Husband of murdered NRI woman admits to affair with prostitute

LONDON: The husband of an NRI woman, who has been accused of organising his wife’s murder, told jurors on Thursday that he lied to police about his affair with a prostitute because he was embarrassed.

Fadi Nasri, 34, is accused of arranging the killing in order to encash his wife’s £3,50,000 life insurance policy and pay debts, the Old Bailey heard. Nisha Patel, 29, was murdered on the driveway of the couple’s home in Wembley in north-west London on May 11, 2006. Nasri, now living in Barnet, north London, denies murder.

He was asked by his barrister Orlando Pownall QC why he did not immediately inform police about his relationship with Lithuanian prostitute Laura Mockiene. He replied,

“I was embarrassed. I felt bad about what happened.” Nasri was photographed being kissed by his lover on a romantic break just weeks after Nasri was killed, allegedly by a hitman he hired, the court heard.

The court was shown holiday pictures of Nasri kissing his mistress Mockiene. Nasri admitted he had been paying Mockiene for sex and had started an affair with her three months before his wife was murdered.

He told the court he had started a relationship with Mockiene after he paid her for sex at a flat in Victoria. He would see her and other prostitutes at the flat in between driving jobs for the stretch limousine car service he was running with his wife.

The prosecution alleged that the killing was arranged by Nasri’s friend Roger Leslie, 38, who hired hitman Jason Jones, 36, and driver Tony Emmanuel, 42. All four men deny murder.