As he was led from the dock after being convicted of burning his girlfriend alive, Ahmad Riyaz Khan turned to her family, sneered and gave them a one-finger salute with both hands.
The jury in the High Court at Auckland took 3 1/2 hours to find Khan, 23, guilty of the murder of Gulshad Banu Hussein at the Shell service station in Atkinson Ave, Otahuhu, where she was the manager.
After the verdict there were emotional scenes as the dead woman's relatives cried and hugged police involved in the case.
Khan's parting gesture was described as despicable and arrogant by family members who said they had been in torment since the horrific killing of the 23-year-old woman in August last year.
Outside the court Ms Hussein's father, Amzad Hussein, said that Khan should never be allowed to see the outside of the prison walls for the rest of his life.
"I think nobody should face the death my daughter faced and the person who killed my daughter - I don't have the right description - he should rot.
"If I had my way, I would give him the eye-for-an-eye treatment, exactly."
The Crown maintained that Khan deliberately set out to kill Ms Hussein and despite her efforts to escape poured a litre bottle of lighter fluid over her head and shoulders and set her ablaze after she told him they were finished.
She died within minutes on the service station forecourt.
The defence said it was a terrible accident and claimed Ms Hussein was accidentally doused in the fluid during a struggle with Khan and the fluid ignited when her hair came in contact with an electric heater.
Several times the jury watched the service station video tape, which had captured most of the horrific events.
Khan was remanded in custody by Justice Marion Frater for sentencing.
The Crown has indicated that it will be seeking a minimum non-parole period of not less than 17 years.
Killer's defiant insult to grieving family in court
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