Australian jailed for 45 years for raping, murdering and stuffing Indian student in suitcase

An Australian man has been sentenced to 45 years of imprisonment on grounds of raping and murdering Indian student Tosha Thakkar whose body was found stuffed in a suitcase.

Daniel Stani-Reginald is said to have exchanged places with his father who has been arrested on charges of bashing his mother and was released weeks ago, News.com.au reports.

According to the report, Justice Derek Price said that Stani-Reginald's 'terrible' crimes stopped short of deserving a life sentence.

The report said that Daniel Stani-Reginald spent hours on the internet researching notorious serial killers and rapists and he had reportedly raped Thakkar at the age of 19 and strangled her to death using a cord, who was his neighbour in the Croydon boarding house. He had then stuffed her body in a large suitcase and thrown it in a canal in Meadowbank.

Workmen had discovered Thakkar's corpse two days later and Stani-Reginald was arrested for the murder.

The report further said that the accused had searched for 'choke hold' and also viewed pornography on the morning of Thakkar's death.

Prosecutors had asked for Stani-Reginald to be handed a life sentence, arguing that he had proved himself to be a serial rapist and killer.

Justice Price said that the 21-year-old's strangulation of Ms Thakkar was 'extraordinarily cruel' and he had shown no remorse, empathy or contrition for the pain he had inflicted.

Stani-Reginald will only be eligible for release in 2041, the report added.