Murderer and serial rapist dubbed ‘E17 night stalker’ jailed for life
A grieving woman said justice had been done after a murderer and serial stranger rapist dubbed the “E17 night stalker” was jailed for life with a minimum term of 37 years.
Aman Vyas (35) was sentenced for six counts of rape of four women, grievous bodily harm and the 2009 murder of 35-yearold Michelle Samaraweera, after a trial at Croydon Crown Court.
Prosecutor Tom Little QC called Vyas “the E17 night stalker” as he told jurors the attacker turned a small area near his home in Walthamstow, east London, into his “hunting ground” for a “series of violent rapes” between March and May 2009.
He fled the UK two days after a Crimewatch appeal featuring an e-fit picture, and was arrested in India in 2011 after his former boss gave police a water bottle Vyas’s brother had drunk from, which showed partial DNA linked to the crimes was a male sibling.
Detectives said Vyas last year became only the third person, and the second Indian national, to be extradited from India to the UK, following an eight-year court battle involving around 30 hearings.
Ms Samaraweera’s sister, Ann Chandradasa (48) said: “I actually really thought that he was literally going to get away with murder because of the amount of time he was in India and the amount of hearings.
“I’m just glad we have finally got justice for Michelle and I’m glad that the other victims have got justice as well.
“It’s partial closure. Him being in prison doesn’t take away the pain of what’s happened and what all these women have been through.”
Ms Samaraweera was attacked shortly after visiting a supermarket at around 1am on May 30 2009. Vyas was 24 when he raped and strangled her in a children’s playground, where her body was discovered by a dog walker shortly after 5.15am.
He was also convicted of raping three other women aged between 35 and 59 in March and April 2009.