London, Feb 11 (IANS): A 24-year-old Indian-origin man has pleaded guilty to stabbing his 19-year-old wife to death in South London in October last year.

Sahil Sharma, a resident of Croydon, appeared in custody at Kingston Crown Court on Thursday, where he admitted murdering Mehak Sharma from Gurdaspur, Punjab.

Sharma is due to be sentenced at the same court on April 26, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement released on Saturday.

On October 29, 2023, Sharma dialled 999 and told the police operator that he had killed his wife at their home on Ash Tree Way.

Upon reaching, officers found Mehak unresponsive with catastrophic knife injuries to her neck, and despite the efforts of medics at the scene, she was pronounced dead around 20 minutes later.

A special post-mortem examination conducted on October 31, 2023, found that Mehak died due to a stab wound to her neck.

"Sahil Sharma's actions have devastated a family. In killing his wife, he has robbed her family of a loving daughter for reasons known only to himself," Detective Inspector Laura Semple from Metropolitan Police's Specialist Crime Command, said.

“While I am pleased that Mehak Sharma's loved ones will now be spared the experience of going through a trial, nothing can bring her back to them," Semple added.

Mehak's body was repatriated to her native Jogi Cheema village in Punjab in December, 2023 for last rites.

According to media reports, Mehak's mother accused Sharma of harassing, threatening, and physically abusing her daughter in London.

"Mehak was killed in her own home, the place where she should have been safest, by the person who should have loved and protected her. My thoughts today are with her family and loved ones," Detective Inspector Semple said.