A man who went on the run after his girlfriend died at her student halls of residence has been arrested.
Maher Maaroufe, 22, a Tunisian of no fixed address, was arrested in Clerkenwell, central London, yesterday on suspicion of the murder of Sabita Thanwani, a psychology student at City, University of London.
Thanwani, 19, was attacked at Arbour House accommodation in Clerkenwell at about 5am on Saturday. Police found that she had serious neck injuries and she was declared dead at the scene.
Officers began a manhunt for Maaroufe, who is not a student and was believed to be with her that evening. He was arrested on suspicion of murder and assault. He remains in police custody.
Thanwani, a British citizen, had lived in Dubai and attended Jumeirah College, a leading school with annual fees of £16,000. She completed her studies in 2020. She has family in the UK and Dubai and was in her first year of university.
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Students who lived with Thanwani in the block of flats owned by Unite Students told of their shock at her death. Leona Sigmud, 20, described her as “just a normal student” who was “nice and never rude”.
She added: “I didn’t know her personally. When I heard someone was murdered I didn’t believe it at first. I thought it was gossip. We are all feeling rather shaken up.”
Arsh Srivastara, 21, a business student, said that she was woken up by the voice of a man. “At about 5.45am I heard a voice that sounded like a grown man,” she said. “I heard the fire alarm go off and I heard someone running out of a back ground floor exit near where I live. The police showed up about half an hour later. I heard them talking about someone trying to escape through the hallway door.”
Owen Newby, 18, a first-year investment finance student, said that he had been asleep when he heard a commotion. “We heard a few loud bangs, it sounded like someone stamping on the floor,” he said. “And then we heard people running around. Then a few hours later we were all woken up when the fire alarm went off. It wasn’t until we saw police this morning we realised that something must have happened.”
Dominique Hodgett, 19, also an investment finance student, said: “We heard the loud noises but there wasn’t any screaming, so we didn’t think much of it. It’s incredibly sad.
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“As a young woman when you hear something like this has happened to another student it makes you scared to sleep at night. I won’t be staying here tonight. I don’t think I could sleep knowing what happened in the flat above.”
Flowers have been left at the scene while friends hugged and comforted each other outside the building. Detective Chief Inspector Linda Bradley, who is leading the investigation, said: “Sabita’s family have been updated with this development and continue to be supported by specially trained officers. Our deepest condolences are with them.”
A representative for the university said: “As this is an ongoing police incident, we are unable to comment on their investigation. As a university, we will do everything we can to support our students and staff and we will continue to fully support the police with their investigation. We are working closely with Unite Students, who own and operate Arbour House.”