A bright medical student was tragically found dead after her controlling husband dissolved her body in a bath of acid. Armina Hayat had moved to Australia from Bangladesh with her family at the tender age of nine, reports the Mirror.
However, after meeting her first boyfriend, Meraj Zafar, the 19-year-old found herself trapped in an abusive marriage with a baby on the way. Just four months after tying the knot, she was desperate to leave her husband and terrified of him – her world began spiralling out of control.
The apprentice builder towered over Arnima from the start and her family were concerned about their relationship from very early on. Zafar would convince Arnima to drink alcohol, with rumours circulating he was a drug user.
At this time, Arnima also began pulling away from her family, which was unlike the teen. In May 2021, Zafar approached Arnima’s father, Abu Hayat, and asked for permission for the pair to marry.
However, Abu’s reluctancy sparked anger in Zafar and he later called Abu whilst swearing and being abusive, yelling: “Are you man or a lady? “Why can’t you make a decision?”
Despite this, the couple married in a private Islamic ceremony, excluding friends and family. They retreated into seclusion in their North Parramatta flat in Sydney.
The teenager who once shared her life openly became withdrawn and stopped contacting her family, as she entered her second year of studies. By January 2022, Arnima was unhappy and pregnant, telling friends Zafar had been abusive. She explained when she asked permission to leave the house, he’d call her a “dumb bitch”.
In one horrendous incident, he strangled her until she passed out because he was thought she was seeing another man. In gut-wrenching messages, she pleaded with him for freedom, writing, “I just don’t want to say this to your face because I’m scared you’re going to bash me again,” adding, “I don’t want a son like you.”
Zafar replied, “Baby, you need to let go of the past – whatever I did was not me at all.” She opened up to pals about his jealous, controlling nature. Arnima regretted marrying him and considered involving the police, but she feared Zafar’s next move.
On January 29, feeling isolated, she texted a friend, “I have nobody except you,” voicing her desire to leave. Her friend replied, “You have got no choice. You have to stay with him.” At 9.10pm, Arnima texted back, “No, I hate him,” marking her final communication.
The following day, Zafar’s mum alerted the police to say her son had confessed to a violent clash with Arnima, leaving him uncertain if she was alive. Meanwhile, Zafar had checked prices for a ticket overseas.
Authorities arrived at the flat and upon breaking in, were immediately hit by the smell of a chemical odour emanating from the bathroom. Wearing hazmat suits, they stumbled upon Arnima’s severely decomposed body in a bathtub filled with hydrochloric acid. She was severely decomposed by the acid that DNA was needed for identification.
Zafar had vanished along with his white work truck, making him the prime suspect. The police released an image of him, and 20 hours later, he surrendered himself.
The police concluded Arnima had been killed just 45 minutes after last texting her friend. Zafar left the flat at 9.55pm and by then Arnima was dead. CCTV footage from the next morning showed Zafar driving his work truck to a home improvement story where he purchased 20 litres of hydrochloric acid. He later returned to buy another 80 litres.
Searches on Zafar’s internet history showed queries like “Can hydrochloric acid burn through skin?” before the acid purchase, and even “How many years do you get in Sydney for murder?” The murder left Arnima’s family, including her parents and eight year old sister, in anguish, unable to see her one final time or follow their tradition of an open coffin funeral due to the condition of her remains.
“He acted in such a way because of his anger and the prospect of Ms Hayat leaving him,” the judge remarked, highlighting a history of controlling and violent behaviour from Zafar. “This was against a background of controlling and violent behaviour by the offender. The offence occurred in the home of Ms Hayat, where she was entitled to feel safe.”
In December 2024, Zafar, then 23, was sentenced. Arnima’s father said he had broken their family, their future and their hearts. “I miss my daughter every day and see her face in my dreams,” he said. “He burned the face I used to kiss every night. Can you imagine someone burning your child?”
Arnima’s mother, Mahafuza Akter, had her statement read for her by a support person. “There is no joy, no laughter, only suffering and pain. My tears are never ending and the deep ache in my heart never stops,” they read, adding Arnima had been stolen from them and all the people she would have helped when she became a doctor.
Mahafuza said she would give anything to see her daughter’s face one more time. “Instead, I sit by her grave every Friday, stroking the grass because I can no longer stroke her hair. I kiss and hug her tombstone, longing to hold and smell her.”
In a letter to the court, Zafar said he took full responsibility. “I don’t know how to begin to say how sorry I am for all that I have caused and all that I have affected through my actions,” he wrote. “It’s the most terrible thing to do to someone else.”
The judge noted Zafar only referred to Arnima as “his wife” rather than using her name, which was yet another example of how he believed he owned the young woman. Zafar was sentenced to 21 years and six months with a non-parole period of 16 years.