True Crime Collection

Hannah Foster

Hannah Claire Foster was born 31st August 1985. She was an A level student who had been preparing to study medicine at university. She lived with her parents, Hilary and Trevor, and younger sister, Sarah in Southhampton. On 14th March 2003, she went out socialising with a friend in downtown Southhampton visiting both The Hobbit and nearby Sobar. At around 10:50pm, her friend caught a bus home on Portswood Road, while Hannah decided to walk the half mile to her home alone. A sandwich delivery man, Maninder Pal Singh Kohli, had also been drinking in the area. While driving home in a company van, he noticed Hannah alone on the darkened streets, and abducted her as she passed his parked vehicle.

Hannah's parents noticed that she had not come home at around 5:00am the next morning, and by 10:30am, the local police were informed of her disappearance. Initial investigation focused on her prepaid mobile phone, which was still active, and were able to trace its movements south using signal tower records. In Portsmouth, at a recycling centre, her phone and bag were found dumped in a bottle recycle bin. On 16th March, Hannah's body was found dumped in bushes on Allington Lane, West End, just outside Southhampton. A post mortem examination revealed she had been raped and strangled but the semen found on her clothing could not be matched to anyone on the database.

Investigators also traced her phone calls. Unknown to Maninder, while driving south along the M27, Hannah secretly made a 999 call to emergency services around 11:00pm in the hope they would realise she was in trouble. However, as there was no direct communication with the operator, and as the voices were indistinct, the call was treated as a probable misdial and forwarded to Silent Solutions, a 2 minute long recorded message telling people in need of assistance to dial 55. Investigators then enhanced the recording, and were able to learn that Hannah was in the back of a van being driven by a man with a south Asian accent. After identifying 7 vans on CCTV footage that might fit the route taken, a public appeal for information was made by the parents on 26th March via Crimewatch. 

A supervisor at Hazlewoods Foods identified Maninder, one of the company's drivers as a possible suspect. He had taken a van home that night, as he did not own his own vehicle, had a similar delivery route, had a fresh scratch on his face, and was unable to complete his shift the next day. Investigators, noting the same van on their shortlist, soon found blood and semen in the vehicle, and retraced its route in and around Southhampton, the M27, Portsmouth, and the recycling centre. Now identified by investigators as the prime suspect, it was soon realised that Maninder had already travelled from Heathrow to Delhi on 18th March ostensibly to visit his comatose mother. Finding his house vacated, they also interviewed his wife and took a DNA sample from one of his 2 sons. Maninder's wife, a UK citizen, and his brother, a policeman in India, however, denied his involvement in the murder.

The case stalled for the next 15 months after Indian police were not able to prioritise the crime and media attention was low. On 10th July 2004, however, Hannah's parents went to Chandigarh themselves and made a public appeal for information of his whereabouts. During their 10 day visit, the Fosters held a series of press conferences as well as opening a telephone "hotline". Their visit soon became a subject of high nationwide interest in the Indian press. Hampshire police, in conjunction with The Sun, announced a reward of £5 million to anyone whose information led to the arrest of Maninder. 

On 15th July, after a number of tip offs, Maninder was arrested by an off duty policeman in West Bengal's Darjeeling district while trying to board a bus from Kalimpong to Nepal with his new wife. While in police custody, Maninder states he was "tired of running". On 28th July, Maninder admitted to raping and murdering Hannah in an interview with a private television channel, and said that he was forced to kill Hannah after raping her because she refused to not report his crime. In August 2004, he retracted his statement saying it was "not by his own will". Maninder was then held in judicial custody in New Delhi pending extradition to the United Kingdom, and the case underwent 100 court proceedings and 35 appeals. After 3 years of wrangling, a final decision to extradite him to the UK was handed down on 8th June 2007.

On 28th July, Maninder arrived at Heathrow and was arrested and charged with the murder, kidnap, and rape of Hannah. He was also charged with manslaughter, false imprisonment, and perverting the course of justice. On 10th December 2007, Maninder entered a plea of not guilty to the charges at Winchester Crown Court. Maninder initially argued he simply found someone had broken into his van and dumped Hannah's body there, causing him to panic. He later argued, after DNA evidence was produced, that criminals forced him to rape and murder Hannah. On 25th November 2008, Maninder, then aged 41, was found guilty of all charges and sentenced to life imprisonment, with a recommended minimum term of 24 years, 2 years less for time already served in the UK on remand. Hannah's family expressed their disappointment in the sentence, hoping that the killer would spend the rest of his life in prison. Under the trial judge's recommendation, Maninder is expected to remain in prison until at least 2030 and the age of 63.