Arnima Hayat and Meraj Zafar had been married for four months when Ms Hayat's life was cut short. Photo / Supplies
Meraj Zafar and Arnima Hayat were just four months into their whirlwind marriage when their romance allegedly took a deadly turn, resulting in a young life being brutally cut short.
On January 30, Hayat, 19, was found dead in the apartment she shared with Zafar in North Parramatta in Sydney's west.
He decomposing body was allegedly found in a bathtub full of acid at about 4.30pm after the police received a call about her welfare.
Her 20-year-old husband has been charged with her murder.
As the investigation into the alleged killing continues, many major questions still hang over exactly what led to this unimaginable crime.
What we know about their whirlwind relationship
Hayat, a medical student, and Zafar, an apprentice builder, had only known each other for a short time before they decided to get married, a decision that reportedly wasn't supported by either of their parents.
Still, the young couple pushed ahead with their plans, getting married and moving in together to an apartment on Pennant Hills Rd, North Parramatta, in October last year.
At this point Hayat's family and friends began to lose contact with her.
The 19-year-old was in her second year of medical school and had dreams of becoming a surgeon.
However, her family revealed things quickly began to change, and the once ambitious and vibrant young girl became more reserved and shied away from her family.
Her parents, Abu Hayat and Mahafuzer Akter, told Channel 7 they lost contact with their daughter after she moved in with Zafar.
A local make-up store owner Prieta Mamun said she got to know Hayat after the teen inquired about her products.
She described the 19-year-old as a "kind and supportive girl", but added she had also lost contact with her.
On Facebook, she wrote it appeared Hayat got rid of her Instagram account.
Even those who saw Hayat after she moved to North Parramatta said she was incredibly reserved.
Locals described Hayat as being an ideal neighbour but rarely spoke to her.
Zafar told neighbours he was from Pakistan.
Hayat's parents told the Daily Mail this was vastly different from fun-loving girl they knew.
Akter told the publication her daughter would regularly take them out to eat and loved music, shopping and movies.
"She loved make-up and she liked taking photos and selfies and videos," Akter said.
In a statement of police facts gained by The Daily Telegraph, police allege Zafar murdered Hayat sometime between 12pm and 5pm on Sunday.
In an interview with police, Zafar allegedly described his relationship with his wife as "generally happy but with normal arguments".
While the shocking way in which Hayat's body was discovered has been revealed by police, the official cause of her death is yet to be determined.
More information has also been released around Zafar's movements on Sunday, when his wife was allegedly murdered.
He was captured on CCTV buying tubs of hydrochloric acid and allegedly told police he "looked good" when shown the pictures of himself, The Daily Telegraph reports.
Zafar allegedly bought a 20-litre tub of hydrochloric acid at Bunnings Northmead on Sunday morning, and then returned later to buy another four tubs, the statement of police facts state.
Police allege the 20-year-old spoke with his parents and told them he and Hayat had gotten into a "very bad fight".
Zafar's lawyer Mohamad Sakr appeared in court on Tuesday on behalf of his client and was granted an adjournment until April 5 to allow time for a brief of evidence to be prepared.
He will remain in custody on remand until that date.
Speaking to journalists outside the court, Sakr said his client was "distraught" and had no comment to make on the allegations at this stage.
Sakr said Zafar would be advised on whether to fight the murder charge once they had considered the police brief of evidence.
"He's distraught about being in custody. It's just a matter of whether he wishes to fight these charges or not, but I will obtain those instructions," he said.
Sakr said his client had "done the right thing" by attending a police station after officers issued an appeal for his whereabouts.
He said he couldn't comment on whether his client had any injuries or the support of family members and what the exact nature of his relationship with Hayat had been.
Alleged killer's strange messages to influencer
Strange messages emerged this week showing Zafar begging a Sydney influencer for a guest spot on his podcast in February 2021.
The podcaster, who wished to remain anonymous, told news.com.au he was alerted to the 20-year-old's charges by a follower, which prompted him to go back through his messages and realise Zafar had contacted him just under a year ago.
Zafar messaged the man asking if he could appear on his podcast, saying he had "a lot to talk about".
The podcaster said they would be bringing guests on weekly but he needed "good questions", to which Zafar replied he had "a lot of questions".
The pair continued to exchange on and off messages, the podcaster giving mainly noncommittal responses.
The investigation into Hayat's alleged murder is ongoing.
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