A FORMER medical student who fled abroad after murdering his partner has failed in a bid to clear his name.

Daniel Egbe Tambengwa strangled nurse Ella Chimweta, 32, who he was cheating on with another woman, at their home in Colchester in July, 2007.

The 36-year-old, of no fixed address, was jailed for life at Chelmsford Crown Court in July 2008, after being found guilty of murder.

He launched a bid to challenge his conviction at London’s Criminal Appeal Court, arguing he had been misrepresented by his lawyers and had not received a fair trial because the judge allowed “prejudicial” evidence from a former girlfriend to go before jurors.

But his appeal bid has now been rejected by three of the country’s most senior judges, who said there was nothing wrong with his trial.

Gazette:

Lord Justice Elias, sitting with Mrs Justice Cox and Mr Justice Wilkie, told the court Ms Chimweta’s body was discovered about a week after she was killed in July 2007.

On the morning of July 10, Tambengwa had phoned Colchester General Hospital, where she worked, to say she would not be in as she was ill –before fleeing to Nigeria.

He later returned to the UK and handed himself in, telling police they had a fight and he knocked her over, fleeing in panic when he realised she was not breathing and he could not resuscitate her.

But experts said the victim had injuries which indicated she had been strangled and Tambengwa was found guilty of murder by the jury.

Launching a bid to clear his name six years after he was jailed, he argued his lawyers should have called an expert witness whose evidence could potentially have helped his defence.

He also argued the trial judge was wrong to allow evidence from a woman who claimed she had been in a relationship with him while he was with the victim, which prosecutors said provided a motive for the murder.

Dismissing the appeal, Lord Justice Elias said: “These grounds do not begin to give rise a justifiable basis for assuming the convictions would be overturned.”