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Family of Great Waldingfield murder victims Jillu and Louise Nash pay emotional tribute to pair after Peter Nash sentenced to 40 years behind bars




The family of a mother and daughter who were found dead in their Great Waldingfield home last year paid an emotional tribute to the pair this afternoon after their murderer was sentenced to life in jail.

Peter Nash, 47, was handed a minimum of 40 years in jail at Ipswich Crown Court today after he was found guilty of killing his wife Jillu Nash, 44, and their 12-year-old daughter, Louise, before attempting to take his own life, at their Great Waldingfield home in September last year.

The family of Jillu and Louise read an emotional statement outside of court after the hearing, where they called Nash’s actions ‘cruel’ and ‘sickening’.

“Deep down we know that no sentence given will bring our girls back or ease the pain we have felt since losing them in such a cruel way,” Maana Aujla, Jillu’s cousin’s wife, read.

“It is now eight months since we lost them both and that overwhelming pain continues. We miss them all the time and feel guilt for not knowing what was behind that smile.

“Peter has brazenly sat there and tried to justify his actions. How anyone deserves the punishment of death is beyond us and sickening.

The family of Jillu and Louise Nash outside Ipswich Crown Court. Picture: Kaia Nicholl
The family of Jillu and Louise Nash outside Ipswich Crown Court. Picture: Kaia Nicholl

“Jillu and Lou Lou were joined at the hip. They were inseperable. Even death could not part them,” she added.

On behalf of the family, Ms Aujla praised Suffolk Police for their work on bringing Nash to justice, and added that they hope he feels regret and repents for his actions.

During a victim impact statement today, Jillu’s mother Dheruti Shar said: “This living human monster ended two lives like they were toys in his hands. By doing so he prevented them from flourishing further in their lives.

“I never want to return to this country – the country that took my girls. It will never be the same for us,” she added.

During his trial Nash admitted to strangling Jillu at their Heath Estate home following an argument over an affair she was having, and said he then stabbed Louise to death, before attempting to take his own life.

During closing statements, Nash, who represented himself, told the court he believed he was acting on 'logic' at the time of the killings and said: "She decided when she tresspassed and she chose her own outcome."

In an earlier hearing, when asked if he had intended to kill his wife when he strangled her, Nash said: "Not begging to kill her, no. It was to punish. To serve punishment. It was to punish for the trespass."

When pressed, Nash acknowledged that the intended ‘punishment’ was death, and said his decision to kill his severely autistic daughter was motivated by his mistrust of the social services.

The trial also heard evidence from Dr Bohdan Solomka, a psychiatrist who interviewed Nash a month after the incident, who said the defendant had confessed the killings to him.

The jury was shown video footage of Nash referring to his 12-year-old daughter Louise, who had autism and global developmental delay, as his 'property' as well as an email exchange from Nash to Louise's school where he called himself her 'owner'.

Following the sentencing today, detective inspector Craig Powell, the senior investigating officer, said: “This is an incredibly disturbing and tragic case of two utterly senseless and cold-hearted murders of a mother and her 12-year-old daughter.

“Jillu Nash was nothing more than a woman who wanted and needed a new start in life. Through our own dealings with Peter Nash and from his time in the dock in court, it was apparent to everyone that he must have been a very difficult person to live with.

“Louise Nash had every right to expect her father to protect her, not to be the person who – to use his own words – ‘ended her life’. She was an innocent 12-year-old girl murdered by a man with a warped view of the world.

“Peter Nash’s testimony in court was mostly rambling and often completely incoherent. How he believed he could stand in the dock and describe in his own words how he had murdered his wife and daughter but argue them away as ‘lawful’ killings, was one of the most bizarre things I have ever witnessed.

“When the trial reached the point of closing speeches, he showed complete contempt for the court by laughing at comments made by the judge. And if anyone was in any doubt about what he done, he made things very clear when he stated: ‘I don’t regret killing them’.

“Throughout his performance in court – which is what I believe it was – the family of Jillu and Louise remained silent and dignified. They have sat through every day of proceedings and had to listen to things about their loved ones nobody should have to hear.

“I want to pay tribute to the strength and composure they have shown and although today’s sentence will not bring Jillu and Louise back, they at least can be reassured that their killer will likely spend the rest of his years in prison,” he added.