A brain damaged man who beat a neighbour to death in a row over loud music has been jailed for life. The body of Farnaz Ali, 49, was found covered with a sheet in the bathroom of Danny Williams' flat in Godric Place, Norwich, after a tip-off. She had suffered 59 separate injuries in a hammer attack and was unrecognisable when she was identified.
Williams, 27, who denied murder, was sentenced at Norwich Crown Court to life with a minimum of 24 years. Ms Ali had voiced concerns about Williams playing loud music but it was "unclear" why she had been killed, the court was told.
Officers broke in to the flat after calls from Williams' father and a friend who were concerned he had hurt or killed a woman.
Sentencing Williams, Judge Stephen Holt said it was "a brutal, savage and senseless attack" with a hammer and included an attempt to strangle Ms Ali.
He said Williams "attempted to burn the hammer, clothes and blood-stained carpet".
"Your assertion you cannot remember what happened just does not ring true," the judge added.
Jurors were told Ms Ali, who lived opposite Mr Williams but "barely knew" him, had been reported missing by her partner on 28 July last year.
Ms Ali's sister Dr Mahnaz Ali said when she was asked to identify the body of her sister, her injuries were so severe "I didn't actually recognise her".
In a victim impact statement she said: "Faraz was a quiet, gentle, thoughtful person who suffered a prolonged attack and was left to die alone in the bathroom of a stranger's house.
"The trauma of learning about how she suffered alone before she died will be with me always."
Dr Ali said she has had to take time off from her job as a GP to support her parents, who are now in their 70s. Judge Holt said Dr Ali, who attended the court for every day of the trial, had acted "with enormous courage and dignity throughout what must have been a terrible ordeal".
Police said Williams had been drinking alcohol and was known to neglect his medication. A pathologist had earlier told the jury Ms Ali could have survived for up to an hour after the attack.
