A man convicted of killing the father and sister of his former girlfriend in a fiery attack on the family's Southern California home was sentenced to death on Tuesday. Iftekhar Murtaza, 30, was sentenced for the murders of Jay Dhanak, 56, and his daughter Karishma, 20, in May 2007, the Orange County district attorney's office said. Murtaza was convicted in December 2013 of killing the pair in an attempt to reunite with his then-18-year-old ex-girlfriend Shayona Dhanak. She had ended their relationship citing her Hindu family's opposition to her dating a Muslim. To be executed: Iftekhar Murtaza, 30, was sentenced to death Tuesday for the May 21, 2007 murders of his ex-girlfriend's father and sister and the attempted murder of her mother. Authorities said Murtaza and a friend torched the family's Anaheim Hills home and kidnapped and killed Dhanak's father and sister, leaving their stabbed bodies burning in a park 2 miles from Dhanak's dorm room at the University of California, Irvine. Dhanak's mother, Leela, survived the attack. She was stabbed and left unconscious on a neighbor's lawn. Murtaza was interviewed by police several days later and arrested at a Phoenix airport with a ticket to his native Bangladesh and more than $11,000 in cash. Jurors recommended that Murtaza be sentenced to death for the crimes. Attack: Murtaza torched his ex-girlfriend's family's Orange County home after they broke-up, believing the murders of her family would reunited them. Religious differences: Murtaza dated Shayona Dhanak when she was 18 in 2007. She broke up with him when her Hindu parents allegedly told her they would stop paying her college tuition if she continued to date the Muslim man. Two of his friends were also sentenced to life in prison for the murders, but one of them, Vitaliy Krasnoperov, recently had his conviction overturned on appeal. Authorities said Krasnoperov hatched the plot to kill the Dhanaks with Murtaza and tried to help him hire a hit man. They said another friend, Charles Murphy Jr., helped Murtaza carry out the killings after Dhanak said she planned to go on a date with someone else. During the trial, Murtaza testified that he told many people he wanted to kill the Dhanaks because he was distraught over the breakup, but he said he didn't mean it literally. Didn't do it alone: Two of Murtaza's friends have been convicted in connection to the killings. Killer: Leela Dhanak testified how Iftekhar Murtaza, seen in this August photo, murdered her husband and elder daughter in a failed attempt to win over her younger daughter. Bloodbath: Autopsy reports showed Jayprakash Dhanak (left) suffered 29 stab wounds to his body, while a pathologist testified that Karishma Dhanak (right) was alive when her throat was slit and her body set alight.

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Iftekhar Murtaza, 29, was convicted a year ago of killing his ex-girlfriend's family in a fiery attack on the family home in 2007.
On Tuesday he was sentenced to death in Orange County.
Found guilty of stabbing Jaypraykash Dhanak, 56, slitting the throat of his 20-year-old daughter, Karishma, and setting their bodies on fire.
Wife Leela Dhanak was stabbed in the stomach and had her throat slashed, but miraculously survived.
Murtaza concocted the murder plot with two friends after Dhanka's youngest daughter, Shayona, broke up with him over religious differences.
Murtaza married a 20-year-old suspected murderess in jail in 2011 after exchanging letters with her for five months.
En man som dömts för att ha dödat fadern och systern till sin före detta flickvän i ett eldigt attentat mot familjens hem i södra Kalifornien dömdes till döden på tisdagen. Iftekhar Murtaza, 30, dömdes för morden på Jay Dhanak, 56, och hans dotter Karishma, 20, i maj 2007, sade Orange Countys distriktsåklagare. Murtaza dömdes i december 2013 för att ha dödat paret i ett försök att återförenas med sin då 18-årige ex-flickvän Shayona Dhanak. Hon hade avslutat deras relation med att citera sin hinduiska familjs motstånd mot att hon dejtade en muslim. Skall avrättas: Iftekhar Murtaza, 30, dömdes till döden tisdagen för morden den 21 maj 2007 på sin ex-flickväns far och syster samt mordförsöket på hennes mor. Myndigheterna sa att Murtaza och en vän brände familjens Anaheim Hills hem och kidnappade och dödade Dhanaks far och syster, och lämnade deras knivhuggna kroppar brinnande i en park 3 mil från Dhanaks studentrum vid University of California, Irvine. Dhanaks mor, Leela, överlevde attacken. Hon knivhöggs och lämnades medvetslös på en grannes gräsmatta. Murtaza intervjuades av polisen flera dagar senare och greps på en Phoenix flygplats med en biljett till sitt hemland Bangladesh och mer än 11 000 dollar kontant. Jurors rekommenderade att Murtaza skulle dömas till döden för brotten. Murtaza brände ner sin ex-flickväns familjs Orange County hem efter att de gjort slut, i tron att morden på hennes familj skulle återförena dem. Religiösa skillnader: Murtaza daterade Shayona Dhanak när hon var 18 år 2007. Hon gjorde slut med honom när hennes hinduiska föräldrar påstods ha sagt att de skulle sluta betala hennes collegeundervisning om hon fortsatte att dejta den muslimska mannen. Två av hans vänner dömdes också till livstids fängelse för morden, men en av dem, Vitalij Krasnoperov, fick nyligen sin dom kullkastad på överklagande. Myndigheterna sa att Krasnoperov kläckte komplotten för att döda Dhanaks med Murtaza och försökte hjälpa honom att anställa en lönnmördare. De sa att en annan vän, Charles Murphy Jr., hjälpte Murtaza att utföra morden efter att Dhanak sagt att hon planerade att gå på en dejt med någon annan. Under rättegången vittnade Murtaza om att han berättade för många att han ville döda Dhanaks för att han var upprörd över uppbrottet, men han sa att han inte menade det bokstavligt. Två av Murtazas vänner har dömts i samband med morden. Mördare: Leela Dhanak vittnade om hur Iftekhar Murtaza, sedd i detta augustifoto, mördade sin man och äldsta dotter i ett misslyckat försök att vinna över sin yngre dotter. Blodbad: Obduktionsrapporter visade att Jayprakash Dhanak (till vänster) fick 29 knivhugg på sin kropp, medan en patolog vittnade om att Karishma Dhanak (till höger) levde när hennes hals skars av och hennes kropp tändes. Skriv höjdpunkter för den här artikeln.
A man convicted of killing the father and sister of his former girlfriend in a fiery attack on the family home in Southern California was sentenced to death on Tuesday. Iftekhar Murtaza, 30, was convicted of the murders of Jay Dhanak, 56, and his daughter Karishma, 20, in May 2007, said Orange County District Attorney. Murtaza was convicted in December 2013 of killing the couple in an attempt to reunite with his then 18-year-old ex-girlfriend Shayona Dhanak. She had ended their relationship by quoting her Hindu family's opposition to her dating a Muslim. To be executed: Iftekhar Murtaza, 30, was sentenced to death on Tuesday for the 21 May 2007 murders of her ex-girlfriend's father and sister as well as the attempted murder of her mother. Authorities said Murtaza and a friend burned the family's Anaheim Hill home and kidnapped and killed Dhanak's father and sister, leaving their stabbed bodies burning in a park 30 miles from Dhanak's dormitory at the University of California, Irvine. Dhanak's mother, Leela, survived the attack. She was stabbed and left unconscious on a neighbor's lawn. Murtaza was interviewed by police several days later and arrested at a Phoenix airport with a ticket to his native Bangladesh and more than $11,000 in cash. Jurors recommended that Murtaza be sentenced to death for the crimes. Murtaza burned down her ex-girlfriend's family's Orange County home after they broke up, believing the murders of her family would reunite them. Religious Differences: Murtaza dated Shayona Dhanak when she was 18 in 2007. She broke up with him when her Hindu parents allegedly said they would stop paying her college tuition if she continued dating the Muslim man. Two of his friends were also sentenced to life imprisonment for the murders, but one of them, Vitaly Krasnoperov, recently had his sentence overturned on appeal. Authorities said Krasnoperov hatched the plot to kill Dhanaks with Murtaza and tried to help him hire an assassin. They said another friend, Charles Murphy Jr., helped Murtaza carry out the murders after Dhanak said she planned to go on a date with someone else. During the trial, Murtaza testified that he told many that he wanted to kill Dhanaks because he was upset about the breakup, but he said he didn't mean it literally. Two of Murtaza's friends have been convicted in connection with the murders. Murderer: Leela Dhanak testified about how Iftekhar Murtaza, seen in this August photo, murdered her husband and eldest daughter in an unsuccessful attempt to win over her younger daughter. Bloodbath: Autopsy reports showed that Jayprakash Dhanak (to the left) received 29 stab wounds on his body, while a pathologist testified that Karishma Dhanak (to the right) lived when her neck was cut off and her body lit. Write highlights for this article.
Iftekhar Murtaza, 29, dömdes för ett år sedan för att ha dödat sin ex-flickväns familj i ett eldigt attentat mot familjens hem 2007. På tisdagen dömdes han till döden i Orange County. Han knivhögg Jaypraykash Dhanak 56 och skar halsen av hans 20-åriga dotter Karishma och satte eld på deras kroppar. Hustrun Leela Dhanak knivhöggs i magen och fick halsen avskuren, men överlevde mirakulöst. Murtaza konspirerade mordkomplotten med två vänner efter att Dhankas yngsta dotter, Shayona, gjort slut med honom över religiösa meningsskiljaktigheter. Murtaza gifte sig 2011 med en 20-årig misstänkt mördarinna i fängelset efter att ha bytt brev med henne i fem månader.
Iftekhar Murtaza, 29, was convicted a year ago of killing his ex-girlfriend's family in a fiery attack on the family home in 2007. On Tuesday, he was sentenced to death in Orange County. He stabbed Jaypraykash Dhanak 56 and slit the throat of his 20-year-old daughter Karishma and set their bodies on fire. Wife Leela Dhanak was stabbed in the stomach and had her throat cut, but miraculously survived. Murtaza conspired the murder plot with two friends after Dhanka's youngest daughter, Shayona, broke up with him over religious differences. Murtaza married a 20-year-old suspected murderess in prison in 2011 after switching letters with her for five months.