A man who beheaded his teenage girlfriend with a kitchen knife before stabbing himself has been jailed for life.
Aras Hussein, 21, attacked Reema Ramzan, 18, with the blade while she was still alive before plunging it into his own chest in his flat in Sheffield.
Sentencing him to life, with a minimum of 20 years in jail, Justice Laura Cox said his motive for the attack was 'unclear and may never be known'.
After the attack, he was seen on the street by a neighbour, naked, holding a wad of money and a passport, and covered in blood.
The body of Miss Ramzan, left, was found in the kitchen of Iraqi-born Hussein's, right, flat on June 4 last year
The killer admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility but denied murder.
However, he was found guilty of murder at Sheffield Crown Court.
The body of Miss Ramzan was found in the kitchen of Iraqi-born Hussein's flat on June 4 last year.
Mrs Justice Cox said Hussein had used 'severe and sustained' force to decapitate Reema in a 'chilling and brutal' attack.
Reema Ramzan was described as 'not just a beautiful girl to look at, she was a beautiful girl inside'
She said: 'The pathological evidence indicated that she was likely to be alive while decapitation was taking place although at some stage, mercifully, she would have lost consciousness.
'The pain, terror, anguish and desperation she would therefore have suffered, as you inflicted these appalling injuries upon her and ended her life, is truly horrifying to contemplate.
'Why you did this to a young woman who was your girlfriend is unclear and may never be known.'
The court previously heard that Miss Ramzan had arrived at Hussein’s flat in Sheffield at approximately 2.30pm and had brought with her around £5,000 in cash, as well as her passport and a substantial amount of Iraqi currency.
The jury was told Miss Ramzan did not tell her family she was going to meet Hussein and it was not clear what her intentions had been prior to her death.
Mrs Justice Cox: 'While you were both in the flat you stabbed [Reema] in the chest and decapitated her, in what was clearly a chilling and brutal attack.'
After the attack, Hussein took off his clothes, stabbed himself and wandered into the street. The court how he approached a member of the public - who was waiting for a friend near Hussein’s block of flats - and asked him to take him to hospital.
The man refused, but alerted emergency services who arrived minutes later. The court heard that when the defendant got back to the flat he also called the police and was still naked when they arrived.
Prosecutor Graham Reeds QC said a neighbour of Hussein's heard a woman 'screaming for dear life' that afternoon, and that the defendant told emergency workers who came to his aid: 'I don't know why I did it.'
He said Hussein told the paramedics: 'She liked me but I raped her. What I did was wrong. I need punishing for it.'
And he told them: 'Why are you helping me? I've murdered someone.'
Miss Ramzan was studying health and social care at Sheffield City College and lived in Darnall, Sheffield with her family who, the court was told, disapproved of the couple's relationship.
During the trial, the jury heard how on one occasion Hussein had threatened to show the victim's family sexual pictures he had taken of her if she broke up with him.
Mr Reeds outlined another incident when Miss Ramzan's brother Sohail argued with the defendant after spotting red marks around his sister's neck.
Hussein's lawyers said he was suffering from diminished responsibility at the time of the attack due to schizophrenia, but the jury rejected this.
Miss Ramzan's family said after the verdict: 'Words cannot describe the pain we feel not having her here.
'Reema was not just a beautiful girl to look at, she was a beautiful girl inside; so kind and helpful, she was always smiling and we loved her so much.
We couldn't have wished for a more loving and caring daughter and sister.'
After the attack, Hussein took off his clothes and stabbed himself in the chest before wandering onto the street
Detective superintendent Phil Etheridge of South Yorkshire Police, who investigated the case, said: 'This is an incredibly sad and heartbreaking case and my deepest sympathies are with Reema's family and friends.
'Reema was a kind and considerate young woman who had a bright and promising future to look forward to. Regrettably, her life was taken far too soon and in such tragic circumstances.
'This has been a difficult investigation however I am satisfied with the verdict today and I hope it provides some form of closure for Reema's family.'
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