a knife, gratuitous and sustained violence, Marina’s vulnerability, and a lack of remorse are among the aggravating factors.

As per a BBC News report, prosecution barrister William Emlyn Jones KC acknowledged in the court that it took a “terribly long time to solve the murder”, but said “we now have evidence that she (Marina Koppel) had this defendant’s hair stuck to the ring she was wearing when she was attacked and killed, and his bare foot was pressed against the skirting board next to her. And that, the prosecution says, can only be because it was him who killed her all those years ago”.

Quoting Head of the Specialist Casework team for Central Specialist Crime, Detective Superintendent Katherine Godwin, the report read: “Even though Patel has been convicted for the brutal murder of Marina, we may never know the reasons for his actions on that day. Unsolved murder cases are never closed and it is due to the developments of forensic techniques we have been able to identify the suspect for this barbaric crime.” 

Family Pays Tribute

Marina’s sister-in-law Mary and brother-in-law Martin Koppel paid tribute to Marina, saying if she had been alive her friends and family would have been in a much better place because of the abundance of energy for life that she possessed.

“Marina was a daughter, a sister, a mother, a loving aunt, a daughter-in-law, and a sister-in-law who was much loved by all of us as she loved all of us. Had Marina lived, all of the lives of her family and friends would have been enriched and further evolved. We have all suffered these many, many years because we lost Marina so early in life,” the Metropolitan Police report quoted her family as saying.

The motive behind Marina’s murder, however, still remains a mystery with Patel not confessing to the crime even after three decades.