Duane Owusu was branded a ‘monster’ by a witness during his murder trial following the death of Zahwa Mukhtar, who died in Dagenham after he pushed her from a car
A twisted killer who murdered a deaf woman by throwing her from a car and violently assaulting her before leaving her to die has been jailed.
Sick Duane Owusu, 36, nicknamed “Nasty” was described by witnesses as looking “like a monster” as he brutally assaulted Zahwa Mukhtar, 27, in a rage-filled attack in Dagenham, London, on August 16, 2025. Ms Mukhtar had joined Owusu, whom she had never met previously, on a night out in the early hours that day, the Old Bailey heard.
The court was told Ms Mukhtar was crammed in a car with a group of people after inhaling laughing gas, and was ejected from the vehicle by Owusu after she started an argument with one of his friends.
Ensure our latest headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as your Preferred Source in your Google search settings.
Jurors heard that Ms Mukhtar had pulled the hair of Owusu’s female friend and had made stabbing threats during an argument, to which Owusu responded by throwing her phone from the car as it entered Chadwell Heath. He later ejected her as well, before jumping out and launching into a fierce, sustained attack.
The court heard that he aimed two kicks at her face while she sat on the pavement, which he followed with a punch as she tried to stand up. The punch landed as a fatal blow, with a witness describing the moment “she just fell” on the street as she desperately pleaded with her attacker. Paige Allen said Owusu was “just rage” after he threw Ms Mukhtar from the car, adding that she had tried to help the woman but was told to get back in the vehicle.
She told jurors: “He was just rage. He looked like a monster. His behaviour was just wrong. She just fell. I went to help her but he screamed at me to get in the car.”
The car then left the scene, but Owusu and his group were stopped and searched by police not far away from where Ms Mukhtar was thrown onto the pavement. She was pronounced dead at the scene as officers responded to reports of an unresponsive woman, while Owusu and his group were held for 50 minutes.
She was later found to have suffered a skull fracture and fatal brain injury, and Owusu denied punching her, claiming he had only pushed Ms Mukhtar to “de-escalate” the situation.
CCTV footage played to the court however captured Owusu berating another man, who he called a “weak link” for wanting to turn back and help her. He later claimed he was “traumatised” by the situation, and denied murder and manslaughter charges brought by the court.
Owusu found guilty of murder following a dramatic trial in which a Ms Mukhtar’s brother left jurors “extremely shaken” after jumping at the defendant when he entered the witness box.
