Killer jailed for 27 years for West Bromwich lake murder
A man was sentenced to a minimum of 27 years in jail today after being found guilty of murdering his school friend in a bid to gain more than £375,000.
Jagdev Singh Rai was found guilty of the 'cold-blooded murder' of Jasbir Singh Bains by a majority jury verdict at Wolverhampton Crown Court yesterday. Their deliberations had taken 12 hours and seven minutes.
And today Rai was sentenced to 27 years. He showed no emotion as the verdict was delivered yesterday.
The body of Mr Bains was found floating in a lake in Dartmouth Park, West Bromwich, on November 28, 2012, his throat having been cut.
During the trial the jury was told how Rai, of Salisbury Road, West Bromwich, stole his school friend's name in order to take out a life insurance policy worth £318,913, several years before his death.
Mr Bains was said to have owed Rai £14,000 after falling on hard times, before moving to Canada to live with family.
He also obtained a mortgage for a property on Poultney Street, West Bromwich, in the value of £56,703, using the same name.
In the event of the death of Mr Bains, who was aged 41 and of no fixed address when his body was found, it meant Rai, 44, stood to gain more than £375,000, including the value of the West Bromwich property.
Passing sentence, Judge John Warner said today: "It was a premeditated, cold-blooded murder with Mr Bains lured to that cold and lonely place."
Police searches of Rai's home had revealed documents showing he had changed his name legally to Jamie Rai in February 2003, then to the name of Mr Bains in 2006.
