Delivery driver guilty of murdering woman in van

A delivery driver who attacked a woman in the back of a van has been found guilty of murder.

Shara Millar, 41, was found dead at an industrial estate in Smethwick early on 11 August.

Tanveer Singh, 32, had been out with friends the night before and had been drinking heavily and taking cocaine, the jury was told, and he had sought services from Millar, who was a sex worker at the time.

A post-mortem examination last year revealed Millar had been strangled, and the court heard how Singh used a "deliberate act of squeezing" in the back of his work van, before dropping her face down on the street.

He was convicted of murder at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Friday.

The jury heard he left Millar's body on the pavement in only her bra, stole money from her purse, then poured AdBlue - a chemical used in diesel cars - over her body in a bid to get rid of forensic evidence.

The van's movements and the sound of the attack were captured on nearby CCTV and was played in court.

The jury saw how after the attack, Singh drove back to Leopard Lane, West Bromwich, where he lived.

Millar, from Boston, in Lincolnshire, had struggled with a "cycle of addiction" the jury heard and was known to support workers in the area.

Singh, who the court was told had paid for sexual acts more than 100 times previously with different women, said he was "embarrassed" about his actions.

He had pleaded guilty to manslaughter, not murder, claiming her death was an accident, but during evidence admitted he knew she was already dead when he left her on the street.

Singh told the jury how he had also previously referred to women in derogatory terms.

Text messages shown to the court included messages such as "Van, Rope, Pills" when speaking to his friends about a woman on the internet who he had said was attractive.

Prosecutor, Rachel Brand KC suggested that "Perhaps [to Singh] a woman like her, a sex worker, is unimportant and disposable".

"It was a violent attack on a slightly built woman in no position to fight back," she said.

Although her death was caused by "manual compression of the neck" Millar was also found with multiple neck fractures and bruising across her face and body.

She is survived by family members, who sat through the trial with "quiet dignity", said defence KC Gurdeep Chada.

Det Insp Joe Davenport from West Midlands Police said: "Shara was brutally killed by a dangerous predator.

"My thoughts are with Shara's loved ones, and I thank them for the support during this investigation and trial."

The force added it continued to "pursue perpetrators who exploit vulnerable women".

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