Kathmandu: Charles Sobhraj, the infamous serial killer, was today sentenced to life in prison by a Nepalese court after holding him guilty of murdering an American woman here in December 1975. Awarding the sentence to 60-year old Sobhraj for the murder of Konizo Brohich here, Kathmandu District Court Judge Bishwombhar Prasad Shrestha also ordered confiscation of any property owned by him in Nepal. Sobhraj, a French national, said he was innocent and would appeal the verdict. He said he had never visited Nepal before 2003. "I am shocked by the verdict because it was a trial without any witness," he told reporters at the end of a three-hour hearing and the verdict. "I have been declared guilty without proof." Until today, he had never been convicted of murder though he has been accused of over 20 killings in India, Thailand, Nepal, Turkey and Iran. He had also spent 20 years in jail in India for drugging and robbing tourists before he was deported to France in 1997. Sobhraj, known as "the serpent" for his talent for disguise and escape, resurfaced in Kathmandu in September last year and was arrested at a casino in Durbarmarg here.
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