Inside accused acid bath murderer’s first hours behind bars after death of girlfriend at Sydney unit

Inside accused acid bath murderer’s first hours behind bars – as chilling details emerge about the moments before his girlfriend was found dead

• Accused acid bath killer Meraj Zafar is ‘distraught’ about being in custody 
• The 20-year-old handed himself in following a police manhunt on Monday
• Zafar was charged with murdering his lover, Aminah Hyatt, in North Parramatta 

By Candace Sutton for Daily Mail Australia

Published: 01:01 GMT, 1 February 2022 | Updated: 01:14 GMT, 1 February 2022

Accuser acid bath murderer Meraj Zafar is ‘distraught’ about being in custody, his lawyer says – as it’s revealed his lover may have been slumped in a tub for more than a day before she was found. 

Aminah Hayat, 19, was found dead in the bathroom of a ground floor apartment in North Parramatta in Sydney’s west on Sunday in a scene so grisly Hazmat firefighters were called. 

Zafar, 20, was charged with his girlfriend’s murder late on Monday after handing himself in at Bankstown Police Station following a highly publicised police manhunt. A lawyer, Mohamad Sakr, faced court on his behalf on Tuesday. 

Court documents revealed detectives believe Miss Hayat was murdered between midday and 5pm on Saturday – more than 24 hours before police made the grisly discovery of her body in the rental apartment.  

Meraj Zafar, 20, handed himself in to police on Monday after a manhunt for the bearded truck driver seen here. he has since been charged with his girlfriend’s murder

Mr Sakr did not apply for bail on behalf of Zafar at court this morning and it was formally refused by Magistrate Shane McAnulty. 

Mr Sakr did not know if the accused would be applying for bail when the case resumes at Parramatta Court on April 5.

He said he couldn’t comment on whether the accused had injuries, or if he had the support of family members.

‘I had a chance to speak with him… it’s a matter of whether he wishes to fight the charges,’ Mr Sakr said.

Mr Sakr commended his client for handing himself into police.

‘He has done the right thing in attending the police station,’ Mr Sakr said.

Lawyer Mohamad Sakr (pictured) told reporters outside court his client Meraj Zafar is distraught after spending his first night behind bars

The accused’s lawyer would not confirm if he was married to Aminah Hayat or just her boyfriend, saying ‘he is someone who is in a relationship with her’.

However, Daily Mail Australia has been told the couple was unmarried and just in a relationship when they both signed the lease last October on the flat where Ms Hayat’s body was found in the bath.

A property agent said the pair ‘just seemed like a normal young couple’.

Police officers outside the apartment complex on Monday

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