Husband who lured his wife to her death in 'honour killing' then dressed up in her clothes to convince family and friends she was still alive is jailed.

A husband who lured his estranged wife to her death as part of an 'honour killing' and then wore her clothes to convince her family and friends she was still alive has been jailed for a minimum of 20 years.

Ahmed Al-Khatib put on Rania Alayed's jeans and headscarf and then carried the mother-of-three in a suitcase less than an hour after she dropped their children off at his brother's flat in Salford, Greater Manchester, on June 7 last year.

After killing his wife the Syrian-born Muslim, who fled the Middle East for Britain, drove her to the North Yorkshire area and buried her.

Police have yet to find the site where the Syrian-born mother-of-three was buried despite numerous searches.

A police officer today called the 'honour killing' a 'horrific act of self-pity', adding that Al-Khatib's 'male "pride" clearly couldn't take a strong woman trying to determine her own fate'.

Al-Khatib, 35, was today convicted by a jury of her murder and sentenced to life.

He admitted killing her but claimed he pushed her to the floor and she banged her head after she appeared to him in the form of an evil spirit.

Manchester Crown Court heard the marriage was 'marred by violence' and that Ms Alayed, who previously lived near Middlesbrough, left him after years of serious domestic violence.

She feared for her life and had sought help from the Citizens Advice Bureau, the police and eventually a solicitor - which had angered her husband's family.

The defendant's brother Muhaned Al-Khatib, 38, said he was not present at the time that any violence was used against Ms Alayed in his flat and did not bear any responsibility for her murder.

He was cleared by the jury of that charge. Both he and Ahmed Al-Khatib, of the Gorton area of the city, had pleaded guilty to intending to pervert the course of justice by transporting and concealing the body of Ms Alayed.

A third brother, Hussain Al-Khatib, 34, also of Gorton, was found guilty by the jury of intending to pervert the course of justice

The jury was told that telephone, Facebook and message services were deployed to pretend to others that Ms Alayed was still alive.

Ahmed Al-Khatib was arrested on July 4 and made no complaint of any mental illness, the court heard.

He told police the relationship had been trouble-free until January last year when his wife rang police about a row when he had taken her phone.

He said he had seen pictures of his wife in underwear. Detectives were told he had not seen her since April and he had tried to contact her 30 times but believed her to be in Turkey or Syria.

Mr Cross told the jury: 'Quite plainly, ladies and gentlemen, the majority of these facts were lies. He knew full well. He had killed her.'

The next day, Muhaned Al-Khatib told police that Ms Alayed was not alive and she was buried at the side of a layby on the A19. He denied helping his brother to bury her or murder her and said he had not seen her body.