London, Feb. 2 (TNS): A man accused of raping and murdering his niece has told a court it was “pure coincidence” that he made internet searches on freezing a human body a few weeks before her death.
Celine Dookhran was found dead in a freezer in a house in Kingston, south-west London, on 19 July last year.
Mujahid Arshid, 33, told the Old Bailey he had carried out the internet search after watching a documentary about people living in Alaska.
He denies all the charges.
He is also accused of kidnapping, raping and attempting to murder a second woman who cannot be named for legal reasons.
Arshid told the jury it was “pure coincidence” he had carried out an internet search for “at what temperature does the human body freeze to death” weeks before 20-year-old Ms Dookhran was killed.
