By . Damien Gayle . Danish Irfan, 22, battered his sleeping wife to death with a hammer, hitting her 10 times after finding an intimate text message she had sent to another man . A man has been jailed for life for smashing in his apparently unfaithful wife's skull with a claw hammer. Danish Irfan, 22, from Pakistan, hit his British-Asian wife Ridda Zanab’s skull so hard that fragments of bone penetrated her brain, killing her in minutes. He had pleaded guilty to manslaughter but today a jury took just two hours to find him guilty of murder following a trial at Bradford Crown Court. Sentencing Irfan to life with a minimum term of 16 years, the Honourable Mr Justice Stuart-Smith said: 'Ridda survived for some minutes after the attack. We can only hope that her suffering was short.' 'Your expectations about how a wife should behave were expectations that Ridda could never meet,' the judge said of Bradford-born Ms Zanab. 'I accept the general thrust of your evidence, which is supported by other evidence in the case, that she was simply not a person who would be a stay-at-home wife whose entire existence was governed by deference to and . respect for her husband. 'That was because she was the person she was; and that was a person she was fully entitled to be. 'If you knew anything at all about her before your married you would have realised that and it shows a staggering naivety on your part that you thought she would change.' The jury was told that Irfan's attack, which involved at least 10 blows as his wife lay asleep in bed, came after he discovered a message she had sent to another man, which read: 'I luv yu, mwahhh, gud nyt.' The 21-year-old victim had only given birth to their daughter two months before her death. After the killing at their home in Bradford, West Yorkshire, on November 3 last year, Irfan changed his blood-stained clothing and took their baby in a taxi to the nearby home of Ms Zanab's mother and sister. He said he needed to leave the baby with them because he had to work, but instead he went to Manchester Airport where he unsuccessfully tried to get himself deported back to Pakistan because his student visa had expired. The jury heard that Irfan then made his way to London where he obtained a false passport and used it to fly to Islamabad from Heathrow. Ridda Zanab, 21, who the court heard had a Westernised outlook on life, had only given birth to the couple's daughter two months before her death . The judge told Irfan that he had shown real remorse and a degree of courage in returning to face justice when he could have stayed on the run in Pakistan. In the family's victim impact statement Ridda's sister Saima Parveen said the family could not believe that she had been taken from them in such dreadful circumstances. The court heard that Irfan did not like his wife going to work or wearing western clothes . 'We often talk as a family about how we are all going to explain everything to Ridda's daughter Aleena in a few years,' said Ms Parveen. 'We can't even imagine what we will say and will never be ready for the questions that she may want answering. 'We are so happy she is a girl as it's a constant reminder for us and she is a piece of Ridda for our family to treasure for the rest of our lives. 'Aleena has the same eyes as her mum and the same lovely smile of her mum.' Irfan and Ms Zanab met and married in Huddersfield in 2012, but he claimed that within weeks of the ceremony his new wife was staying out late and using cannabis. The couple moved to Bradford when Ms Zanab became pregnant. But two months after the baby girl was born, Irfan killed his wife. The jury heard allegations that the business management student, who came to the UK on student visa, was 'possessive and controlling.' Outlining the case to the jury last week, prosecutor Jonathan Sharp said Irfan and his wife were from very different backgrounds. He said Ms Zanab had been born in Bradford and had a Westernised outlook on life. 'She liked a night out and she had a rebellious streak to her,' said Mr Sharp. The court heard she had a number of boyfriends before meeting Irfan when she was just 19 and he had only been in the country for six or seven months. 'By all accounts he did not share Ridda’s pleasure in going out,' said Mr Sharp. 'Ridda’s family did not approve of him and their relationship was kept partly secret. When they got married no family members were invited.' Bradford Crown Court heard that by late October Ms Zanab had come to the conclusion she was no longer going to be a loyal wife and in the days leading up to her death developed a relationship with another man . Speaking after sentencing, Detective Superintendent Mark Ridley, of West Yorkshire Police's Protective Services Department, said: 'Irfan brutally murdered his wife in the family home in Bradford and then fled to Pakistan in a bid to evade capture. 'Following work with the international authorities, we were able to secure his voluntary return to the country to face justice. 'He has today found guilty of murdering Ridda Zanab and has been sentenced accordingly. 'Our sympathies remain with Ridda's family and especially her young daughter, who will sadly grow up without her mother.'
A jury found Danish Irfan, 22, guilty of murdering Ridda Zanab, 21 .
He had admitted manslaughter but denied murdering his wife .
Attack sparked by discovery of text message reading 'I luv yu', jury told .
Ms Zanab had only given birth to couple's daughter two months before death .
After the killing, Irfan fled back to Pakistan on a false passport .
But he chose to return to face court after police there tracked him down .
He has been sentence to life in prison with a minimum term of 16 years .
By . Damien Gayle . Danish Irfan, 22, battered his sleeping wife to death with a hammer, hitting her 10 times after finding an intimate text message she had sent to another man . A man has been jailed for life for smashing in his apparently unfaithful wife's skull with a claw hammer. Danish Irfan, 22, from Pakistan, hit his British-Asian wife Ridda Zanab’s skull so hard that fragments of bone penetrated her brain, killing her in minutes. He had pleaded guilty to manslaughter but today a jury took just two hours to find him guilty of murder following a trial at Bradford Crown Court. Sentencing Irfan to life with a minimum term of 16 years, the Honourable Mr Justice Stuart-Smith said: 'Ridda survived for some minutes after the attack. We can only hope that her suffering was short.' 'Your expectations about how a wife should behave were expectations that Ridda could never meet,' the judge said of Bradford-born Ms Zanab. 'I accept the general thrust of your evidence, which is supported by other evidence in the case, that she was simply not a person who would be a stay-at-home wife whose entire existence was governed by deference to and . respect for her husband. 'That was because she was the person she was; and that was a person she was fully entitled to be. 'If you knew anything at all about her before your married you would have realised that and it shows a staggering naivety on your part that you thought she would change.' The jury was told that Irfan's attack, which involved at least 10 blows as his wife lay asleep in bed, came after he discovered a message she had sent to another man, which read: 'I luv yu, mwahhh, gud nyt.' The 21-year-old victim had only given birth to their daughter two months before her death. After the killing at their home in Bradford, West Yorkshire, on November 3 last year, Irfan changed his blood-stained clothing and took their baby in a taxi to the nearby home of Ms Zanab's mother and sister. He said he needed to leave the baby with them because he had to work, but instead he went to Manchester Airport where he unsuccessfully tried to get himself deported back to Pakistan because his student visa had expired. The jury heard that Irfan then made his way to London where he obtained a false passport and used it to fly to Islamabad from Heathrow. Ridda Zanab, 21, who the court heard had a Westernised outlook on life, had only given birth to the couple's daughter two months before her death . The judge told Irfan that he had shown real remorse and a degree of courage in returning to face justice when he could have stayed on the run in Pakistan. In the family's victim impact statement Ridda's sister Saima Parveen said the family could not believe that she had been taken from them in such dreadful circumstances. The court heard that Irfan did not like his wife going to work or wearing western clothes . 'We often talk as a family about how we are all going to explain everything to Ridda's daughter Aleena in a few years,' said Ms Parveen. 'We can't even imagine what we will say and will never be ready for the questions that she may want answering. 'We are so happy she is a girl as it's a constant reminder for us and she is a piece of Ridda for our family to treasure for the rest of our lives. 'Aleena has the same eyes as her mum and the same lovely smile of her mum.' Irfan and Ms Zanab met and married in Huddersfield in 2012, but he claimed that within weeks of the ceremony his new wife was staying out late and using cannabis. The couple moved to Bradford when Ms Zanab became pregnant. But two months after the baby girl was born, Irfan killed his wife. The jury heard allegations that the business management student, who came to the UK on student visa, was 'possessive and controlling.' Outlining the case to the jury last week, prosecutor Jonathan Sharp said Irfan and his wife were from very different backgrounds. He said Ms Zanab had been born in Bradford and had a Westernised outlook on life. 'She liked a night out and she had a rebellious streak to her,' said Mr Sharp. The court heard she had a number of boyfriends before meeting Irfan when she was just 19 and he had only been in the country for six or seven months. 'By all accounts he did not share Ridda’s pleasure in going out,' said Mr Sharp. 'Ridda’s family did not approve of him and their relationship was kept partly secret. When they got married no family members were invited.' Bradford Crown Court heard that by late October Ms Zanab had come to the conclusion she was no longer going to be a loyal wife and in the days leading up to her death developed a relationship with another man . Speaking after sentencing, Detective Superintendent Mark Ridley, of West Yorkshire Police's Protective Services Department, said: 'Irfan brutally murdered his wife in the family home in Bradford and then fled to Pakistan in a bid to evade capture. 'Following work with the international authorities, we were able to secure his voluntary return to the country to face justice. 'He has today found guilty of murdering Ridda Zanab and has been sentenced accordingly. 'Our sympathies remain with Ridda's family and especially her young daughter, who will sadly grow up without her mother.'
10 times after finding an intimate text message Danish Irfan, 22, from Pakistan, hit his with a minimum term of 16 years, the Honourable which read: 'I luv yu, mwahhh, gud nyt.' The daughter two months before her death. After the London where he obtained a false passport and Zanab, 21, who the court heard had a Westernised outlook on life, had only given birth to the couple's daughter two months before her death . born, Irfan killed his wife. The jury heard backgrounds. He said Ms Zanab had been born in his voluntary return to the country to face justice. 'He has today found guilty of murdering Ridda Zanab and has been sentenced accordingly.