View source for Murder of Hannah Foster

{{Short description|2003 murder of English schoolgirl}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2022}}

'''Hannah Foster''' was a 17-year-old British student who was abducted after a night out in [[Southampton]] in mid-March 2003. Murdered by [[Indians in the United Kingdom|Indian]] immigrant Maninder Pal Singh Kohli, who had come to the UK in 1993, her body was found in nearby [[West End, Hampshire]], two days after she disappeared.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/3518651/Hannah-Fosters-killer-Maninder-Pal-Singh-Kohli.html | title = Hannah Foster's killer: Maninder Pal Singh Kohli | work = [[The Daily Telegraph]] | author = Caroline Gammell | date = 25 November 1972 | location=London}}</ref> A few days later, Kohli fled to his family's home in [[Chandigarh]], India, later assuming a new identity in [[Darjeeling]], but was [[Extradition|extradited]] in 2007. He is the first Indian citizen to be extradited to the UK.<ref name=":1">{{Citation|last=Real Stories|title=Hannah's Killer: Nowhere To Hide|date=2009|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB-PRnR3zwM&app=desktop|access-date=2019-07-13}}</ref> He was found guilty of the crime in 2008, and was sentenced to [[life imprisonment]] with a 24-year non-parole period.

==Background==
Hannah Claire Foster {{nobreak|(31 August 1985 –}} {{nobreak|14 March 2003)}} was an [[A-Level]] student who had been preparing to study medicine at university. She lived with her parents, Hilary and Trevor, and younger sister, Sarah, in Southampton. On {{nobreak|14 March 2003,}} she went out socialising with a friend in Southampton visiting both [[The Hobbit, Southampton|The Hobbit]] and nearby Sobar.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://casefilepodcast.com/case-117-hannah-foster/|title=Case 117: Hannah Foster|date=2019-07-12|website=Casefile: True Crime Podcast|language=en-US|access-date=2019-07-13}}</ref> At around 10:50{{nbsp}}p.m., her friend caught a bus home on Portswood Road, while Foster decided to walk the half-mile (800{{nbsp}}metres) to her home alone. A sandwich delivery man, Maninder Pal Singh Kohli, had also been drinking in the area. While driving home in a company van, he noticed Foster alone on the darkened streets, and abducted her as she passed his parked vehicle.<ref name=":0" />

==Investigation==
Foster's parents noticed that she had not come home at around 5 o'clock the next morning, and by 10:30{{nbsp}}a.m. the local police were informed of her disappearance. Initial investigation focused on her prepaid mobile phone, which was still active, and police were able to trace its movements south using signal tower records.<ref name=":0" /> In [[Portsmouth]], at a recycling centre, her phone and bag were found dumped in a bottle recycle bin.<ref name=":0" /> On 16{{nbsp}}March, Foster's body was found dumped in bushes on Allington Lane, West End, just outside Southampton. A [[post-mortem examination]] revealed she had been raped and strangled<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/7741562.stm|title=Man found guilty of Hannah Murder|date=25 November 2008|publisher=BBC|access-date=8 June 2013}}</ref> but the semen found on her clothing could not be matched to anyone on the database.

Investigators also traced her phone calls. Unknown to Kohli, while being driven south along the [[M27 motorway|M27]], Foster secretly made a 999 call to emergency services around 11:00{{nbsp}}p.m. in the hope they would realise she was in trouble. However, as there was no direct communication with the operator, and as the voices were indistinct, the call was treated as a probable [[Misdialed call|misdial]] and forwarded to Silent Solutions, a 2-minute-long recorded message telling people in need of assistance to dial 55.<ref name=":0" /> Investigators then enhanced the recording, and were able to learn that Foster was in the back of a van being driven by a man with a [[south Asia]]n accent.<ref name=":0" /> After identifying seven vans on CCTV footage that might fit the route taken, a public appeal for information was made by the parents on 26{{nbsp}}March via [[Crimewatch]].<ref name=":0" />

A supervisor at Hazlewood Foods identified Kohli, one of the company's drivers as a possible suspect. He had taken a van home that night, as he did not own his own vehicle, had a similar delivery route, had a fresh scratch on his face, and was unable to complete his shift the next day.<ref name=":0" /> Investigators, noting the same van on their shortlist, soon found blood and semen in the vehicle, and retraced its route in and around Southampton, the M27, Portsmouth, and the recycling centre. Now identified by investigators as the prime suspect, it was soon realised that Kohli had already travelled from [[Heathrow Airport|Heathrow]] to [[Delhi]] on 18{{nbsp}}March ostensibly to visit his comatose mother.<ref name=":1" /> Finding his house vacated, they also interviewed his wife and took a DNA sample from one of his two sons.<ref name=":0" /> Kohli's wife, a UK citizen, and his brother, a policeman in India, however, denied his involvement in the murder.

== Extradition ==
The case stalled for the next 15 months after Indian police were not able to prioritise the crime and media attention was low. On 10 July 2004, however, Foster's parents went to [[Chandigarh]] themselves and made a public appeal for information of his whereabouts. During their 10-day visit, the Fosters held a series of press conferences as well as opening a telephone "hotline". Their visit soon became a subject of high nation-wide interest in the Indian press.<ref name=":1" /> Hampshire police, in conjunction with ''[[The Sun (United Kingdom)|The Sun]]'', announced a reward of '''[[Indian rupee sign|₹]]'''5 million to anyone whose information led to the arrest of Kohli.<ref name=":1" />

On 15 July, after a number of tip-offs, Kohli was arrested by an off-duty policeman in [[West Bengal]]'s Darjeeling district (where he had been working under an alias for the Red Cross) while trying to board a bus from [[Kalimpong]] to [[Nepal]] with his new wife. While in police custody, Kohli stated he was "tired of running". On 28 July, Kohli admitted to raping and murdering Foster in an interview with a private television channel, and said that he was forced to kill Foster after raping her because she refused to not report his crime. In August 2004, he retracted his statement saying it was "not by my own will".<ref name=":1" /> Kohli was then held in judicial custody in [[New Delhi]] pending extradition to the United Kingdom, and the case underwent 100 court proceedings and 35 appeals.<ref name=":0" /> After three years of wrangling, a final decision to extradite him to the UK was handed down on 8 June 2007.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/6920436.stm | publisher = BBC News | title = Hannah suspect arrives back in UK | date = 28 July 2007 }}</ref>

== Trial ==
On 28 July, Kohli arrived at Heathrow and was arrested and charged with the kidnap, rape, and murder of Foster. He was also charged with manslaughter, false imprisonment, and perverting the course of justice. On 10 December 2007, Kohli entered a plea of not guilty to the charges at [[Winchester Crown Court]]. Kohli initially argued he simply found someone had broken into his van and dumped Foster's body there, causing him to panic.<ref name=":1" /> He later argued, after DNA evidence was produced, that criminals had forced him to rape and murder Foster.<ref name=":0" /> 

On 25 November 2008, Kohli, then aged 41, was found guilty of all charges and sentenced to life imprisonment, with a recommended minimum term of 24 years, less two years for time already served in the UK on remand.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/briefing/hannahfoster/3876021.Life_for_Hannah_Foster_s_murderer/ | work = Southern Daily Echo | title = Life for Hannah Foster's murderer Maninder Pal Singh Kohli | date = 25 November 2008 }}</ref> 

Foster's family expressed their disappointment in the sentence, having hoped the killer would spend the rest of his life in prison.<ref>{{cite news |last=Makin |first=Jenny |date=26 November 2008 |title= Kohli should spend rest of life behind bars |url=http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/briefing/hannahfoster/3876041.Hannah_s_killer_should_never_be_freed__say_parents/ |newspaper=[[Southern Daily Echo]] |location=[[Southampton]] |access-date=7 December 2014 }}</ref> Under the trial judge's recommendation, Kohli is expected to remain in prison until at least 2030 at the age of 63.

==Legacy==
An important link to the arrest of Kohli was information from taxi driver Jason Lepcha, who was regularly hired by Kohli partly because of his understanding of English. Lepcha, one of 12 reward recipients, received '''[[Indian rupee|₹]]'''367,000 for his role in the arrest.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://hannahmemorialacademy.org/jasons-story/|title=Jason's story – Hannah Memorial Academy|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-07-13}}</ref><ref name="times">[http://www.darjeelingtimes.com/news/News/School-named-after-Hannah.html "School named after Hannah in Darjeeling"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004173911/http://www.darjeelingtimes.com/news/News/School-named-after-Hannah.html |date=4 October 2011 }} ''[[The Times of India]]'' 30 September 2007</ref> He used this money to buy land to establish a school for disadvantaged children which was named The Hannah Memorial Academy in Foster's memory.<ref name="times" /><ref>[http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/briefing/hannahfoster/3922279.A_wonderful_tribute_to_Hannah/ "A wonderful tribute in India to Hannah Foster"] ''[[Southern Daily Echo]]'' 27 November 2008</ref> When visiting Darjeeling in 2006, Foster's parents heard his story, and on their return to England, worked with others to set up a registered charity which supports Lepcha's school.<ref name=":0" />

==See also==
*[[List of solved missing person cases: post-2000|List of solved missing person cases]]
*[[Murder of Colette Aram]]
*[[Murder of Jacqueline Thomas]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite news | url = http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/hannahfoster | title = Archive of the Hannah Foster murder trial | work = Southern Daily Echo | date = 25 November 2008 }}
*{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/4611290.stm|publisher=BBC News|title=Extradition still awaited|date=13 January 2006|access-date=13 May 2010}}

==External links==
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWncPB0D1uc&app=desktop Hannah Foster Murder Verdict] - Sky News
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB-PRnR3zwM&app=desktop Hannah's Killer: Nowhere To Hide] - [[Real Crime]]

{{Rape in India}}
{{Murders in the United Kingdom in the 2000s}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Hannah}}
[[Category:2003 in England]]
[[Category:2003 murders in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:2000s in Southampton]]
[[Category:Borough of Eastleigh]]
[[Category:Deaths by person in England]]
[[Category:Deaths by strangulation]]
[[Category:Deaths from asphyxiation]]
[[Category:History of Southampton]]
[[Category:Kidnappings in England]]
[[Category:Murder in Hampshire]]
[[Category:Rape in England]]
[[Category:Female murder victims]]
[[Category:Violence against women in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:British Indian history]]