Melbourne, Oct 24 (PTI): A 21-year-old Australian man has pleaded guilty to the murder of a young Indian woman whose dismembered body was discovered in a suitcase in a Sydney canal last year.

The body of Tosha Thakkar, 24, was found in the suitcase floating in a canal near the Parramatta River at Meadowbank in March 2011.

Police say she had been raped and then strangled, a crime which drew a shocked and furious response from the Indian community both in Sydney and overseas.
Burwood Local Court said that Daniel Stani-Reginald, who was Thakkar's neighbour, pleaded guilty to the murder.

He was also charged of raping Thakkar. According to 'The Age' report, Stani-Reginald has not pleaded guilty to this charge. The two were living in the same apartment building and Stani-Reginald was arrested soon after Thakkar's body was found.

Magistrate Christopher Longley committed Stani-Reginald for sentencing in the NSW Supreme Court on November 28. Stani-Reginald and Thakkar lived in separate apartments above an empty  storefront on Edwin Street in Croydon in Sydney's inner west, the report said adding it was believed the murder took place in Thakkar's apartment.

Her body was found in a suitcase by construction workers a few days later while working on an oil line.