A man has been convicted of murdering a deaf woman he assaulted and abandoned in the street following a night out in east London.
Duane Owusu, 36, of Althorne Way in Dagenham, was found guilty at the Old Bailey of killing 27-year-old Zahwa Mukhtar after nearly 12 hours of jury deliberations. He is due to be sentenced next Thursday.
The court heard that Mukhtar, a finance assistant at the Young Vic Theatre, had joined Owusu and a group of acquaintances during the early hours of 16 August 2025 despite not previously knowing them.
After inhaling nitrous oxide balloons in Stoke Newington, the group travelled in an overcrowded Mercedes towards Dagenham. Prosecutors said tensions escalated inside the vehicle after Mukhtar argued with one of Owusu’s female friends.
Owusu grabbed Mukhtar’s phone and threw it out of the car in Chadwell Heath before forcing her out of the vehicle. As she sat on the pavement, he kicked towards her face and then punched her in the neck when she stood up.
The blow caused a fatal brain injury. Mukhtar suffered a fractured skull and died at the scene after being found unresponsive in the road at about 05:30 BST.
Witness Paige Allen told the court that Mukhtar pleaded for the attack to stop and described Owusu’s behaviour as driven by “rage”.
After leaving the scene, Owusu and his group were stopped and searched by police nearby. CCTV footage later captured Owusu criticising another man who suggested returning to help the victim.
Owusu denied punching Mukhtar, claiming he had only pushed her away from the car to de-escalate the situation. He rejected both murder and manslaughter charges.
During the trial, proceedings were briefly halted when Mukhtar’s brother confronted the defendant in court. The judge later fined him £1,000 for contempt of court.
Jurors were not told during the trial that Owusu had previously served a prison sentence in connection with a separate robbery case.