AN evil dad has today been found guilty of murdering his wife and 12-year-old daughter after claiming they were his “property”.
Peter Nash, 47, strangled his wife and stabbed their autistic daughter to death amid the horror attack.
The monster had denied murdering Jillu, 43, and Louise, 12, as he believed he had “lawfully killed” the pair.
But a jury today found Nash guilty of two counts of murder after a three-week trial.
Mrs Nash’s mother Dhruti Shah, who was also Louise’s grandmother, told the court Nash was a “living human monster”, adding: “He took life like they were toys in his hands.”
She cried, calling him as “evil beyond belief”, and described how her daughter was a “petite woman and how a little non-verbal child went to sleep innocently to never wake up again”.
The 47-year-old defended himself in court and attempted to justify the killings through his own interpretation of common law, property and marriage vows.
Nash told Ipswich Crown Court he killed his wife of more than a decade after discovering she had photos of another man.
He said he confronted Jillu and strangled her for 5-10 minutes before stuffing a T-shirt in her mouth.
The killer explained he then sat with the couple’s autistic daughter for about an hour, trying to decide what to do next.
Nash told the court he decided he would kill Louise and himself as she was his “property”, and he wanted to protect her as he didn’t trust anyone else to care for her.
The twisted man tried to fill the house with gas, then stabbed his 12-year-old and himself.
The killer murdered Jillu and Louise at their home in Heath Estate, Suffolk, in September last year.
The court previously heard how Jillu had “entered into a relationship with a work colleague” and “she planned on leaving her husband and setting up home”.
David Josse KC, prosecuting, told the … court: “The defendant and Mrs Nash had a difficult and unhappy marriage.
“They married in 2009 and the stresses and strains of that relationship were undoubtedly compounded by Peter Nash losing his job by redundancy in 2020.”
He said that Nash was “largely responsible for the care of their autistic daughter Louise”, who was “non-verbal, only able to say a few words”.
Mr Josse said that Jillu had recorded some conversations that she had with her husband, and that in one in August 2022 Nash called her “a schemer who caused chaos to gain attention”.
He told the court: “When he suggested she had been cheating on him for some four months, she corrected him and told him it was eight months.”
Mr Josse said that Jillu was seen with the man she was having a relationship with on September 7 – hours later she was dead.
Police arrived at the home the following day after Jillu and Louise didn’t show up at work and school.
As the cops forced their way into the home they smelt gas and quickly phoned the fire service.
Fire crews barged in to find Jillu in the living room, and Louise on a bed covered with a sheet.
Nash was next to his daughter covered with self-inflicted stab wounds, and still had the knife in hand.
He “had to be disarmed by police with a Taser”, Mr Josse said.
The monster has been remanded in custody and will be sentenced on Wednesday May 17.
Mrs Shah described her daughter as a “brilliant mum” with a “beautiful smile” and a “positive attitude towards life”.
“She always did the best by her beautiful daughter Lou,” she added that, “losing my girls was like losing one’s breathe”.
How you can get help
Women's Aid has this advice for victims and their families:
- Always keep your phone nearby.
- Get in touch with charities for help, including the Women’s Aid live chat helpline and services such as SupportLine.
- If you are in danger, call 999.
- Familiarise yourself with the Silent Solution, reporting abuse without speaking down the phone, instead dialing “55”.
- Always keep some money on you, including change for a pay phone or bus fare.
- If you suspect your partner is about to attack you, try to go to a lower-risk area of the house – for example, where there is a way out and access to a telephone.
- Avoid the kitchen and garage, where there are likely to be knives or other weapons. Avoid rooms where you might become trapped, such as the bathroom, or where you might be shut into a cupboard or other small space.
If you are a victim of domestic abuse, SupportLine is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200. The charity’s email support service is open weekdays and weekends during the crisis – messageinfo@supportline.org.uk.
Women’s Aid provides a live chat service – available weekdays from 8am-6pm and weekends 10am-6pm.
You can also call the freephone 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.