Cheryl Tariah was murdered by her boyfriend in February

A failed asylum seeker who claimed he killed his girlfriend after the Tottenham teenager confessed to cheating on him has been jailed for at least 10-and-a-half years.

Ako Amin told police he battered 17-year-old Cheryl Tariah with a hammer before grasping her around the neck with his hands and strangling her to death on February 7 this year because she confessed to having been unfaithful.

A neighbour later described overhearing Amin, 19, shouting out other men’s names, before Miss Tariah told him: “Don’t hurt me, leave me alone and get off me.”

The shouts were followed by screams and choking that could be heard through an open window of his hostel room in High Street, Barkingside, in the road below.

Amin, 19, then covered the Dunloe Avenue teenager’s body with a duvet before casually strolling to a nearby library, where he bragged to a friend: “The hammer didn’t do it - I had to strangle her.”

Iranian-born Amin, who was discovered clinging to the bottom of a lorry at Dover as he tried to flee the country three days after the murder, was today sentenced to a minimum of 10-and-a-half years in prison after pleading guilty.

He will then be deported to his home country.

Judge Richard Marks QC told him his “wicked act” had deprived Miss Tariah’s mother - whose husband died in 2010 - of a loving daughter’s “comfort and support”.

“This is a shocking incident in which a young woman has lost her life and the consequences for Cheryl Tariah’s mother can only be imagined,” he said.

“She lost her husband in 2010 and is left by herself to look after a severely autistic son.

“No doubt Cheryl would have been a great comfort and support to her in that task.

“She now no longer has that comfort and support through your selfish and wicked behaviour - for there is no other way to describe it.

“I hope you ponder for the rest of your life what you did that day, for it was shocking, appalling and unforgivable.”

The Old Bailey previously heard how Chelmsford College art student Cheryl had dated jealous and possessive Amin - who would not let her speak to other boys and hacked into her Facebook and email accounts to stop her receiving messages - on-and-off for a year.

The court also heard how Amin, whose family fled his home country in December 2008 following the murder of his brother, had exhausted his appeals for asylum the day before he murdered Cheryl.

Amin’s lawyer Jason Dunn-Shaw said his client would always live with “the horror of what he has done”.