Paria Veisi, 37, was stabbed to death by her husband Alireza Askari, 42, in the conservatory of their Cardiff home less than two weeks after she ended their relationship.
Conor Gogarty, Oliver Radcliffe Live News Reporter and Philip Dewey
12:36, 13 Mar 2026Updated 13:01, 13 Mar 2026
(Image: South Wales Police)
A man who killed his wife and buried her in his garden has been jailed for life. The body of Paria Veisi was found in a makeshift grave in the back garden of her husband Alireza Askari, following her fatal stabbing to the neck and upper chest less than two weeks after she had ended their relationship.
Ms Veisi, 37, was discovered deceased at the Cardiff address on April 15 last year after worried family members reported her missing. Originally from Iran, she was last seen driving a black Mercedes car four days prior whilst departing her workplace in Canton.
Askari, 42, of Foster Drive in Penylan, initially admitted only to manslaughter and preventing lawful and decent burial. He subsequently pleaded guilty to murder and received his sentence today.
Askari was been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 26 years imprisonment. This was reduced to 25 years and 37 days, to take into account the time Askari has spent on remand. If released, the defendant will be on licence for the rest of his life.
His aunt, Maryam Delavary, 48, of White City in London, pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice. Delavary has been sentenced to five years and six months imprisonment. The term she has spent on remand will be deducted from the sentence, of which she will spend 40% in custody.
In the days following Ms Veisi’s murder in the conservatory of the Foster Drive house, Delavary assisted her nephew in cleaning the property with bleach and digging a hole in the garden for the body.
The duo buried Ms Veisi in a part of the garden that had previously been a pond. They covered her with soil and newly purchased flowers from BandQ following the killing, as well as concrete patio slabs, Cardiff Crown Court was told, reports WalesOnline.
Alireza Askari (Image: South Wales Police)
A witness who was in a car near the house at the time of the murder, around 4.30pm on April 12, heard a scream which they compared to a horror film.
Ms Veisi had travelled to the Foster Drive property following a telephone conversation with her estranged husband. Shortly after arriving, he fatally stabbed her with one of four kitchen knives he had purchased earlier that day from Tesco.
Prosecutor William Hughes KC stated there were no defensive wounds on Ms Veisi’s body, indicating the assault caught her “completely by surprise”.
Ms Veisi had vacated the property less than a fortnight prior to the murder. She had begun renting accommodation in Richmond Road on April 3, 2025, and was employed as a hairdresser at the Rey salon in Cowbridge Road East, Canton.
Moments after the assault, Askari telephoned Delavary, who was at her residence in London but promptly arranged a taxi to travel from White City to Cardiff, where she assisted him in concealing the crime.
At 8.13pm that evening, Askari impersonated the woman he had just murdered, sending a message from Ms Veisi’s phone to her employer at the salon. The message claimed she would be returning to Iran for a month or two as a “medical thing” had arisen.
He also relocated her vehicle away from her residence.
Askari’s solicitor Adam Sharp informed the court his client had “no clear rationale or motive” and that his mental illness was “a contributory factor” in the assault. But the judge, Mrs Justice Stacey, challenged him on why he believed there was no obvious motive.
“Really?” she said. “His wife had moved into a flat less than two weeks earlier and you don’t think that is the rationale? I would have thought it self-evident… He would clearly rather kill her than her leave him.”
Maryam Delavary(Image: South Wales Police )
The judge also queried remarks from Delavary’s barrister, Thomas Crowther KC, that she had endured 20 years of domestic abuse from her ex-husband in Iran before fleeing and subsequently finding herself “in the service” of her “domineering” nephew, who purportedly threatened her: “If you tell anyone, you will be sleeping next to her.
“We know that she has lied, and she has lied, and she has lied,” said Mrs Justice Stacey, whose assessment from the police bodycam footage was that she appeared “stronger and more powerful” than Askari.
The judge was especially struck by Delavary’s instructions to her nephew in Farsi to “shut up” whilst police were questioning him.
Mrs Justice Stacey requested that Delavary’s allegations of abuse be investigated before Friday, when she is due to pass sentence.
Following Ms Veisi’s death being confirmed, approximately 100 mourners assembled to pay their respects at the Norwegian church in Cardiff Bay. The church was so packed that some mourners were asked to step outside and allow others the chance to enter.
A close friend of Ms Veisi, Sara Rezaei, expressed: “Paria wasn’t just someone in the headlines. She was a kind, caring, and vibrant soul who brought joy to everyone around her… We are devastated, heartbroken, and still in shock.”
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