A 23-year-old man who arrived from India as a partner for a woman in the east Midlands town of Leicester and later fell out with her and stabbed her to death in March, has been found guilty, awaiting sentence in the Leicester Crown Court on September 16.

The Leicestershire police said on Friday that Jigukumar Sorthi had stopped a policeman in the street and made comments implicating himself in the March attack on his estranged partner, Bhavini Pravin, 21, in the latter’s home.

At around 12.30pm on March 2, the police said Sorthi went to her address to speak to Pravin. They talked for a few minutes before Sorthi stabbed her multiple times and soon left the property. A post-mortem examination concluded Pravin died of multiple stab wounds.

Detective inspector Kenny Henry said, “This was a vicious attack on a defenceless young woman. Bhavini Pravin was 21 years old with her whole life ahead of her; instead it has been cruelly taken away by an act so brutal it doesn’t bear thinking about.”

Her father, Pravin Babu, released a statement on behalf of the family after Sorthi’s conviction, “Our daughter was only 21 years old when she was murdered… When our Bhavini was born, we felt that all of our prayers had been answered. She was the ‘Laxmi’ of our family.

“Growing up, she gave us so much joy and purpose. She was our inspiration to better ourselves and to build a future. Soon after, our two sons, Krutesh and Yagnesh, were born. Even from a young age, Bhavini doted on her little brothers. We decided to move to England so that we could give our children a better future.

“As parents, our aspirations were that our daughter would get a good education, pursue her childhood career choice of nursing, marry the man of her dreams, have a family and live happily ever after.

“When Jigu (Sorthi) became engaged to our daughter, we trusted him to cherish, love and look after her forever. She was so precious to us. We showed Jigu nothing but love and acceptance. We brought him to England to give him a better life. We supported him, housed him. And how did Jigu return our kindness – he repaid us by killing our beloved Bhavini.”