Just weeks before he was due to stand trial, a Sydney man has pled guilty to murdering his pregnant wife.
19-year-old Armina Hayat had dreams of becoming a doctor, but those dreams will never be realized, thanks to her husband of just four months, 22-year-old Meraj Zafar. The couple met in high school and married in an Islamic ceremony in 2021 without the support of their families. When Zafar asked Hayat’s father for his blessing prior to the marriage, he refused, and Zafar threatened to kill Hayat’s father.
Hayat’s father got a protection order for himself and then cut his daughter off from all contact. “After this time, Hayat’s parents did not have any further contact with her for the remainder of her life,” court documents said. “Ms Hayat’s parents also had no contact with the offender.”
After the marriage, Zafar was frequently violent, according to Hayat’s friends. In December of 2021, she told friends Zafar was cheating on her, that she regretted marrying him, and wanted a divorce. In a chilling message, Hayat texted a friend the night of her murder, saying, “I have nobody except you.” Her friend replied, “You have got no choice. You have to stay with him.”
Hayat responded, “No, I hate him.” And 45 minutes later, she was dead.
According to the NSW Supreme Court, Zafar either smothered or strangled Hayat.
Afterwards, Zafar drove to purchase 100L of hydrochloric acid and made internet searches for things like “Can hydrochloric acid burn through skin?” and, “How many years do you get in Sydney for murder?” He put Hayat’s body into the bathtub and then poured the acid over her, with the bath filled to the brim.
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Hayat’s family told the Daily Mail that the only part of her body that wasn’t destroyed was one of her feet.
Zafar reportedly called his mother and told her that Hayat wasn’t breathing, said he couldn’t call police because he would go to jail, and asked how much an overseas plane ticket was. His mother called for an ambulance, and Hayat’s body was found — but by that time, Zafar had fled.
While on the run from police, Zafar called a friend and laughed as he said, “I just killed someone, I swear to God that I killed someone.”
When police arrived at the apartment, the chemical smell was so strong that they couldn’t even process the crime scene. “Ms Hayat was lying face down with her face hidden and contorted in half,” the court documents said. “There was a strong chemical odour in the air which was overwhelming, and police evacuated the apartment due to the hazardous quality of air emitting from the enclosed confined bathroom.”
Zafar eventually handed himself in to police and will be sentenced in August.
Because her body was unrecognizable, her family had to provide samples for DNA testing, with her father saying of his daughter, “This is the biggest loss in my life.”
