Indian woman killed by fiance's ex-lover in Australia

Sydney: A 28-year-old Indian woman in Australia was strangled and brutally stabbed by her fiance's ex-lover, just a month ahead of her planned wedding, a court here was told today.

Purvi Joshi was planning her wedding and had just finished speaking to her parents on Skype in 2013 when she opened the door of her apartment in Sydney for her fiance Niraj Dave's ex-lover, Manisha Patel.

Hours later, Ms Joshi was found dead with bruising on her neck, a swollen face and a knife sticking out of her abdomen, a jury heard during the opening address of Ms Patel's Supreme Court murder trial today.

"She had a knife stuck in her side, I pulled it out and I called you," Mr Dave had told an emergency triple zero operator in the early hours of July 30, 2013, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Dave then stayed with his wife-to-be until police arrived at their apartment in Bestic Street, Kyeemagh, in Sydney's south.

Crown prosecutor Huw Baker told the court that Patel was motivated by jealousy when she smothered, strangled and stabbed Ms Purvi.

He said the sounds of Ms Purvi's death were so loud they woke a close neighbour, who would later give evidence.

The Crown will allege that Ms Patel killed Ms Purvi between 3.17am and 4.22am, then drove to work at Sydney Airport from where she called Dave.

Ms Purvi was killed a month after she had moved to Sydney from India and was making plans to marry Mr Dave in November 2013.

Barrister Scott Corish said his client Patel admitted to killing Ms Purvi but did so in self-defence. He used his opening address to explain that Patel had gone to visit Ms Purvi, because she had been begged to do so.

The deceased had just found out about a pregnancy termination the accused had and wanted more details, he said.