Husband jailed after killing wife in Oldbury home

A husband who killed his wife at their Sandwell home after she began divorce proceedings against him has been jailed for a minimum of 18 years.

Harminder Mattu attacked Paramjit Kaur at the address in Swan Crescent, Oldbury, at around 11pm on 30 March last year.

He attended West Bromwich Police Station at 8am the following day to report he'd killed the 46-year-old, who was also known as Soni. Officers quickly descended on the address and sadly found the body of Paramjit.

Mattu claimed Paramjit was drunk, had hit him and was the one initially armed with the knife. He said he then managed to get hold of the knife and stabbed her.

But investigations revealed the real circumstances leading to her death. A postmortem examination was able to show she died as result of pressure on her neck, rather than the stab injuries, which most likely occurred after she was unconscious.

It emerged Paramjit was in the process of leaving Mattu having filed for divorce around two months earlier, citing their marriage of 10 years had irretrievably broken down.

He had previously slapped her across the face, twisted her leg and broke her phone while drunk in December 2024, although she did not want to pursue criminal charges. A further incident, unreported at the time, had seen him grab her by the throat causing her to briefly lose consciousness and she later confided in others of assaults.

At the end of 2024, she had briefly moved from the marital home but temporarily returned after Mattu expressed suicidal feelings.

The 51-year-old was last week convicted of murder following a trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court. He was today sentenced to life imprisonment to serve a minimum of 18 years.

In tribute, Paramjit’s family said: “We feel a huge loss to our family, my sister was a loving and active member of our family who cared for and looked out for us all."

Detective Sergeant Paul Parham, from our homicide unit, said: "It appeared Mattu was trying to punish his wife for wanting to leave him. He strangled Paramjit and then used a knife on her so was clearly intent on causing serious harm.

"It wasn't self-defence, but the selfish actions of a man who didn't want his marriage to end. Instead, he robbed Paramjit of the new future she was looking for.

"She tragically lost her life, and our thoughts remain with her loved ones."