CHARGED: Iftekhar Murtaza being brought into court. ANAHEIM HILLS, CA – The jilted boyfriend who killed his former girlfriend’s father and sister, burned their Anaheim Hills mansion and then set their bodies on fire should be put to death, an Orange County jury recommended on Dec.16.
Jurors announced that Iftekhar Murtaza should get the ultimate punishment in the 2007 crime, which came after his then-girlfriend told him her parents disapproved because they were devout Hindus and he was Muslim.
“I would like to take a lie detector test,” Murtaza said to the courtroom after the jurors had filed out. Murtaza was convicted in November of killing Jayprakash Dhanak, 56, and Karishma Dhanak, 20. Their burned bodies, doused in gasoline, were later found in a secluded area near UC Irvine. The ex-girlfriend’s mother was found critically wounded on a neighbor’s lawn.
Leela Dhanak was in a coma for weeks, but survived the attack and testified during the murder trial.
Jurors announced that Iftekhar Murtaza should get the ultimate punishment in the 2007 crime, which came after his then-girlfriend told him her parents disapproved because they were devout Hindus and he was Muslim.
“I would like to take a lie detector test,” Murtaza said to the courtroom after the jurors had filed out. Murtaza was convicted in November of killing Jayprakash Dhanak, 56, and Karishma Dhanak, 20. Their burned bodies, doused in gasoline, were later found in a secluded area near UC Irvine. The ex-girlfriend’s mother was found critically wounded on a neighbor’s lawn.
Leela Dhanak was in a coma for weeks, but survived the attack and testified during the murder trial.
(L) Karishma Dhanak (R) Jayprakash Dhanak She told the media it had been difficult to sit through the trial and testify because it made her relive the attack. Her daughter, who testified about her breakup with Murtaza, is now attending law school and was not in court during the reading of the jury verdict. “I’m grateful justice has been done,” the mother said outside the courtroom. “I want to move on with my life.” Murtaza took the witness stand in his own defense. He blamed others for the killings, at one point even pointing the finger at the son of singer Bobby Brown, whose name had never surfaced in the case. The revenge killings, authorities said, were driven by Murtaza’s attempt to win back his former girlfriend, Shayona, who testified that she decided to break up with him because he was overly possessive. Murtaza reacted to the breakup by concocting a plan to kill the family,
This is all that was left of the Dhanak family's mansion in Anaheim Hills even trying to hire Russian hit men to pull off the job, hoping that in the tragedy his former girlfriend would turn to him for comfort. He ended up carrying out the murders with a friend, who was previously convicted in a separate trial.A portion of their planning was conducted on AOL Instant Messenger, which the prosecution presented to jurors. The autopsy showed that Jayprakash had been stabbed 29 times but died as a result of a crushing injury to the back of his skull. Karishma had a large gash on her throat and bled to death, evidence showed. Shayona was the only family member not at home during the attack. Defense attorney, Doug Myers, said it would be unlikely for the judge to set aside the jury’s recommendation. He said as far as he knew, no judge in Orange County has every modified a jury’s death penalty recommendation. Murtaza will be sentenced Jan. 10.
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